SIDNEY — Following the horrific accident on a thrill ride at the Ohio State Fair, Wednesday, Shelby County Fair secretary Jerry Schaffner assured local fair-goers that rides at the Sidney event are safe.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture sends licensed inspectors to check things out before the fairs in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. The Shelby County rides were given a thorough inspection just before the fair opened. In addition, ride operators look over everything on a daily basis.

“Every ride manufacturer gives them points to check,” Schaffner said. “We had a kid who pulled a belt loose on a new ride earlier this week. They told him not to come back on the rides. There’s a law in Ohio. If (kids) do something like that, they can be prosecuted.”

Rides are categorized based on how high or fast they go. None of the rides here are in the category of the ride that malfunctioned in Columbus.

Michael’s Amusements, the company that supplies the rides to the Shelby County Fair, has an A-1 safety rating, Schaffner added.

“There are people who think we pay our ride company too much money, but that’s why we go with this ride company. The safety of our fair-goers is the primary thing for us. Whenever the ODA says something needs to be fixed, this company fixes it right away. They don’t say, ‘We’ll take care of that later.’ We had others. That’s why we got rid of them,” Schaffner said.