Custer County Fairgrounds Clean Up After Flooding

CUSTER COUNTY—It may be muddy but the Custer County Fairgrounds keep moving forward after last week’s flooding and blizzards. Heavy currents flowed through the eastern portion of Broken Bow and brought waters close to the northeast edge of Building 5. A barbed wire fence was torn out along with six-inch fence posts that had snapped during the flooding due to heavy debris (consisting of mostly grass and tree limbs).

Grounds Manager JJ Martin said other than the torn out fence on the east side of the fairgrounds, the property did not experience too much damage during the flooding. A sliding door on Building 20 (old stall barn) broke after suffering extreme winds.

“As far as the damage we had one of our fences tore out over there by the canal but that will be easy to replace. Our roads have taken a beating out here. But as far as our events, we’re still putting on our events as scheduled,” Martin said.

Martin said he and staff are always getting ready for the next event; the fairgrounds hosted a bull sale on Monday and a roping event is scheduled for this weekend.

When visiting the fairgrounds you may notice that Buildings 3 and 4 are no longer standing. The Custer County Ag Society had been discussing removing buildings 3 and 4 since the summer and they were both torn down on Tuesday morning to make room for a new open air, covered arena.

Martin said Buildings 3 and 4 were in need of new roofs but would have also required additional updating. The Ag Society determined it would be cheaper to remove the old buildings and replace with a multi-purpose space that can be used year-round, rather than only during the county fair. (Click here to view the January 11 story.)

Martin said the recent weather has slowed down construction but is looking forward to nicer weather to continue construction, and maintain the roads. Pearson Construction is currently replacing roofs on Buildings 9 and 10 and will move on to Buildings 5 and 6 next. In addition, a new ADA restroom and shower complex in the park area is still in the works at the Custer County Fairgrounds.

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