To help clean up the mess of hundreds of fair-goers, the Seneca County Fair relies on a work crew from the Seneca County jail.
David Magers, the community corrections deputy at the Seneca County Sheriff's Office, said a work crew has been cleaning up trash at the fair for 16 years.
He said over the years, he has seen less and less trash throughout the fairgrounds.
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PHOTO BY ERIKA PLATT-HANDRU
Deputy David Magers (right) walks with work crew members Wednesday morning as they collect trash at the Seneca County Fair.
"We've seen a lot of changes in the trash," he said.
Magers contributed the decrease in the amount of litter to fair-goers reacting to the crew's hard work.
"People have come up to the guys and said 'thank you' and that they're doing a good job," he said.
The crew, which typically consists of four to six members, arrives at the fair every morning and starts picking up trash in the livestock areas.
"Then we try to get out into the midway and into the grandstands," Magers said.
The crew, which leaves the grounds around noon, focuses heavily on the grandstands during the weekend.
"The heavy days of trash pickup are Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning," he said. "The grandstands are usually loaded with trash."
Tyler Hesson, a work crew member who was cleaning up at the fair Wednesday morning, said he enjoys the fresh air.
"It's much better than sitting in jail," he said.
"It's still jail, but it's still enjoyable to see the fair," Magers said.
The community corrections program at the Seneca County jail recently was awarded a grant of $58,374 after receiving a 100 percent on its audit, Magers said.
The money will help the work crew return to the fair next year and provide supplies for the crew's other endeavors.
The money also will be used for Magers' wages, office supplies and electronic monitoring.
