Wendy Schlueter’s Post

I PLEDGE my HEAD to clearer thinking, my HEART to greater loyalty, my HANDS to larger service, and my HEALTH to better living, for my family, my club, my community, my country and my world. This is the 4-H Pledge that youth and adults recite at the opening of each meeting. In the spirit of that pledge to clearer thinking, we ask “is there a future for 4-H in Sherburne County?” Last summer, the 4-H horse project funded and painted the barns to freshen them up for fair. Imagine the disappointment as everything the kids worked to prepare for was deluged with rain through the failing roofs on the horse barns as several waves of extreme weather occurred during fair week. The normal flurry of excitement was replaced with an all-out scramble to shift horses to higher ground and wait out the storm while also scrambling to save thousands of dollars’ worth of hay, feed, show clothes, tack and equipment. This is one of many issues that need to be addressed to deal with aging infrastructure and the future of the county fairgrounds. The county has indicated at various times the desire to sell and redevelop the property the fairground occupies. That constant fear of being evicted from the fairgrounds has not served the best interests of the youth or the community at large. Sherburne County businesses and residents are overwhelmingly supportive of 4-H programming when made aware of needs and how they can help. But who will invest in updating and improving the aging infrastructure of a fairgrounds under constant threat of eviction and redevelopment of the property? If the long-range plan is to relocate the fairgrounds, then please, let us begin the dialogue to plan out a timeline and details for beginning that endeavor. We need to at least work together to solve the immediate issues to serve our youth of today as well as plan for the future of our youth. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Please, let us not fail our youth any longer. ~ Families of Sherburne County 4-H Note: this letter was sent to all Sherburne County commissioners. The purpose of this post is to raise awareness of safety issues at the Sherburne County fairgrounds. The video captures the July 22, 2023 storm at the county fair and a failing roof leaking into one of the tack/hay stalls. #safety #4H #fair #itsforthekids #horses Please contact your Sherburne County representative and let them know action is needed https://lnkd.in/gcwtPM3J