do not necessarily take less time than other rides to inspect, nor does their expanded presence signal a decrease in non-inflatable rides, he said.

Gates declined to comment on the department’s confidence in the inspection process in the face of an uneven rise in rides, compared with its inspectors.

State payroll records listed 10 ride inspectors and one supervisor in 2007, although three of the inspectors appeared to be part-year or part-time employees. Payroll records for last year listed eight ride inspectors, one supervisor and one support staff employee.

Ohio State Fair rides shut down last week following a malfunction on the Fire Ball ride on opening day that killed one person and injured seven others.

Fire Ball ride-manufacturer KMG instructed operators to shut down all versions of the ride until itfairgoers making their way through 71 rides operating on the midway and Kiddieland family area.

Not all rides operating Monday earned a perfect score though.

Most issues involved seating on rides, with inspectors deeming a number of seats on seven of the rides inspected Sunday as non-operational or out of service. Inspectors found eight non-operational seats on the ride Power Surge, the documents showed. Five seats were out of service on the Scooter ride.

Those seats will remain out of service until the ride company notifies the Department of Agriculture that they are ready for use and the department can re-inspect them, Gates said. Seats with problems are marked and observable, he added.

Power Surge is next to the Fire Ball ride, which remains cordoned off as the investigation continues.

Jenna Stevens, 32,