• Fairground security for events still a concern

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• Nephi City will add youth service protection plan policy

• Obits

• Classified ads

By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent

Fairground security for events continues to be a concern for the upcoming season.

Juab County Sheriff Doug Anderson said that within a few weeks he will have a risk assessment study done to determine the actual risks and to suggest solutions to providing security to those who attend summer events.

“Other analysis suggests that we would need 16 to 18 deputies to safely manage large events at the facilities,” said Anderson. “That many deputies would be needed to provide security at big events such as the Derby.”

In addition, since the sheriff’s posse will not be helping with traffic control, there is a need for even more assistance, he said.

“It won’t be long until summer is here and we need to be ready,” said Anderson. “We need an action plan in place.”

Jamie Garrett, county fair and events director, said that there were 11,000 to 12,000 rodeo fans inside the arena for the Ute Stampede. There were still several thousand more at the carnival just outside the arena.

There were, in addition, parked cars that filled the fairground parking areas and spilled over into the town for multiple surrounding blocks.

“Everybody leaves their homes to attend and so the community needs policing for security,” said Anderson.

Garrett said that Shanna Memmott, county tourism director, had a tool that would work to determine how many people were in the arena at any given time. That way of counting people would show how many were at the events.

“It can determine how many are at hotels and motels,” said Garrett. “It was a real eye opener.”

Clinton Painter, commission chairman, said that this year they were beginning the clear-bag examination, as other events state-wide do. That will require someone at the gates to look inside the purses and other bags for problems.

“That is easier at Spanish Fork,” said Garrett. “They have two to three gates and we have eight.”

She said she thought they were going to look at not using all of the gates at the arena. They had talked, in the past, about making the gates on the south less accessible. They could create more of a parameter.

“I think we need to have a soft start this year,” said Marty Palmer, commissioner. “When you go to an event at BYU, you know that you can’t have a bag. This year will be a training that bags will be looked into.”

Garrett said that tickets for events could have an extra cost added to pay for security.

Kristine Miller, county administrator, said that the county would know better what to do once the analysis was complete.

Garrett said that the event could pay a fee for security and then they could add that fee to the ticket price.

“There are several events that are well-known” said Anderson. “The derby and the stampede are known and the derby is one of the best in the nation.”

Because of that, many people attended year after year.

Perry Davis, county attorney, said that the county could require an audit to review each year.

Garrett said that she could provide figures for the county fair. She said that $15,000 came from out-of-county and $750 for in-county.

“I report all fairground events to the state tax commission,” she said.

She asked if the county commission decided on one of the ways to collect for a security fund if that would be policy or an ordinance.

“We would create an ordinance,” said Davis. “That way we would have it in code.”

Anderson said there was already an ordinance forbidding coolers from being taken inside the arena.

Garrett said she could add, meantime, two lines to the information she provides to the people interested in renting the facility. It would say that no bags or coolers would be allowed.

“What about a diaper bag,” asked Palmer.

“The world we live in today has people who do harm,” said Anderson. “A bag or a container could contain harmful items--chemicals or weapons--that could be used to harm other people.”

Event security is highly important today, driven by the need to protect attendees at large-scale public gatherings, concerts, sporting events, and high-profile campus events.

Recently, the adequacy of security measures has been a subject of intense scrutiny and public debate, emphasizing that security is necessary for public safety.

Recent, high-profile events in Utah, such as those at Utah Valley University and Utah State University, have heightened security.

“We need a way to pay for the deputies and others who provide that security for the county,” said Anderson.