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KSP investigating after KYTC worker struck and killed

94.3 The Wolf

The Kentucky State Police is investigating after a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet contract worker was struck and killed in a vehicle collision Tuesday.

The KSP says at around 9 a.m. on April 23 troopers were requested by LaRue County Dispatch to investigate a collision involving a van and a highway worker. The KSP says the preliminary investigation shows that Henry T. James of Louisville was driving a van east on KY-210/Old Elizabethtown Road when he entered a portion of the roadway reduced to one lane for maintenance operations. James failed to observe 22-year-old Blake Barnes of Elizabethtown, who was flagging eastbound traffic. 

The van struck Barnes near the 3100 block of KY-210. Barnes was pronounced dead at the scene by the LaRue County Coroner’s Office.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet released a statement following Barnes’s death which states: “Our hearts ache for the loss of a transportation team member today. We extend our sincere condolences to all those impacted by this tragedy. Please join us in lifting up the families, friends and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers. The safety and well-being of all employees is a top priority, and we are working with authorities as they review the incident.”

The road was closed for nearly 5 hours for accident reconstruction. The investigation is ongoing.

Hardin County Fiscal Court meets

94.3 The Wolf

The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

Hardin County Attorney Jenny Oldham introduced Hayley Hoover with Volunteers of America, which will be helping to run the Hardin County Family Recovery Court. Hoover said Family Recovery Court is a collaborative process meant to help support families struggling with parental substance use disorder.

“The hope of FRC, as we call it, is to help reunite families faster, get the cases through court quicker, and help really sustain long-term sobriety for our parents who are struggling with substance use disorder that have children,” Hoover said.

The fiscal court approved a resolution that will allott $60,000 a year for five years to VOA to run the Family Recovery Court, with those funds coming from the county’s Phase One Opioid Settlement funds.

In other meeting news, Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore reported on his office’s first quarter, with 301 cases responded to including two homicides. Hardin County Sheriff John Ward said in February and March his office made 199 arrests, issued 251 citations, and opened 75 criminal cases. Ward discussed some of the more high-profile incidents including the string of bomb threats made at the BlueOval SK construction site.

“We work with those in charge on scene there and give them some advice on how to handle security a little differently, and they’re not paying their workers,” Ward said. “If there’s a bomb threat and they send the workers home, they don’t continue to get paid, and for some strange reason, the bomb threats have slowed down. So go figure.”

The county’s next town hall forum will be held at 5:30 p.m. on April 30 in the fiscal courtroom. The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet for a regular meeting on May 14.

More than 6,000 lose power in E-Town Tuesday

94.3 The Wolf

Elizabethtown saw traffic delays and other disruptions Tuesday during a widespread power outage. 

The outage area covered Dixie Avenue from around Mulberry Street to around Veterans Way, Mulberry Street from downtown E-Town to Ring Road, and neighborhoods west of the Elizabethtown Bypass. At one point, more than 6,000 Kentucky Utilities customers were without power. The outage began at around 10:30 a.m. and power was restored to affected customers by around 2 p.m.

Several area businesses and organizations had services disrupted by the outage, including Quicksie and The Wolf which were both briefly off the air. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College closed campus for the afternoon.

Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer John Thomas said EPD officers manned intersections that were without power as available, and Thomas took to Facebook with a friendly reminder for drivers.

“We’re getting lots of complaints about intersections without power and people just running through them willy-nilly,” Thomas said. “Look, when you come to an intersection that has no power, the traffic lights are out, treat it as a four-way stop, an all-way stop. Everyone has to come to a stop. That is not optional, people. No power at the intersection, everyone stops.”

Kentucky Utilities has not yet responded to a request for information on the cause of the outage.

City of Elizabethtown giving away free trees for Arbor Day

94.3 The Wolf

Arbor Day will be observed this Friday, April 26, and the City of Elizabethtown is ready to help you celebrate.

“The city’s Park and Recreation team is celebrating all week long,” said E-Town Public Relations Officer Amy Inman. “A tree can be picked up at Pritchard Community Center between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.”

All available trees are bare-root trees and are free to the public.

“Varieties include swamp chestnut, black walnut, and pecan,” Inman said. “We really love big trees here in our community, so stop by today to pick up yours.”

Contact the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for more information.

Elizabethtown City Council meets for work session

94.3 The Wolf

The Elizabethtown City Council met for a work session Monday evening.

Helping Hand of Hope Executive Director Hope Burke gave the council the organization’s 2023 impact report. Burke said the organization is asking the city to allot $5,000 to them in the upcoming budget. Burke said Helping Hand of Hope has never asked for financial support from the city before, but demand has been increasing on a month to month basis.

“The people that are coming to us, I know sometimes there is that misunderstanding of ‘oh, they’re just, you know, riding the system’ or ‘oh, they really don’t need this assistance,’ but they truly do,” Burke said “We have seniors that’s rent has increased anywhere from $300 to $500 a month. We have single parents that are working, actually making $20 an hour, and still can’t afford their rent with childcare, food, and everything else like that.”

Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory told Burke the city appreciates the efforts of the organization and the burden that has taken off the city.

E-Town Natural Gas Department Director Matthew Hobbes gave a department update. Hobbes said the department has been busy with several capital projects. Hobbes said project costs and increased employee pay means the city will likely need to consider a rate increase soon.

“I wouldn’t come saying that we need to raise rates unless the writing was on the wall, and it’s looking like that time is about now where we need to be doing something before you get so low that you can’t comfortably operate, so I think we need to look at our tap fees,” Hobbes said. “I think we need to look at what we’re charging for the gas going through the meters, and what you’re charging for just everyday work.”

Representatives from RSA Financial Advisors gave a presentation to the council on the status of the current market and possible financing solutions for the city, including revenue bond services. Gregory said the city’s contribution to the Buffalo Lake concert venue the city is partnering with the E-Town Tourism and Convention Bureau on will likely be paid using bonds.

The city council and the tourism bureau will meet for a joint meeting Thursday which will be followed by a groundbreaking for the Buffalo Trail Phase One project. After budget meetings start on May 6, the Elizabethtown City Council will next meet in a special meeting on May 13.

Abound, Baptist Health Hardin partner for Radcliff family medical facility

94.3 The Wolf

Area business and government officials were on hand Monday for the official reopening of the Baptist Health Medical Group Family Medicine Facility in Radcliff.

Baptist Health says the facility, located at 1679 North Wilson Road just outside the Fort Knox Wilson Gate, will provide patients with primary care, behavioral health care, and connections to social services.

Baptist Health Hardin President and CEO Rob Ramey said the facility has been several years in the making, the product of several conversations about how to best serve the community’s healthcare needs.

“Primary care is wonderful,” Ramey said. “We have to have the foundation of primary care for our community, but we need to support that more effectively, so the vision here was how do we add behavioral health for our community as well? How do we add a licensed clinical social worker so that he or she can help patients navigate the complex realities of healthcare and try to find the resources and the services that are available to truly help them improve their health and continue on that journey?”

The project was made possible by the financial support of Abound Credit Union. Abound President and CEO Ray Springsteen said Abound began working with entities such as Baptist Health Hardin and officials like Kentucky Second District Congressman Brett Guthrie on the facility as they saw a natural link between financial health and physical health.

“Whenever you’re looking to have problems to solve, you need great partners,” Springsteen said. “One of the things that I love about the community that I live in is that when we want to try to figure something out, we come together. You need great teams for that. I think that’s exactly what we found with Baptist Health, and certainly with Congressman Guthrie, and finding ways to support this.”

Contact Baptist Health Hardin for more information on the family medicine facility.

Defense for Joseph Lawson asking for separate trial

94.3 The Wolf

One of the suspects charged in the Crystal Rogers investigation is asking to be tried separately from the other suspects.

The defense for Joseph Lawson has filed a Motion for Severance of Co-Defendants or Exclusion of Co-Defendant’s Statements with the Nelson Circuit Court. The motion calls for Lawson to be tried in a separate trial from Steven Lawson and Brooks Houck, or to have out-of-trial testimonials from Houck and Steven Lawson be excluded.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young previously filed a motion to try all three suspects in the same trial. The Motion for Severance states that the introduction of out-of-court statements denies Joseph Lawson’s right to cross-examination and would therefore deny him his right to present a defense. The filing also states concern for the potential for conflicting defenses and strategies between the defendants, which could potentially confuse the jury.

The motion will be discussed during the next pre-trial conference in the case, which is scheduled for June 13. Progress on finding a new venue for the trial will be discussed at a hearing on May 1.

Lincoln Birthplace park hosting free Shakespeare performance

94.3 The Wolf

The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park is hosting a performance of one of the 16th president’s favorites. 

Kentucky Shakespeare will be performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream Thursday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. The performance will be staged at the bottom of the Memorial Building steps near the flagpole, with visitors seated on the steps.

The historical park says the 80-minute performance celebrates Abraham Lincoln’s love of Shakespeare, which began with pieces of the Bard’s work found in books Lincoln read as a child and continued into his adult years, with Shakespeare’s works included in Lincoln’s personal collection at the White House.

The event is free and open to the public. Visitors are asked to arrive at least five minutes prior to the start of the show and are encouraged to bring blankets, cushions, and bug spray. The park’s visitor’s center and library will be open prior to the performance.

Visit the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park Facebook page for more information and updates.