‘This is unacceptable': Clay County Sheriff comments after less than sweet start to Strawberry Festival
The Strawberry Festival is a community favorite each year at the Clay County Fairgrounds, but this year, it wasn't all sweet. Clay County sheriff Michelle Cook took to Facebook Saturday night, calling out the festival and its organizers for security and traffic concerns.
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'The strategy was to watch your news about how bad it was yesterday,' day two festival goer Rex Shell told Action News Jax Sunday morning. 'And we decided, it opens at 10, we're getting here at 9:30 today to avoid the chaos.'
Sheriff cook in her post to Facebook Saturday said in part, 'although [the festival has] increased the number of off duty deputies, the staffing is still not acceptable,' adding that 'the Strawberry Festival should hire enough staff to support an incident management team and hire enough staff to support a full and comprehensive traffic plan - similar to what the [Clay County] fair does.'
Richard Buckler, a promoter with the festival, reassured Action News Jax Sunday their staff has been hard at work to ensure a smooth experience.
'Please don't downgrade them because they do a great job,' Buckler said. 'They come out here on Friday, they make sure everything's prepped for the handicapped, the lines are marked, the cones are in place, they're all ready to rock and roll every single time they come out here.'
Now – following a bumpy day one for the 2025 Strawberry Festival, Buckler says organizers will continue to assess and evaluate how to ensure a smooth experience for next year and years to come.
'We're gonna be doing like we did [Sunday] morning - we had a meeting [Sunday] morning with the police,' explained Buckler. 'They simply assess the volume on the road, if the volume can be cleared. If not, if it's being affected by the entry to the festival, they'll simply cease the entry to the festival to clear the roads. We have public safety first in mind.'
Sheriff Cook also reassured on social media Saturday the Clay County Sheriff's Office and Clay County Fair organizers have been in constant planning to minimize traffic impacts in April for the county fair.
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