BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Ag Society held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, August 10 at 7 p.m. at the Custer County Fairgrounds.
The United Methodist Men, added to the agenda shortly before the meeting opened, presented numbers from their booth during the fair. The church group went through 79 pies cut into 7 pieces each, which totals out to just over 550 servings of pie, not to mention 22 gallons of ice cream.
The Methodist Men also announced their intention not only to pay a portion of the building’s electric bill during fair days as a gesture of thanks for the Ag Society’s help with the $9,000 renovation of the group’s new booth but to give back to future generations, as well.
Dick Taylor of the Methodists explained.
“What we as the United Methodist Men would like to do is underwrite a $500 youth scholarship every year. As long as we use the facility, we would do that. We’d like to provide the money, and the Ag Society can figure out who they’d like to give it to.”
While no formal action was made on the proposal, the discussion did turn to how best to possibly work with the Custer County Foundation to set up the annual scholarship; the Methodist Men would like to see something implemented as soon as this spring.
The board also took stock of the 2023 county fair; two issues seemed to be the thorns in the celebration’s side: camper logistics and pricing, and lack of non-fair animal regulations.
The problem with the current camper pricing system is that all hookup spots are identical in price; those within steps of the barns cost the same as those out of earshot. Ag Society President Kent Nelson presented a possible solution dreamed up by board member Rodney Lamb.
“It needs to look more like a concert or a football stadium layout. If you want close to the barns, it’s ‘X’ amount of dollars and it gets cheaper the further west you go.”
The next step, the board reasoned, would be to update its website so the entire booking process could be completed digitally, and allow campers to visualize where they’d be parked on the campground.
Two board members said they’d received several complaints during the fair of non-fair dogs in and around the barns, which was chaos in waiting, said board member Casey Cooksley.
“You’ve got goats, sheep, and cattle down there. We do not need people walking around there with their dogs. I think that’s something that needs to be changed next year. That’s just asking for an accident.”
The board, after puzzling out accurate wording, ultimately decided that during the fair, pets would not be allowed in the livestock areas, and must be leashed while on the campgrounds.
The Ag Society will also reconsider whether or not to rent a generator for next year’s fair, as well as possibly replace the fair concert with a tractor pull.
The meeting concluded with a quick look at the calendar to determine the dates of the 2024 Custer County Fair; in order not to overlap with either Burwell’s Big Nebraska Rodeo or the opening of the fall high school sports season, the Ag Society opted to set the dates for July 26 through August 1, with the 4-H Fashion and Dog Shows set for July 18 and 20, respectively. The meeting adjourned at 9:02 p.m.
