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94.3 The Wolf

Country That’ll Make You Howl!

Work begins on 31-W/KY 218 connector in Horse Cave

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Excavation and ground clearing work has begun on the new connector between U.S. 31-W and Kentucky Route 218 in Horse Cave.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says the connector will help relieve issues with truck traffic at the intersection between the two roads in downtown Horse Cave and the adjacent KY 218 railroad crossing. The connector will also provide better access to and from Interstate 65 and industrial facilities, will reduce the potential for railroad crossing collisions, and will reduce wear and tear on existing streets.

“With that connector being a new route, there really won’t be continual impacts to traffic through there, so that’s good news for folks traveling on KY 218 and 31-W,” said KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie. “There will be intermittent impacts to KY 335 traffic through there. That’s where most of the construction vehicles will be entering and exiting. It’s going to take this year and next year to get it complete, but when it’s all said and done, it’s going to be a lot better in downtown Horse Cave, getting that heavy truck traffic out of that area.”

Scotty’s Contracting and Stone LLC was awarded the $8.85 million contract for the project in January. The completion date specified in the contract is June 30, 2025.

Hardin County Water District No. 2 warns against third party payment websites

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Hardin County Water District No. 2 is cautioning customers about using a third party to make bill payments.

“We just want to caution customers to make sure that they know whose website they’re on when they try to make a payment,” said HCWD No. 2 General Manager Shaun Youravich. 

Doxo is a third party website and is not affiliated with the water district, but when you search the water district online the Doxo website pops up with wording that customers might take to mean implies a direct link to the water district.

Because a payment through Doxo is not a direct payment, the water district may not receive your payment quickly, which can result in frustration and fees for customers.

“We may not see the payment for seven to ten days, if at all,” Youravich said. “So yes, a customer could be subject to disconnect for non-payment if that payment shows up after the due date.”

The water district says many utilities nationwide have issued similar warnings. Youravich reminds customers that going direct is your best bet.

“We certainly encourage customers to make sure that they go directly to our website if they’re trying to make a payment online, but the best option is through ACH, where the payment is automatically drafted,” Youravich said.

Contact Hardin County Water District No. 2 for more information.

State seeking input on future of rail industry in Kentucky

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The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet invites rail users, business owners, or people simply interested in transportation to provide input on the 2024 Kentucky Statewide Rail Plan.

The transportation cabinet says the Statewide Rail plan is a “high-level guidance document that provides a snapshot of current operations and opportunities to increase Kentucky’s economic growth and improve quality of life.” The plan will include identified rail needs, opportunities, potential investments, and improvements for both passenger and freight operations.

The transportation cabinet is hosting three open houses in order for those interested to see previous development work on the plan and provide input, with the nearest meeting to the area being Tuesday, March 12 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Union Station in Louisville. Anybody unable to attend but still interested in reviewing the plan and providing feedback can visit kyrailplan.com.

Campbellsville University murder suspect appears in court

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The Campbellsville University student charged with the murder of another student was in court Wednesday morning.

Charles E. Escalera appeared via Zoom in Taylor County District Court for a preliminary hearing. Escalera is charged with Murder in the death of 18-year-old Josiah Kilman on February 24.

Detective Jeremy Burton with the Campbellsville Police Department was called to testify. Burton said Escalera was interviewed at the police station at around 6:30 p.m. the day of the murder, and after being administered his Miranda rights admitted to taking a life and fleeing the scene. Burton said an audio and video recording of the interview, which lasted about an hour and ended when Escalera requested a lawyer, was recorded.

Burton said surveillance video from the dorm building both Escalera and Kilman lived in showed Escalera enter wearing a backpack and exiting without it, and a backpack belonging to Escalera was found in Kilman’s room.

Burton said there were no known problems between Escalera and Kilman, and there were no other persons of interest in the case. When asked if police had responded to any other incidents at the university involving Escalera, Burton said the CPD was contacted on February 20 regarding an incident in the cafeteria in which Escalera was reportedly acting strangely. Burton said Escalera was taken to the hospital for observation and believed he was released later that day. Burton said the CPD’s investigation is ongoing.

The judge said probable cause existed to present the case to a grand jury. Escalera remains in custody at the Taylor County Detention Center where he is being held on a $2 million bond.

Lawyer for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Steven Lawson files motion to dismiss

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One of the suspects charged in the Crystal Rogers investigation is asking the Nelson Circuit Court to dismiss the charges against him.

A motion to dismiss was filed with the court on March 5 for Steven Lawson by attorney Theodore Lavit. Lawson is charged with Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence.

The filing states that Lawson, by counsel, will “move the court to dismiss these indictments as Mr. Lawson was promised immunity in exchange for his cooperation. In the alternative, Mr. Lawson moves to suppress all statements made to the Kentucky State Police and the Nelson County Grand Jury from June 8, 2023, to the present.”

The filing includes transcripts of several conversations between Lawson and law enforcement and Special Prosecutor Shane Young. Lavit says in the filing that he argues that Lawson submitted to the interviews he gave with law enforcement based on the offer of immunity, stating “the Court should not permit the Commonwealth to welsh on its promise of immunity.”

The filing states that Lawson’s defense will argue the motion during a hearing on March 21.

ECTC looking at individual and community impact with annual report

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An impact study conducted by the Kentucky Career and Technical College System shows that Elizabethtown Community and Technical College had a positive impact of $176.5 million on the Lincoln Trail District.

“Every dollar that a student spends with us, they get an annual return of $5.90 because of that dollar, and that’s a great annual return on that,” said ECTC President Dr. Juston Pate. “The region actually sees a $10.90 addition for every dollar that is spent at ECTC.”

The college’s annual report for 2023 states that ECTC provided more than 15,800 hours of training for more than 3,100 regional employees. Pate says the impact of ECTC is evident in individuals and the community.

“We think a lot about the individual value that the college adds, and that is our mission,” Pate said. “Our mission is to add value to the lives of our students and then return that value to the community, but it doesn’t stop there, and that’s what I think this impact study kind of shows is through that additional value all of those students do go back out into the community and what is returned to the community is exponentially greater than that individual value.”

ECTC supported students with more than $185,000 in scholarships and $1.5 million in Work Ready Kentucky scholarship funds. More than 1,000 students benefited from more than $28,000 in support through Family Scholar House.

Pate says there is still time this week for anybody looking to begin, continue, or start again on their education to sign up for the second eight-week session of the spring semester, and staff at ECTC are ready to help.

“Things are really getting streamlined,” Pate said. “We still have Work Ready Kentucky scholarship money available, a lot of other scholarships in the college, so really there’s no barrier to anyone who would want to start right now. There’s no barrier that would keep them from starting.”

Visit www.elizabethtown.kctcs.edu for more information.