After spending six years entrenched in McLean County, David Fourqurean’s return to Cadiz and Trigg County is off to a busy start.
During Monday’s fiscal court meeting, it was already time for what served as a quarterly report for magistrates, and a warm welcome back to the community as its University of Kentucky Agriculture and Natural Resource Extension Agent.
The job and his office, he said, has three prongs in which to serve citizens: through youth programming and 4-H, through family and consumer sciences, and through the agrarian way.
A holy trinity of sorts, all three, he added, play key roles in quality life — while developing younger and older minds to be better stewards of both themselves, and the land around them.
With 4-H, he said students need to be prepared for life after high school — and that the organization helps teach leadership, communication and marketing skills while reinforcing the need for civic engagement. A tremendous number of volunteers help with the kids and the group, which he said boasts more achievement award winners in the past four years than any other stretch in recent history.
Through family and consumer sciences, Fourqurean added that individuals and families can learn about nutrition and healthy living, financial literacy and family dynamics. And with classes offered in meal planning, budgeting, and even stress management, skills can be earned in a number of ways.
Agriculture, he noted, continues to be “the backbone” of Trigg County, and the extension offers unparalleled access to specialists, research-based information, tips about cutting-edge technology and other resources that lead to better management and more.
And it’s the extension office and its staff, he said, that helped create Trigg County’s biggest annual celebration.
Fourqurean agreed with Judge-Executive Stan Humphries, in that a lot of extension events and efforts have evolved over the years.
At one time, Fourqurean said the extension office was the only hub available to Trigg County and other similar communities.
Times have changed, and now, scores of resources are available to the public.
Their top project on the table right now is a complete remodel and renovation of its industrial kitchen.
