Carson City’s Fourth of July fair may sue carnival manager

Sunday, Sept. 19, 1999 | 2:06 a.m.

Sam Johnston of Sam Johnston's Midway of Fun allegedly owes the sponsors of the carnival $26,000 in compensation, said Janice Ayres, executive director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

The money was due Sept. 15 and the RSVP board now will consider pursuing a lawsuit at a meeting on Tuesday, Ayres said.

Johnston had signed a contract to run the carnival through the year 2000, and agreed he would not run another carnival at the same time his operation was in Carson City, Ayres said.

But Johnston subsequently booked the Napa Valley Fair in Calistoga, Calif., for the Fourth of July weekend. Most of his rides went to Napa, leaving RSVP with what Ayres called a "miserable fair" of only six rides.

Money garnered from carnival revenue is used to help RSVP's Home Companion Program. The program has 400 volunteers who last year helped 600 homebound Nevadans stay in their homes instead of a care facility.

Ayres said the program takes about $500,000 a year to run and that is why the money from the carnival is so important to RSVP.

Johnston could not be reached immediately for comment. He earlier blamed the shortage on a subcontractor who failed to bring rides to Carson's fair. The subcontractor denied he had an agreement with Johnston.

In earlier statements, Johnston said he made only $37,000 on the carnival and under the contract owed RSVP $9,000.

In 1998 he made about $80,000, Ayres said, of which RSVP received about $20,000 and $4,000 in reimbursement for advertising costs. Ayres said she spent $13,000 in advertising for the fair this year. She said the potential was there for the carnival to make $85,000.

She said she hopes Johnston will settle on the $26,000 figure, but if not, "we go to war."