WARREN COUNTY — Government officials are now stepping in to save horses being evicted from a facility in Warren County.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the Warren County Agricultural Society decided that nearly 300 horses at the harness racing renters must be out by Dec. 1.
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As previously reported by News Center 7, the board said people have not paid their rent, which put a financial strain on the facility.
Horse owner Antonia Storer said she is concerned because the horses have no place to go.
“Home is just kind of a bounce pad. You go there to change you go there to sleep, but you spend all the time at the barn,” Storer said.
Storer questioned the board’s leadership and business practices.
According to Storer, the board said she didn’t pay rent for stalls, but her receipts show she did.
“May and June yet was never contacted and actually told twice that I was good,” Storer said.
Now, she has a month to find a new home for her horses.
“Literally making us look like a charity case in squatters when it couldn’t be farther from the truth is, you know, infuriating,” Storer said.
Warren County State Representative Scott Lipps told News Center 7 that the board is $80,000 in debt. He wants to see how they spend their money.
“Accounting procedure not being performed at the fairgrounds, or something worse. It’s intentional,” Lipps said.
The fairgrounds charge $150 a month per stall.
“Highest stall rent of 88 counties, and you have a 95% occupancy rate, how are you not profitable? If the other fairgrounds are profitable, where’s the money going?” Lipps said.
Lipps and Storer said there was no public meeting held to discuss the eviction, which violates the Sunshine law.
If the Agriculture Society Group tries to enforce the eviction in December, Lipps said he will file an injunction to give the owners more time to sort things out.
News Center 7 reached out to the fairground’s treasurer on Friday but got no answer.
Horse owner Victor Gray said he started a petition to keep the stalls open. It currently has hundreds of signatures.
“I started the petition to reserve the best things about our wonderful state of Ohio, which starts with the reserving and protecting our history and 4H programs,” Gray said in a statement.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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