To the Editor:

Safety is a primary concern for Americans, in light of some people’s demonstrated ability to terrorize, hurt, and kill innocent Americans. The thousands of poorly secured county fairs across America may represent convenient targets of opportunity. Imagine the mayhem, loss of lives, and despair Americans would suffer, if even one such terrorist attack succeeded.

At the Altamont Fair, on Friday, undercover police managed to get seven of eight guns past the fair’s gates, and into the fair. This is despite the fair’s use of security professionals, part-time security, metal detectors, and signage. This is a source of great concern to potential fair-goers concerned with safety.  Imagine what else did, or might, get by.

The fair was another great success, and no terror occurred. Security will have to be improved. The next seven guns to evade security may not belong to undercover police who are testing security. You and your family deserve to be safe from guns at county fairs across America, a nation which has many armed, and America-hating folks already here.

Edgar Tolmie

Altamont

Editor’s note: The letter writer would not reveal his source for the allegation that undercover police got seven guns into the Altamont Fair on Friday; it turned out to be false. The Enterprise interviewed Brian Wood who oversaw fair security at the fair for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and learned that he ran a test last year in which six out of eight undercover officers got in with handguns. So security was heightened this year with more training and use of metal detecting wands among other safety measures. No guns were confiscated this year; there were no injuries from fighting; and no one was expelled from the fair for fighting, Wood said. See related story.