WULF News

The alleged driver in a multi-county pursuit is in jail after a short hospital stay.

Joshua E. Arledge of Louisville was booked into the Hardin County Detention Center shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday after being transferred there by the Kentucky State Police from the University of Louisville Hospital.

According to the KSP, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office contacted KSP Post Four Sunday evening as they were pursuing a stolen vehicle heading west on the Bluegrass Parkway. The KSP took over the pursuit as the driver got on Interstate 65 North near Elizabethtown.

The driver exited I-65 at the Joe Prather Highway and drove towards Radcliff, with the pursuit ending on Patriot Lane when the suspect got out of the vehicle and then fled on foot. As officers set up a perimeter, the suspect was seen driving away in a semi-tractor trailer, heading back onto I-65 North.

Troopers successfully deployed stop sticks near the 117-mile marker, and the semi exited the interstate, pulled into a parking lot, and briefly traveled on East Blue Lick Road in Bullitt County before overturning in a wooded area. The suspect was apprehended with no further incident.

The suspect was transported to the University of Louisville Hospital by EMS after he supposedly ingested “an unknown substance believed to be heroin.” He was held for medical observation until his release and transfer to the detention center Tuesday, at which time the KSP identified the suspect as Joshua Arledge.

Arledge faces multiple charges including First Degree Fleeing and Evading, Receiving Stolen Property, and Theft, among other charges. A video arraignment hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning.

With the 2024 general election just over two months away, Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith said the May primary provided a good roadmap for preparations for November.

“Our general election plan looks a lot like it did in the May primary,” Smith said. “The difference is we’re beefing up the centers, having more clerks and more check-in stations, so check-ins should be, we hope, adequate.”

Smith discussed the November election during his report to the Hardin County Fiscal Court at their most recent meeting. The deadline to register to vote in the election is October 7, so Smith said don’t wait for the deadline when registering or updating your registration is easy.

“If you’ve moved in the last couple of years, just go on and check,” Smith said. “Make sure all of your information is accurate. We’ve had folks come in and change their party affiliation. That doesn’t impact how you can vote in the general election, but it will set you up for the next time we have a primary, so if you want to, do that as well.”

Smith said unlike some counties that are struggling to find poll workers, Hardin County actually has the opposite problem, but he said don’t hesitate to sign up if you are interested in helping out.

“If we can’t use you this time, we’ll keep you on the list for future reference,” Smith said. “We always set aside a number of alternates because 70 percent of our poll workers are 70 and above, and that’s the population that sometimes has surgery, injuries, and illness that kind of creep up unexpectedly, so if you get assigned to be an alternate, don’t be disappointed. We’ll probably end up calling you real early in the morning on Election Day.”

You can find information on working the polls via the new portal available on the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website, and you can find election information at govote.ky.gov.

The National Park Service says the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park has a positive impact on the surrounding community. 

A report from the NPS says nearly 240,000 visitors came to the historic park in 2023. The report indicates that visitors to the park spent just over $16 million in surrounding communities, which supported 242 area jobs and had an overall benefit to the local economy of $23.3 million.

The NPS says the historic park is part of a national parks system that welcomed more than 325 million visitors across the united states in 2023. Those visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks, supporting more than 415,000 jobs and creating an overall economic impact of $55.6 billion nationwide.

Stacy Humphreys, the park’s Chief of Interpretation and Resource Management, says the park offers two unique properties: Lincoln’s birthplace and his first childhood home.

“The two units of the park are separated by 10 miles, so if you go to the birthplace unit, all you have to do is follow U.S. 31E like you’re heading toward Bardstown and that will take you out to Knob Creek,” Humphreys said.

Learn more about the economic impact of the National Parks Service via their website, and learn more about the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park via its website and Facebook page.

American Legion Hardin Post 113 invites everybody to learn more about the American Legion at their open house, happening Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m.

“We are hosting an open house event to try and show members of the community and some of the younger active duty and recent vets and their families what American Legion is really about,” said Post 113 Adjunct Drew Chitty. “This event is open to all veterans, sons and daughters of veterans, grandchildren, spouses of veterans. You’ll really be surprised who qualifies as a member.”

He says Post 113 wants the public to see that the Legion isn’t just a place for veterans to sit and talk.

“The American Legion is the largest veterans organization in the world, and Post 113 here in Elizabethtown is the largest American Legion in the state of Kentucky,” Chitty said. “We offer so much more like porch parties, trivia nights, Pictionary, live music, karaoke, special events, dances, dance lessons every week. We have charitable gaming and bingo.”

The open house is also an opportunity for service members and families to connect with services they may not have known were available.

“Whether you served 40 years ago or you just recently got out or you’re still serving, we understand and we will do what we can to help,” Chitty said. “We also have one of the only nine accredited Veteran Service Officers in the state of Kentucky on site that will help with transitioning out of the military or for those who need help with filing or updating their VA benefits, free of charge.”

The open house will be followed by a free comedy show, and Chitty noted while the open house is family-friendly the comedy show is not. American Legion Hardin Post 113 is located at 1251 Ring Road in Elizabethtown.

Fort Knox is announcing gate closures ahead of Labor Day weekend.

According to the U.S. Army Fort Knox Facebook page, while the Chaffee Gate will remain open 24/7, the Brandenburg Gate will be closed Friday through Monday and the Wilson Gate will be closed Saturday through Monday. Additionally, the Chaffee Avenue on-ramps to U.S. 31W will be closed Saturday through Monday.

As Fort Knox celebrates Labor Day, an experience typically reserved for Memorial Day weekend will take place Sunday.

“The installation’s long-standing tradition of opening the post’s 121 cemeteries to the public annually has been rescheduled for Sunday, September 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” said Fort Knox Garrison Commander Colonel Chris Ricci. “Fort Knox is going to open several access points around the installation perimeter, welcoming visitors who wish to pay their respects to friends and family members that are interred here.”

Inclement weather Memorial Day canceled the usual cemetery visit day in May. Visitors are encouraged to pre-register online for their required pass onto Fort Knox. A cultural resources representative will be available at the Fort Knox visitors center to provide cemetery and access point information.