94.3 The Wolf

The Kentucky State Police honored 55 troopers from across the commonwealth during their 2023 Sworn Awards.

The KSP says the awards recognize the dedication, bravery, and extraordinary efforts of the more than 1,000 sworn personnel serving in the agency, the highest number of troopers employed since 2017.

Awards presented at the ceremony highlight the efforts of troopers during the year as well as individual acts of service.

From the local post, Detective Casey Keown was named Post Four Detective of the Year, and Trooper Chase Shouse was named Post Four Trooper of the Year.

Post Four Detective Anthony Hardin II was named the West Drug Enforcement and Special Investigations Unit Detective of the Year, as well as the overall KSP Detective of the Year.

Post Four Trooper Dillon Spencer, Detective Issac Atwell, and Sergeant Blake Owens received Citation for Bravery awards, while Trooper Blaine Miller received the Lifesaving Medal.

The KSP says in 2023 personnel responded to more than 407,000 requests for assistance and served other duties such as conducting wellness checks, assisting local law enforcement agencies, and continued to fight against the drug epidemic. 

A full list of award recipients can be found on the KSP website.

The Elizabethtown City Council and the Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau met for a joint meeting Monday to hear an update on the 10,000-seat amphitheater to be constructed at Buffalo Lake.

Brad Boaz with CMW Architects and Engineers walked through the design process for the venue to this point including decisions on location to lessen interstate and train noise, rigging to allow for flexibility in acts performing, and the arrangements for seating and facilities. Boaz says his catchphrase for the project is “It’s a walk in the woods.”

“We hope that as we go through this design that you’ll see that that’s really what we pushed, and we’re taking this piece of land out there in this undeveloped portion of E-Town and that even though we’re going to do a lot of construction, we’re going to change it so that at the end of the the day it really feels like you’re walking in the woods and you’re in this park even though it’s a venue that hosts a 10,000 seat concert experience,” Boaz said.

E-Town Tourism Executive Director Janna Clark said Elizabethtown is what the music industry would consider a “suburb venue,” so rather than directly competing with smaller venues in the area the goal is attract big-name talent in between shows at the larger venues in metro areas.

Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said he hates to lose the current mountain biking trails at Buffalo Lake, but pursuing the music venue allows the city to allow for likely development while having a say in what is to come, including new trails.

“Eventually, because that land is owned privately, and if we cut that road through there like what needed to be done probably 15, 20 years ago, then we were going to lose those trails regardless, so what this does is it gives us the opportunity to control that somewhat by purchasing the property and putting this facility on that site so we can have some say so of what it turns out to be,” Gregory said.

Hardin-ETown Stampede mountain bike team coach David Haines said he would like for the design team to meet with a national mountain biking expert, and with 4 to 5 miles of new trails incorporated into the design the buffalo lake site could have the potential for national-level competition.

The current design of the venue includes 4,000 seats and space for 6,000 people in the lawn, with restroom and concession facilities that would be available year-round.

A man from Vine Grove is dead following a crash in Breckinridge County Friday night.

The Kentucky State Police says at approximately 7:30 p.m. on September 20, the Breckinridge County Sheriff’s Office requested troopers from KSP Post Four investigate a two-vehicle collision near the 7,000 block of KY 333.

The KSP says the preliminary investigation shows that 18-year-old Kenenth R. Miller of Vine Grove was driving north on KY 333 when for unknown reasons he lost control of his vehicle, overcorrected, and crossed the centerline, traveling into the path of a truck being driven by Dennis Barnes of Vine Grove.

Miller was pronounced dead at the scene by the Breckinridge County Coroner’s Office. Barnes did not report any injuries. 

Miller’s obituary from the Alexander Funeral Home in Irvington notes that he was a 2024 graduate of Breckinridge County High School. 

KY 333 was closed for several hours to allow for accident reconstruction. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Election Day is November 5, and voters looking to request an absentee ballot may now do so as the state’s absentee ballot request portal opened Saturday.

“It will be open now through October 22, but don’t wait,” said Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith. “If you qualify for an absentee ballot, you can visit govote.ky.gov or you can call our election hotline at 270-765-6762.”

Qualifications for an absentee ballot are available on the Go Vote website.

There is still time to register to vote or to update your registration ahead of the election.

“That deadline is 4 p.m. on October 7,” Smith said. “We encourage everybody to visit govote.ky.gov and make sure everything is up to date – your address, your party affiliation, all of that is up to date by 4 p.m. on October 7.”

Ahead of the election, Smith says the clerk’s office has been reaching out to area schools in order to help teach about the importance of the right to vote.

“We’ve done voter registration drives,” Smith said. “We’ve helped with the student council elections in some schools, and we’ve held mock elections. We want to get the young people in our community excited about voting, so we hope when parents or grandparents vote, take your kids with you. It’s a great lesson that you can teach them.”

Contact your county clerk’s office for election questions.