Barren County discusses the settlement of 30 refugees

BARREN COUNTY, Ky. – Citizens packed a Barren County Fiscal Court meeting on Monday night. The nonprofit, Refuge Bowling Green plans on helping thirty refugees settle in Barren County, and a number of unanswered questions has citizens concerned.

Barren County resident, David Dickerson says, “It’s instinctive in humanity that the unknown is something to avoid. Unknowns are dangerous. We don’t need more dangerous things in this world today.”

Refuge Bowling Green says the refugees have all been vetted and are escaping life threatening situations in Latin America, but the nonprofit doesn’t know the ages or the nationalities of these people. It will be their job to help the refugees become contributing members of the community.

An administrator with Refuge Bowling Green, Alice Tarnagda says, “It’s a huge goal for us to make sure that people are not on government assistance, that they have a job that enables them to provide enough income to take care of their family.”

Refuge Bowling Green said they don’t want to bring the group to Barren County unless they will be welcomed. The fiscal court didn’t take action on the refugees on Monday, but just wanted to get more information on them.

Barren County Judge Executive, Jaimie Byrd says, “You know, we’re a welcoming community. Barren County is a great place to live. We just want to make sure things are done right and that we can protect our county. Going forward, we know what to plan for and just kind of get ahead of the game.”