Hardin County Fiscal Court held their regularly scheduled meeting last night. It was shared during the meeting that during the wind storm on March 3, the county EMS received around 1,000 calls in just a few hours and the coordination and support from other departments helped with the response efforts. Magistrate Patsy Whitehead shared information to aid citizens in getting involved in county government through participation at the committee meetings. “Fiscal court is comprised of four committees. If a citizen would like to speak at one of those meetings, all they need to do is contact Fiscal Court, or if they know the committee chairperson, they can contact that magistrate and ask to be added to the agenda. This is the opportunity for our community to take part in what’s going on in Fiscal Court and to make a difference. If they want their voices to be heard, just reach out to us and we’ll be more than happy to add you to that meeting. And you’ll have an opportunity to speak,” said District 3 Magistrate Patsy Whitehead. Judge Executive Keith Taul has noted previously that concerns should be addressed through the committees prior to bringing them to Fiscal Court so information can be gathered to be able to speak on the subject. Committee meetings are listed on the Hardin County Government calendar. The next regularly scheduled Fiscal Court meeting will be on March 28 at 5:30 PM.
Roundabout construction continues around Elizabethtown and Hardin County. Dates for the Dolphin Drive and Josale Drive intersection closure have been changed to March 23 through April 6 due to the current extended weather forecast. On KY 251 at Pear Orchard, the center of the intersection has been closed as the removal of that portion is ongoing. Motorists traveling from French Street and Pear Orchard will now have to turn right at the intersection as the closure doesn’t allow for crossing of the intersection. The project completion for this location is around April 1. Construction on the large roundabout at the end of US 31W Bypass at KY 1136 has seen traffic working well but some adjustments will be taken to help with delays around school traffic. The Transportation Cabinet says a release will be issued in the coming days to address those changes.
Hardin County Schools will be hosting an information session tonight for those interested in the recently announced district teacher education initiative for students. “We will be having an information session at 6:00 PM at John Hardin High School to talk about our tuition assistance program for students who enter post-secondary teacher education programs in college. We announced an initiative last month that Hardin County Schools will pay up to $350 per credit hour to pay for their teacher education classes at any post-secondary education institution in Kentucky. This is our way of trying to combat the teacher shortage in our school,” stated spokesperson John Wright. Students who participate in this initiative will be contractually obligated to return to Hardin County Schools as a teacher for three years. Interested students are asked to attend with at least one parent or guardian and no RSVP is required.
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting in Cecilia Friday night. “Shortly before 11 PM on March of 10, we received a 911 call of a possible domestic violence and a shooting at a location on Hansborough Lane in Hardin County. Upon deputy’s arrival, they discovered one man that had been shot in his leg. An air ambulance was called. He was transported to University Hospital in Louisville with non-life threatening injuries. It was called into us as a domestic situation and at this time, that’s what it appears to have been. At this time, there’s no charges that have been filed,” stated Sheriff John Ward. The investigation is ongoing.
As communities continue to clean up after the wind storms from March 3, the City Of Elizabethtown has provided an update on their clean up efforts. “We had a tremendous week of storm debris cleanup from last Friday’s storm. As of Thursday, 623 loads had been taken to the city’s multipurpose storage facility. Four hundred fifty loads were collected by city personnel and 171 loads were delivered by city residents. As always we thank you in advance for your patience as we all continue to work together to clean up the city,” said spokesperson Amy Inman. The Multipurpose Storage Facility is located at 1600 Nicholas Street.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet wants to let motorists know that crews will be out over the days and weeks to come to remove trees from right-of-ways along roadways following the wind storm. “This is definitely a unique situation. Many times we have these weather events and we can pull resources or shift areas where we need to concentrate more heavily on cleaning up or clearing. But in this case, we had widespread damage over every county in the district. Our resources are spread thin, and it’s gonna take a while to get everything cleaned up,” said spokesperson Chris Jessie. Motorists should remain alert and pay close attention to flaggers in areas where crews are working.
The Elizabethtown Police Department wants to remind motorists about Kentucky’s Slow Down, Move Over law. “Most people are aware Kentucky law requires that they give way to any emergency vehicle being operated in an emergency response mode. Some however, are not aware that, when possible, they also have a statutory obligation to switch to a lane not adjacent to a stopped emergency safety or service vehicle with activated flashing lights. When switching lanes isn’t possible, motorists at a minimum must slow down when passing. Tragedies happen in a split second.The last thing we want is to have to tell someone’s family member that their loved one won’t be coming home because of a completely avoidable fatal collision. Please remember, slow down and move over,” said spokesperson Chris Denham. Motorists should also stop clear of intersections when an emergency vehicle is approaching and stay there until the vehicle has passed.