Beefed up security at this year's Tulsa State Fair

Getting ready for the 94th annual Tulsa State Fair. It opens this week and runs for 10 days. In light of the East Coast attacks, KOTV wanted to check out the security plans for this year's fair.

Wednesday, September 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Getting ready for the 94th annual Tulsa State Fair. It opens this week and runs for 10 days. In light of the East Coast attacks, KOTV wanted to check out the security plans for this year's fair.

News on Six crime reporter Lori Fullbright sat down with the man in charge of keeping the million or so visitors safe and says the catch phrase for deputies working the fair this year is "ever vigilant." They keep in daily contact with the FBI for "BOLO's", which are "be on the look-out" reports. Right now there are no suspicious people to worry about in this area. Although security is tight at the fair every year, this year, they're thinking about new things, like being in the flight path of Tulsa International Airport. Additional deputies, reserve deputies and reserve police officers will patrol the fairgrounds and parking lots, on foot, on bicycle and on horseback, but, they also want the help of fair-goers to keep a sharp eye out.

Tulsa County Sheriff's Office Captain Tim Albin, "It's important that our patrons be ever vigilant. If they see something out of the ordinary or suspicious, they need to come by or grab a deputy so we can check those things out." Deputies say they're trained and ready for any emergencies that might happen at the fair, even one involving chemicals or mass casualties, but they don't expect anything like that to happen. But, they are leaving nothing to chance. "The fairgrounds is in the flight path of the airport, runway D-Left. We've been in contact with the FAA and they've restricted any sight-seeing helicopter rides and the like, But, commercial planes will fly over but there's an altitude restrict for that flight path.â€ Deputies say the fair is usually a low-crime experience for the workers and visitors alike and they expect it to be no different this year. "We just people to come out and enjoy the fair and leave some of the worries and concerns of the last two weeks behind.â€

The truth is, deputies are more worried about children getting lost than a terrorist attack. Thatâ€™s why all parents should make the Sheriff's trailer the first place they stop when they get to the fair. It's southeast of the pavilion and near gate 12. They'll make an ID bracelet for your child with their name, medical conditions, emergency phone numbers and the like. Thanks to that system, no child was lost for more than 30 minutes last year, which is a record they're proud of and plan to keep this year.