WQXE News

Thursday marks the first day of spring, and as the season changes and you start your spring cleaning make sure you are keeping your home and property fire safe.

Radcliff Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Crane says check with your local jurisdictions on outdoor burning for limbs, and limit what you are burning to what is allowed.

“Regardless of where you are, the state law prohibits burning garbage, tires, buildings, and stuff like that, so you have to remember what you’re burning,” Crane said. “Basically, branches, brush, and stuff like that is about all that you can burn.”

Crane says if you are looking to get rid of leaves and limbs, your city likely has options for you.

“The cities have different limb and leaf pickup times, and so they’ll do that stuff for you so you don’t have to try to figure out how to get rid of it, so just check with them,” Crane said.

If you do decide to conduct a controlled burn, let the authorities know ahead of time.

“Make sure that you’re calling the local dispatch in the unincorporated areas,” Crane said. “That way we’re aware of what’s going on. The local fire department, wherever it is, is able to be aware that there’s a control burn.”

Monitor wind conditions before conducting a controlled burn, and never leave a fire unattended.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will be conducting controlled burns as part of their regular management of the state’s wildlife management areas. 

KFW will be working with local officials in a number of Kentucky counties on prescribed fires at wildlife management areas in March and April. These controlled burns are part of regular habitat management efforts and help restore the health of local ecosystems that depend on fire.

KFW says the burns will take place over one or two-day periods as local activity and weather conditions permit. Fire officials will take wind, air temperature, relative humidity, soil moisture, and other factors into consideration when conducting the burns. Signs will be posted and gates will be closed at sites, and adjacent landowners will be notified.

Nearby properties where prescribed fires are expected to be conducted include Barren River Lake, Yellowbank, Green River Lake, and Rolling Fork WMAs.

KFW says the management goals of the fires are to increase nut and soft fruit production and to enhance the regeneration of oaks. Learn more about KFW land management at fw.ky.gov.

Kentucky state officials joined students and staff at Creekside Elementary School Monday to kick off the inaugural Ag Education Week, which runs now through March 21.

According to the Kentucky Department of agriculture, Ag Education Week “delivers an all-encompassing learning experience for students, equips educators with ready-to-use resources and lessons, and fosters community involvement to create dynamic, hands-on learning focused on the diverse world of Kentucky agriculture.”

Hardin County Schools says Creekside’s Agstream initiative, which launched in 2021, is one of the first, if not the first, elementary agriculture curriculum programs in the state, so Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman said it was appropriate to launch Ag Education Week there.

“We’ve got a public school system that has been underfunded and undervalued for far too long and we have a farming population that feels the same way, and so knowing how dependent we are on education for the future of Kentucky and knowing how dependent the entire world is on agriculture and growing this sector, there’s no better way to make sure that we value both by bringing them together and highlighting them and the work that’s being done,” Coleman said.

Creekside Elementary School Principal Brooke Custis said the Agstream initiative was born out of conversations with parents, staff, and students following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After listening to all those things from families and staff and the community, it seemed that what seemed to resonate the most was that they wanted their children to have less screen time and more social interaction,” Custis said. “They wanted them to have fresh air and sunshine and feel their hands in the dirt and the sun on their face.”

Kentucky Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher said the Agstream initiative fits well into the three main pillars of the Department of Education’s decision making: innovation, collaboration with community, and vibrant learning.

“How much more relevant can your learning in the classroom be than if you’re going straight out of your classroom into your community and applying what you’re learning in the classroom?” Fletcher said. “And that’s what you’re doing with agriculture. There is so much learning that’s going on day to day that is vibrant, that is relevant as it relates to agriculture.”

Learn more about resources being promoted during Ag Education Week at kyagr.com.