Vendor pulls out of Columbia County Fair after alleged rude conduct by fair board vice president, speaker says

A Columbia County vendor told commissioners Aug. 6 she withdrew from the county fair because of what she described as rude, offensive behavior by the fair board vice president and said she has not received a response after writing to the board.

“I am here to lodge a complaint against the vice board president of the fair board, mister Butch Gass,” said Dr. Rachel Del Toro, identifying herself as a business owner. She said she brought free coffee for volunteers and that the manner in which Butch Gass handled the interaction was “extremely rude and offensive.”

Del Toro told the board she pulled her vendor location by the second day of the fair. She said she submitted a letter to the fair board asking for a response and that she waited about a month but received no reply. “There was no communication with myself regarding that,” she said.

Del Toro asked whether other complaints about Gass have been brought to the county, whether there is a standard operating procedure for vendors at the fair, and what the fairgrounds’ revenue and use figures have been over the last decade. She said she would provide communications she has gathered to the board if requested.

The chair asked Del Toro to obtain the contact information for JC Normine and send any communications to her. The chair also invited Del Toro to provide the written materials she said she had collected.

Earlier in the public-comment period an unidentified resident made extended allegations of misconduct involving county personnel and local officials, saying concerns had been known in the community for “at least 2 years.” That speaker’s remarks included multiple personal accusations but were not formally identified in the record and no supporting evidence was presented during the meeting.

No formal board action was taken Aug. 6 on the complaints; commissioners accepted public comment and invited the vendor to submit written documentation to staff for follow-up.