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Vandalism early Monday morning cast a pall on the otherwise successful Central Wisconsin State Fair season, fair officials said.
“It’s a sad way to end the fair. Everyone here was thrilled with the way the fair was going,” said Carol Kerper, fair manager, about the six days of good weather and large crowds attending the event.
About $1,150 worth of damage to 11 food vendor stands happened after midnight during the fair’s last day. Water lines, sides of vendor tents and tent ropes and a gas line were slashed, said Travis Esser, a Marshfield Police Department officer investigating the case.
The greatest hazard was the release of about 80 pounds of gas when the line to a liquid propane tank was cut, Esser said.
There are suspects in the case based on vendor descriptions of teenage boys who had been loitering in the area exhibiting hyperactive and suspicious behavior late Sunday night, he said.
“There were four to six teenagers in the area that were acting obnoxious,” Esser said. The suspects also stole cash and miscellaneous food items.
The damage occurred to vendor stands on the west side of the fair’s exhibition hall.
“It’s been a lot of years since we’ve had something like this happen at the fair,” said John Garbisch, the fair’s vendor relations chairperson.
The fair closed at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, and nothing suspicious was seen or found at about 12:30 a.m. Monday when the area was patrolled by police officers, Garbisch said.
If anyone has information about the damage, call Wood County Crime Stoppers at 877-325-7867 or text a tip at keyword WCCS and message to 274637. All callers can remain anonymous.