KOSCIUSKO — The Kosciusko County Community Fair Board has responded to the preliminary injunction that Kosciusko County Circuit Court Michael Reed ordered yesterday, May 16. The following is their statement.

“The fair board has voted to authorize our attorney to file an immediate appeal in response to the preliminary injunction issued by Judge Reed in the case of motorized racing on the fairgrounds.

The fair board is committed to providing good family friendly community events that are both respectful of the environment and to our neighbors.

The fair board has struggled financially for years since the original closure of Warsaw Speedway. Our financial problems cost us the merchants building back in the late 90s when it reached a stated where it was no longer safe to be used and was subsequently torn down. The fair board has investigated moving to a new location, but the funds from the sale of the current property are not enough to be able to acquire land and rebuild all the structures, roads, utilities and grandstand. Nor can we just simply take out a loan to do that, as the payments would far exceed what the fairgrounds has traditionally generated in the past. We are also under the constraints of having to bring the fairgrounds to ADA compliance which will cost approximately three million dollars due to a federal lawsuit a few years back.

The fair board has tried several types of events throughout the years including concerts, rodeos, paint ball, RV rallies, motorized events and more. The one thing we have learned from our years of experience is that this community prefers for us to host the motorized events as they are the only events that consistently produce a positive revenue stream for the fairgrounds.

The injunction which has been put in place will also have a negative impact on fair week this year. We will not be allowed to hold the Roy Bradbury Memorial Race on Wednesday night nor will be allowed to hold KOI drag racing on Thursday night as we have done for the past seven years.

We still need your financial support to continue our fight. Please donate to either our GoFundMe account or send us your donations directly. The Kosciusko County Community Fair is a valid 501(c)3 not for profit organization and your charitable donations are tax deductible.”