Fourqurean said that the Ham Festival has paid half of the costs for the Extension office’s festival events for many years. This includes the Youth Livestock Show, which has typically taken place after the Kentucky State Fair, as well as ham contest, Homemakers contests, the pony pull, the youth ham auction, FCCLA exhibits and much more. 4-H Agent Janeen Tramble told The Cadiz Record that she usually gets the funding for all the events from the Ham Festival Committee, and that she then fills out forms to get a matching grant from the state. The amount needed varies from year to year depending on the number of entries in the contests, Fourqurean said.
Fourqurean told the council that he had been unaware that there was a problem until Tramble went to the city about a month ago requesting $3,000 for the youth livestock show. He said the Kentucky Department of Agriculture had approved them for matching funds on the “split dates” of the livestock show and events to take place during or near the Ham Festival.
“About a month ago, our 4-H agent, Janeen Tramble, met with the mayor and others and was told that they would not be supporting the youth livestock show because it did not happen within three days of the Ham Festival in downtown Cadiz,” Fourqurean said. “We have been holding the youth livestock show at a different date for many years. I, and many others, were under the impression that when the city took over the Ham Festival Committee, nothing was going to change,” Fourqurean said.
Read more about the Ham Festival's decision in this week's Cadiz Record.
