Fairground buildings await demolition

By P.J. GLISSON

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Bessemer — Gogebic County officials are striving to move forward with progress at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds, and some measure of it arrived on Tuesday with a delivery of demolition equipment and demolition was under way Wednesday morning.

County Administrator Juliane Giackino told Gogebic County commissioners last week that a representative of the company that was hired to conduct the demolition met with several county officials on Sept. 12.

“I took him to the fairgrounds,” she said. “He toured the buildings.”

Bolle Contracting of downstate Clare, indicated at that time that it intends to accomplish the demolition over the current and coming week.

Giackino added that the company has expressed the possibility of subcontracting some of the work.

The company estimated that, once equipment and workers were in place, they could deconstruct the grandstands, the poultry barn and an old trailer and remove all debris within a week.

Fairgrounds Coordinator Marlene Saari told The Globe late on Tuesday that “a few pieces of equipment” had been brought in.

In other fairground news, James Lorenson — chairman of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners — said he has created a two-man committee of himself and Fair Board Chairman James Byrns, to target and facilitate ongoing projects at the fairgrounds.

“We decided to keep it relatively small, so we can get it done more quickly,” said Lorenson of the considerable work that has been recommended by structural engineers.