County board working to create livestock show space for kids

Nov. 10—A recently established board is working to make it easier for kids in agricultural organizations to showcase their animals locally.

The Buchanan County Fairgrounds Board met last week to determine how to proceed with the project, which will be on the property where East Buchanan Middle School in Easton currently is located.

"The primary purpose is to have an arena for the kids to have their livestock show," Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson said.

Seven members sit on the board, with Nelson serving as a representative of the Buchanan County Commission.

Showing livestock is a family tradition for board member Jeff Rhode. He has two sons who are reaching the end of their junior show career.

"I've been showing livestock since I was 8 years old," he said. "My dad's been showing livestock since 1959, so my family's been heavily involved in it."

Rhode became involved with the fairgrounds board because Buchanan County has not had its own facility in years, and he wants to ensure livestock shows continue in the area.

"I've seen what it can do for families, I see what it does for kids," he said. "Let alone all the things we can offer with youth activities."

There are five acres to work with on the East Buchanan property, and board members left the meeting with three goals. They want to establish the size of the building for livestock shows, pick a specific location and determine how much they can afford to put into the project.

"Nothing substantial is probably going to happen until (East Buchanan) Middle School actually moves, and that is dependent on the construction that is going on in Gower now," Nelson said.

News-Press NOW previously reported that the district aims to complete work on the new school in time for the 2025-26 academic year.

"We want to be ready June of 2025, and we call that shovel-ready," Nelson said. "We want to stick a shovel in the ground and start moving."