Fair time and the rain comes

Paths and parking lots are holding up to the moisture.
NICOLE HUGHES and STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BAZETTA -- The Trumbull County Fair opened with a bang. Unfortunately, it was the bang of thunder.
Rain put a damper on setup Monday and caused the harness races to be postponed.
The paths and parking lots appear to be holding up under the rain with the help of some gravel added since last year.
"I don't think we had enough rain to do any damage -- yet," said Rich Roscoe, president of the fair board. "I think it will quit raining."
The harness racing was rescheduled for 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
During the second downpour, Julie Battaglia, who brought her 3- and 7-year-old sons to the fair to drop off papers to her husband at his Custom Glass and Vinyl tent, was stuck under the grandstand.
"This happens every year," she said. "Last year my husband got towed out of the parking lot twice."
Battaglia and her family were waiting for the rain to stop so they could visit the animals.
Also under the grandstand was the Trumbull County Jobs and Family Services booth.
Making the best of it
The workers were amusing themselves by tossing plastic bottles into a trash can.
"You just let them know that Trumbull County knows how to have a good time," said Gale Dunn, a clerk at Trumbull County Jobs and Family Services office. "No matter what, rain or shine."
Meanwhile, in the stables, the animals were also staying dry.
Chelsea Gibson, 10, of Bazetta, will be showing her cat, Peaches, for the first time.
"I'm nervous about how Peaches will do," she said. "She isn't used to wearing a harness."
Gibson and her family were decorating a cat condo in Hello Kitty fabric and red, white and blue garland.
"Peaches usually just sits there," Gibson said. "But sometimes she tries to run away."
The gates open at 8 a.m. today, and rides open at noon. Events continue throughout the day, including the Miss Trumbull County Fair Beauty Pageant and school bus racing.