Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Boone County Fair sets attendance record

By Kevin Haas
Staff writer

Posted Aug 12, 2019 at 2:20 PM

BELVIDERE — A record number of people went to the Boone County Fair this year, the third year in a row that attendance topped 200,000.

An all-time high of 222,131 fairgoers attended the six-day event, fair officials said Monday in a news release. The previous record of roughly 211,000 patrons was set in 2017. Last year’s event drew about 208,000 attendees, which was about 50,000 more people than the second-most attended county fair in Illinois, according to figures from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

“That’s a whole lotta happy!” said Lyle Lee, president of the nonprofit Boone County Fair Association. “It was a great effort by everyone on the fair board and the hundreds of volunteers who worked so hard to make the Boone County Fair the number one county fair in the state.

“From the thousands of exhibitors in livestock and home arts, to the hundreds of vendors, community groups and clubs selling all types of food and merchandise, to all the free entertainment with like 80 plus free shows during the six days, to great grandstand shows, there’s so much to see and do, I could go on and on,” Lee said.

The fair is owned and operated by the seven Grange chapters in Boone County. The Boone County Granges have owned and operated the fair since 1957. The Grange is a community service organization with its roots in agriculture.

Above is from: https://www.rrstar.com/news/20190812/boone-county-fair-sets-attendance-record

Did the AK-47 armed customer at the Springfield Walmart commit a crime?




Man charged with making terrorist threat at Springfield Walmart says why he did it

Man accused of terroristic threat inside a Walmart goes one-on-one with KY3


By Sara Forhetz |

Posted: Tue 6:16 PM, Aug 13, 2019  |

Updated: Tue 7:31 PM, Aug 13, 2019


SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Dmitriy Andreychenko, 20, is accused of walking into the Springfield Neighborhood Market on Republic Road and Golden last Thursday-- fully armed, and with plenty of ammo.

Andreychenko

It set off panic among some shoppers, and led to Andreychenko being held at gunpoint and arrested. He is charged with making a terrorist threat.

"Praise God that he (the man who held Andreychenko at gunpoint) was trained and that he was able to see that I wasn't threatening anyone and didn't shoot me, so praise God for that," Andreychenko said.

Andreychenko tells KY3 News he now sees his decision was poor timing, given the other two mass shootings in recent days, but otherwise does not regret what he did.

"It was foolish, I didn't give it thought. It was so innocent that I didn't think this would happen."

He claims he even talked to a Walmart manager before he showed up in the parking lot.

"I called Walmart to make sure that this was allowed, and they said it was," Andreychenko explained. Reporter Sara Forhetz clarified, 'open carry, you mean?' "Yeah, yeah. Their long rifles, I called and asked if I could carry a long rifle, so." 'And they said you could?' "Yeah."

He says shoppers didn't seem shocked, and says no one was screaming or running until after the fire alarm was pulled by a store employee.

"The gun was holstered. I never touched it after putting it on."

As for the tactical clothing, and loaded weapons he was carrying-- Andreychenko had this to say:

"There was ammo in the mag, but it's how I... that gun sits in my car. It sits in my car the way it was. So I just picked it up out of my trunk. And same with the vest-- yes, it had mags in it that were full of ammo, but those mags are there for the range. I practice a lot. I want to be efficient in rifle and in shooting just in case I ever needed to use my guns for self protection," he said.

Now, Andreychenko is working to defend his actions.

"I just want people to know there was no evil to what I did. This was not a hate inspired act. This was purely innocent-- the timing was just so off," he said. "I would never want to hurt anyone; I pray to God that everything works out."

If convicted, Andreychenko could face 4-7 years in prison. His lawyer also says he faces deportation if convicted. He is a permanent resident of the U.S., but not a citizen. The state, however, is not sure that is the case.

He and his wife are expecting their first child in January.

Walmart sent us this statement regarding Andreychenko's actions:

“We allow concealed and open carry in our stores where that is allowed in the jurisdiction where the store is located. This includes open carry of a long gun if allowed by law. If a customer feels uncomfortable they should contact a member of management.”

Walmart released this statement to KY3 Tuesday:

"This was a reckless act designed to scare people, disrupt our business, and we’re thankful no one was injured. We will continue assisting authorities.”

The above is from:  https://www.ky3.com/content/news/Man-charged-with-making-terrorist-threat-at-Springfield-Walmart-says-why-he-did-it-540410771.html