Fairground arch goes down
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 09:29 p.m., July 18, 2010
Updated 10:16 a.m., July 19, 2010
A Wichita truck driver has been charged with leaving the scene of a non-injury accident and transporting an open container of alcohol or cereal-malt beverage in connection with the destruction of the rear-entrance arch into the Lyon County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
Alert witnesses took down the name of the trucking company — Midwest Express — as well as the truck number and a description of the driver. Emporia Police Officer Ed Serrano tracked down the driver, John E. Dyck of Wichita, at the Flying J truck stop, according to EPD Sgt. Mark Summey.
The witnesses saw the truck stop, back up, and hit the arch with the trailer, Summey said.
The accident already has been turned into the fair board’s insurance company.
Fair board member Chris Phillips had taken his boom truck to the scene Saturday night and stabilized the massive, leaning arch, then put up barriers to try to keep people from driving in near it.
On Sunday morning, board members took down the arch and piled it on the fairgrounds for temporary storage.
The arches at the front and rear entrances were purchased from Mast Engineering, and Fair Board member Harry Groh anticipated the arch replacement would not be done by the time the fair activities open later this month.
“Oh gosh, no,” Groh said. “It took them over a year to get ’em done the first time.”