County Council celebrates fair and rodeo success

Initial reports rate the 2020 Cache County Fair and Rodeo as a highly successful" community event.

CACHE COUNTY – Initial observations from the Cache County Fair and Rodeo are suggesting that the event was “a great success.”

County Executive Craig Buttars relayed that opinion to the members of the Cache County Council at an abbreviated meeting held Tuesday evening.

We appreciate the residents who attended the fair and rodeo,” Buttars said. “We also appreciate our fair committee, especially our fair chairman Lane Parker and our rodeo chairman LaMont Poulsen for the great work that they did to make this event a success.”

A measure of that success was the revenue generated by the Future Farmers of America Junior Livestock Sale during the fair. Despite having 34 fewer animals in that event than in 2019, Buttars reported that the livestock sale generated nearly $100,000 more than the previous year, for a total of $517,000 that will fund ongoing FFA educational efforts.

“That funding wouldn’t be available if we hadn’t held the fair,” the county executive emphasized.

The county’s decision to go ahead with the fair and rodeo event had been controversial, coming in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that had forced the cancellation of nearly every other form of local public entertainment.

Council member Gina Worthen noted “that decision wasn’t made irresponsibly,” but rather after studying the health implications of similar outdoor events and consultations with the officials of the Bear River Health Department.

Buttars added that people attending the weekend event generally complied with the BRHD recommendations about mask wearing and social distancing.

Many individuals were wearing masks at the rodeo and fair,” Butters explained, “although some were not … There was no conflict between citizens over that; everyone was doing their best to get along.”

County Sheriff Chad Jensen admitted to members of the council that he was initially dubious about the decision to hold the fair.

“I was a little bit skeptical about the whole thing,” Jensen confessed. “I was the naysayer who thought that no one would show up. But I’m happy to admit that I was wrong; I’ll take the hit for that one.

“The atmosphere at the fair was wonderful, even though we didn’t have the usual carnival,” the sheriff added. “Everything I saw was 100 percent positive. Families were obviously very happy for a chance to get out and about. In terms of law enforcement, I think we had two drunks, three lost parents and a couple missing wallets, which was an unusually light workload for us during an event like the fair.”

Council member David Erickson said that the high point of the weekend for him was a tribute offered to members of the armed forces and law enforcement personnel.

“That was really a very moving, special moment,” he recalled. “I’m just grateful that we were able to celebrate as a county all the things that make us who we are.”

“The fair is probably one of the few things that we all do consistently as families anymore,” council member Jon White agreed. “So it’s a good event.”

Council chair Karl Ward said he had received plenty of negative comments from local residents prior to the fair, including one E-Mail calling the planned event “a crazy COVID-19 party.”

But council member Paul Borup observed that medical experts have long held that “ … communities faced with epidemics or other adverse events respond best and with the least anxiety when the normal social functioning of the community is least disrupted.”

“I think the fair was a prime example of that,” Borup added. “What we saw at the fair was a society functioning normally again.”

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11 Comments

  • Dugsorensen August 12, 2020 at 1:03 pm Reply

    but. but. but… What about the Masks! Think of the children! Oops Think of the poor! errr. Think of the minorities! Wait wrong slogan again…. Oh ya, got it. Your goat loving parade will kill my Grandma!

    • Bo August 14, 2020 at 8:55 am Reply

      Was this comment meant to be coherent? Like, dude what are you even trying to say?

  • DRA August 12, 2020 at 2:28 pm Reply

    Thank You all the made the Fair happen and Thank You to all who attended.

  • Deedee August 12, 2020 at 7:08 pm Reply

    Thank you for all you fearless enjoying life and making this place have more positive energy with your attitude of life and not fear. Keep it up.

  • mwelter August 12, 2020 at 9:47 pm Reply

    I think it’s odd to say that many people were wearing masks when the picture for the article clearly shows that there was very sparse mask wearing and people are packed in on top of each other. I also doubt that medical experts are saying to do these type of events in a pandemic. We have enough experience in other states which have shown what happens when you do these types of packed events. Hopefully that won’t be the case here – we’ll find out in two weeks, I suppose.

    • DRA August 13, 2020 at 7:56 am Reply

      Please, I hope you stayed home?

    • AM August 13, 2020 at 7:38 pm Reply

      Exactly!

  • Sharie Belew August 13, 2020 at 6:53 am Reply

    We had a good time at the Fair! Thank You Cache County!!

  • Abraham Rodriguez August 13, 2020 at 11:31 am Reply

    Funny how Butters mentioned that many people were wearing masks and practicing social distancing when in reality that wasn’t the case. I went to the Rodeo on Friday, and hardly anyone was wearing a mask. I did my part in wearing one but I personally thought it was completely irresponsible from the county fair to not at least comply proper social distancing guidelines in the stands.

    • SL August 13, 2020 at 3:10 pm Reply

      You were free to leave at any time, or as I did, buy a few extra seats for space….and face coverings were free. With that being said, this is America and we still have our agency. Personally I throughly enjoyed the rodeo and didn’t look for a reason to be offended whatsoever:)

  • SL August 13, 2020 at 12:49 pm Reply

    A HUGE THANK YOU to all who made this happen. The support for ffa, the prayer, the patriotism and tribute to law enforcement, and the opportunity for families to come together, cowboys to continue to make a living, so many positives outweighing the negatives. So thankful for Cache County and their support and love of agriculture in these trying times.

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