Fairgrounds added to city's safety zones

The 2014 Shawano County Fair will be off limits to convicted sex offenders. So will any other activities at the Shawano County Fairgrounds, such as the Shawano Speedway races and the flea market, after the Shawano Common Council on Wednesday added the property to its list of safety zones. The city’s ordinance dealing with sexual offender residency restrictions prohibits convicted offenders from living nearby or frequenting any facility where children are likely to congregate, including any facility used for or that supports a school for children, licensed day care center, library, park, recreational trail, playground or place of worship. Police Chief Mark Kohl said the restriction would be enforced through due diligence from the community keeping an eye out for and reporting any suspicious behavior, and police and sheriff’s deputies patrolling the fair. “A lot of our officers recognize these offenders from previous contacts,” he said. Kohl said there were no incidents or issues that instigated the addition of the fairgrounds to the ordinance. “It’s just a formality,” he said. “We wanted to include the fairgrounds.”