Earlier this month, Governor Bruce Rauner announced that as of tomorrow, funding for all county fairs would be suspended, due to the budget problems being resolved in time for the beginning of the new fiscal year.  Due to this, there have been rumors that there will not be a Washington County Fair in a week.  WCF Board President Dan Heggemeier tells WNSV that they met on Sunday night to discuss the options available to them and that there will be a fair beginning July 7^th.  They will cut all of the animal showings, which is the beef show, the dairy show, as well as the sheep and goat.  So, you won’t even see them at the Fair.  The Board felt it was fiscally irresponsible if they went ahead with the premiums for these shows and lost money.  Heggemeier did say the Fair is in good financial shape and will be open, but if they didn’t make cuts, as they had been cut, they could have financial problems in the foreseeable future.  There will also be some changes in the Exhibition Hall, as they only kept 3 classes.  This includes the agriculture products, the horticulture products, as well as what the Board feels is one of the most important things, and that is the youth and education show.  They will just take the loss on those 3 shows on prizes.  The textile and fine arts shows were cut though.  Normally they receive around 20 percent from the state for funding of the premiums or prizes for livestock competition, which translates to $18,000 to $20,000 for the Washington County Fair.  They also hope that this is a one-time thing, and the funding will return for next year.  The 4-H will still have their show and sale on Wednesday night of the Fair.  Heggemeier says there will be 3 nights of tractor pulls and the demolition derby on the final night.  Also, the carnival rides for kids will be back, as well as 2 bikes to be given away each night.  The Fair would not be complete without plenty of food and drink, so it will be an enjoyable time at the Washington County Fair, July 7^th through the 11^th at the Washington County Fairgrounds on the south end of Nashville, next to the high school.  If you have any questions, call the Fair office at 327-3298.