Open letter from Churchill County Sheriff Richard Hickox

Churchill County residents:

The month of August has and will remain a very busy time for Churchill County and Fallon, as there are a number of events coming up over the course of the next few weeks. These events will draw large crowds to our community and more specifically our Fairgrounds and High School area. With this in mind we are requesting your cooperation and help to manage traffic and keep everyone safe and entertained.

Aug. 17:

There will be three events happening at the same time in the area of the Fair Grounds and High School.

Cutting Horse

In the Main area of the Fairgrounds there will be a Cutting Horse event, if you have never witnessed these Equine athletes work, it is a spectacular sight and one worth watching.

Dust Devil Triathlon

The Churchill County Parks and Rec will be hosting the annual Dust Devil Triathlon, swimming, running and bike racing all combined for a test of endurance, strength and speed. This event will be centered at the Fairgrounds and Indoor Swimming pool but will stretch out into more rural sections of the county as the participants put their bikes through the paces.

SYFL (Sierra Youth Football League)

Football, Football and more Football, not to be outdone by the triathlon or equine athletes a group of young athletes from Fallon and our surrounding communities will be putting their gridiron skills to the test as the annual SYFL Smackdown takes place at the High School with parking taking place at the fairgrounds. Football players, cheerleaders, fans, coaches and officials will be coming and going all day.

If you are not a participant, parent or a spectator of one of these events we respectfully ask that if you can please avoid the area of the Fairgrounds and High School. Our goal as always is to keep people safe and with this many events taking place in such a small geographical area the risk of injury or an accident increases drastically. SYFL expects several thousand people to attend or participate in their event, this means a large increase in vehicle traffic, foot traffic and people in a hurry.

Racing, Golfing and BBQ

Also on that day is a Best in the West off road race taking place in a remote portion of Churchill County but crossing Highway 95 out by Top Gun Raceway, this event brings an increase in support and transport vehicles for the racers. There is a golf tournament benefitting Firemen scheduled at our beautiful Golf Course off of Country Club Drive. The ever popular and fun filled Community Reunion at Oats Park will be taking place from the 16th thru the 18th with music, car shows, picnics and pancake breakfasts.

School starts

Aug. 19

The new school year at Churchill County Schools start up bright and early this morning, this means buses on our roads picking up our kids, those kids waiting for their buses on the side of our roads as well as walking to and from school. There will be harried and busy parents trying to get back into a routine of getting the kids to school and then off to work on time.

Please make sure you have extra time to get to work, that you slow down and get over for kids waiting for the bus and walking to school. Stopping for a school bus that has its red flashing lights and stop sign extended is the law, it is a must do and not a suggestion. This applies to all roads that are not divided by a physical barrier such as is out on the Reno Highway between Leeteville and Bench.

If you fail to stop for a school bus that has its red flashing lights on and stop sign out, you are putting children at risk and will be issued a citation; this applies even on the Reno Highway and Schurz Highway.

Aug. 23-25

CANTALOUPE FESTIVAL

On Aug. 23, 24 and 25, the Fairgrounds will once again be home to the fun filled and highly entertaining Cantaloupe Festival. If you have never attended this event you are missing out, if you haven’t visited in several years, you should go and have some fun.

Aug. 29-31

Lions Club Junior Rodeo

This three day event is fun filled and fast paced as cowboys and cowgirls from all over compete for pride, bragging rights and some great trophies. Come down and see future rodeo stars in action, have good food, laughs and support these young men and women as they live out the American West traditions!

The Churchill County Sheriff’s Office will have a large presence at and around the Fairgrounds area during these events. This presence is not meant to be a damper on the fun, actually it is intended to do just the opposite, we are there to do our best to insure you feel safe and can enjoy all that this great State, County and Community have to offer. We do ask that you remain vigilant and immediately notify Law Enforcement if something or someone is acting odd or suspicious as this helps keep us all safe and able to enjoy our home.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Respectfully,

Sheriff Richard Hickox

Churchill County, Nevada