"We're non-profit, so all the help we can get from the prisons is great. It saves us from hiring people to do the work, and it really helps."

Both before and after the annual fair in July, inmates spend hours getting the Morrisonville fairgrounds ready by painting buildings, digging ditches, cutting grass, cleaning out the cattle barns and picking up debris.

Gillespie said prisoners from other facilities have also volunteered in the past, though the Altona inmates are the steady helping hand that fair officials count on each year.

"We've been using them for quite a few years, and they've been a tremendous help."

avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com