94.3 The Wolf

Officials are still investigating after a woman was found dead in a residence last Thursday. Kentucky State Police say that 63-year-old Kathy Erbelding was found dead in a residence off of Wise Lane in Elizabethtown Thursday night. The victim was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound. According to the Hardin County Coroner’s Office, the Erbelding was shot twice. Jacob Lugmayer and Krystal Erbelding, the victim’s daughter, were subsequently arrested and charged with murder, robbery, and abuse of a corpse. Lugmayer was also charged with tampering with physical evidence. Both are being held on $250,000 cash bonds, and appeared in Hardin District Court this morning.

A child has died after officials say he suffered a gunshot wound at his home. Police say they were dispatched to a residence off of Woodland Drive late Sunday afternoon in response to a shooting. When police arrived, they found a 2-year-old child with a single gunshot wound. The child’s parents and siblings were in the home at the time of the incident. The child was transported to Hardin Memorial, where he was pronounced deceased. This is an ongoing investigation, and a decision will be made once the investigation is complete as to whether charges will be filed.

In his evening press conference last night, Governor Andy Beshear announced that there are now 5,130 cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Of these cases, 173 were newly confirmed on Saturday, and 80 were confirmed on Sunday. It is believed the 1,892 Kentuckians have recovered from the virus. On Saturday, five new deaths were reported, and on Sunday, for the first time in weeks, there were no new deaths reported. Governor Beshear urged Kentuckians who need to be tested for COVID-19 to take advantage of the drive-thru testing facilities around the state. He also called out those who signed up for tests and then did not show up for their testing time. The Governor announced in previous conferences that an increase in testing capacity would be required in order to further open Kentucky’s economy.

As the state begins phase one of reopening, local healthcare facilities have crafted their plan for re-launching their full line of services. Beginning this week, Hardin Memorial Health will start outpatient diagnostic radiology and lab services at the main campus and offsite locations. Select outpatient services, including some elective surgeries, will resume later this week in addition to other invasive procedures. HMH says they hope to return to normal volumes for in-patient surgeries by late May or early June.  

 In his evening press conference last night, Governor Andy Beshear announced that there

are 4,375 cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Of those cases, 230 were newly confirmed. It is believed that 1,617 have recovered from the virus. However, there were 12 new deaths announced on Tuesday, brining the state’s total to 225. One of the deceased announced on Tuesday was Lillian Press, who was 95 years old. A personal friend of the Governor’s, Press was credited for organizing and directing the Governor’s Scholarship Program. In addition, Governor Beshear explained the ten rules to reopening a business under the Healthy at Work plan. These rules are as follows: continue telework where possible, phase returns to work, onsite temperature and health checks, universal masks and PPE, closing of common areas, enforcing social distancing, limiting face to face meetings, establishing sanitizer and hand washing stations, providing special accommodations to those who are at risk, and creating a testing plan. The Governor noted that by May 11^th, everybody working for or visiting an essential business that is reopening should be wearing a mask.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident involving a car and a train in Rineyville last night. According to officials, the victims were two males whose ages are unknown at this time. Both were flown to U of L hospital, and their conditions are also unknown at this time. This is an ongoing investigation, and more information will be provided as it becomes available.

Kentucky’s Attorney General has called on Governor Andy Beshear to allow religious services to resume in the state. Attorney General Daniel Cameron made the announcement during a press conference outside the state capitol yesterday afternoon. Cameron went on to say that if Governor Beshear did not pull back the order that had prohibited in person services, the Attorney General’s office would file a lawsuit on whether Beshear’s order violated the first amendment. Cameron is already involved in a lawsuit against the Governor, which involves the constitutional basis of Beshear’s travel ban.

Like most schools in the region, West Point Independent Schools made the decision to cut school short this year. At a board meeting Tuesday night, the school calendar was amended to make May 15^th the final day for NTI instruction for students. Staff will still have to meet the days on their contract. While this is the final year of West Point Independent Schools, Breeding did say that end-of-year activities are still possible, but at a later date. The school announced that they would be merging with Hardin County Schools earlier this year. The city of West Point has been home to school since 1804.

An Elizabethtown man was arrested Tuesday after leading police on a brief pursuit. Officials were called to Panda Express on Ring Road around 4 PM in reference to a suspected impaired driver. Upon contact with police, the driver, Keith Ware, fled the area. Officers gave chase, and a police cruiser was struck in the chase. The suspect crashed into a fire hydrant at Towne Mall and fled on foot. After a brief struggle, Ware was apprehended in the parking lot of Towne Mall. Ware was arrested and faces several charges, including fleeing or evading police, wanton endangerment, and reckless driving. He was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.

Yesterday morning, the Elizabethtown Police Department responded to Freeman Lake in reference to a kayaker in distress. When they arrived, they observed an adult male in the water holding on to a kayak but unable to move. Officers jumped into the water and swam the victim to shore. Despite air temperatures being relatively warm, the water temperature was still cool and left the victim in a hypothermic state. The victim was transported to Hardin Memorial Health by Hardin County EMS and is expected to make a full recovery.

In his evening press conference last night, Governor Andy Beshear announced that there are now 4,146 cases of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. Of these cases, 87 were newly confirmed. It is believed that 1,521 people have recovered from the virus, however there were five new deaths reported on Monday, bringing the state’s total to 213. Doctor Steven Stack talked about further anticipated phases for reopening of various healthcare services. The next phase is expected to begin May 6^th. This will allow outpatient surgeries and other invasive procedures to resume, though there will be guidelines to be met. Facilities must have a fourteen-day supply of PPE available at all times, and must maintain a 30% bed capacity in case of a surge. Phase Three is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 13^th, and Phase Four is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 27^th. Any COVID-19 resurgence may require adjustment to the phased reopening. Governor Beshear announced that more industry reopening dates would be announced soon. The state is preparing to hire 700 people across the state to help with contact tracing going forward.

Hardin County Schools has made the decision to hold high school graduations next month, albeit in a different way. The district announced yesterday that the three high schools would be holding virtual graduations for the outgoing class of 2020. The district’s television partner HCEC-TV, will edit the ceremonies together to air on their originally scheduled dates. The district does hope to hold a formal graduation sometime into the next school year. Each ceremony will take place outside the respective high schools. Students will be able to bring no more than six guests with them. Details on how the virtual graduations will be conducted can be found on the Hardin County Schools website. In addition, the district will be lighting up their football stadiums from 8- 8:20 PM tonight to honor students, and welcomes residents in the county to light up their homes as well during this time.

West Point Independent Schools will be hosting a virtual meeting tonight, adhering to the Healthy at Home guidelines. Public comments for the meeting can be submitted via the school phone line at 6:00 PM. These comments will be read to the board during the public comments portion. The meeting will be available to view on YouTube.

Local cases of COVID-19 were not as numerous yesterday. The Lincoln Trail District Health Department reported just one additional case in their daily press release yesterday, bringing the district’s total to 94 positive cases. The sole case came out of Meade County, the location of the only COVID-19 related death locally. The health department said that of the 94 cases, 86 are either participating in home isolation or have been released.