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State partnership will allow for free document digitization

94.3 The Wolf

A new state partnership will help with preserving important documents and records for Kentuckians. 

The Commonwealth is partnering with FamilySearch in order to digitize “tens of thousands of primary records such as birth, death, and marriage certificates that are currently on microfilm reels.”

The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives along with volunteers with the Kentucky Genealogical Society will be reaching out to county clerks to notify them of the opportunity to have records digitized free of charge by FamilySearch. The county clerk offices will receive copies of the digitized records and FamilySearch will post copies to their free online database.

The KDLA says local records such as marriage licenses and land ownership records date back to each county’s establishment, resulting in some of the most continuous sources for families researching their histories. The KDLA also says the partnership with FamilySearch increases public access to the documents, which they hope will increase interest and awareness in the historic nature of these records.

Visit the KDLA on the web for more information.

SOS office launches poll worker registration portal

94.3 The Wolf

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office is making it easier for people looking to help with the state’s elections to get involved.

Secretary of State Michael Adams announced this week the launch of a new Poll Worker Recruitment Portal, which allows volunteers to sign up and get connected with their local county clerk.

Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith says working the polls is a great show of civic duty, and the county needs a strong team come Election Day.

“We’re going to need a little over 200 poll workers,” Smith said. “We need Republicans, Democrats, and independents. The easiest way for folks to sign up is govote.ky.gov or they can call our office at 270-765-6762.”

Smith says getting started on being a poll worker is an easy process.

“Any registered voter in Hardin County qualifies to serve as a poll worker,” Smith said. “If you’ve never served before, don’t worry, we train you, and we’d love to have you. We always have, every year, a few poll workers who sort of age out. They tell us they can’t keep up with the long, long day, so we’re looking to recruit not only poll workers for this election, but for the next generation of elections.”

Poll workers must be available to attend training and work all day on Election Day. Contact your county clerk’s office for more information. The deadline to register to vote is October 7.

Meade County Schools will serve free breakfast and lunch for all students; asst. superintendent recognized

94.3 The Wolf

As Meade County Schools gears up for the new school year, the district has announced an exciting way to support its families.

The district will once again be able to offer all students free breakfast and lunch, provided through the USDA’s National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.

Meade County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Martin says taking the financial burden off families gives students a better chance at success.

“You’ve got to take care of the basic needs first,” Martin said. “You’ve got to talk about safety, make sure kids are fed, loved, and it’s difficult being a parent. It always has been, but just with the recent years and the amount of inflation that we’ve experienced across the country and here locally, it definitely is removing a cost for our families so those dollars can be best used for their son or daughter in other ways.”

Martin says the numbers show how important making meals available to all students is.

“Last year alone, during the 2023-2024 school year, we served over 1.1 million meals, and we also continue that feeding throughout the summer, and just this recent summer that we’re concluding we served almost 100,000 meals to families across all of our communities in Meade County,” Martin said.

Meade County Schools is also celebrating recognition for one of its administrators as Assistant Superintendent Marc Adams was named District Level Administrator of the Year by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators.

“He’s been in Meade County Schools for 20 years,” Martin said. “He started out as an agricultural teacher. He’s been an elementary principal or high school principal and has been at the district office for a number of years now, and it couldn’t go to a better person. Yes, he’s helped us accomplish so much for students, but he leads with his heart and he is a fixture in our community.”

The first day of classes for Meade County Schools is August 7.

Public meeting on U.S. 62 improvements set for Aug. 13

94.3 The Wolf

Area residents will have the opportunity to provide feedback on upcoming road work in Elizabethtown.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will host a public meeting on Tuesday, August 13 to present design alternatives that will address congestion and safety within the U.S. 62 interstate interchange corridor with improvements for intersections and accommodations for pedestrians. 

The meeting will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on August 13 at the Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau, located at 1030 North Mulberry Street.

“With continued growth of the area, more traffic, more congestion, this public meeting is going to feature some ideas, alternatives to offset that, and we know it’s only going to increase,” said KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie. “We have to plan now, trying to stay ahead of that curve, and again we’re going to present some ideas for intersections and just the corridor as a whole out on the interstate end of U.S. 62 for improvements.”

The meeting will be an open-house format with no formal presentation. Residents can stop by any time to review displays, ask questions, and discuss the design alternatives with officials. Meeting accommodations can be made by reaching out to Kevin Blair at KYTC District Four (270-766-5066).

More information on the project and a survey link for anybody that wants to provide feedback but is unable to attend the meeting in person can be found at www.drive62.com.

Raft Up event at Nolin River Lake nets $60K for charity

94.3 The Wolf

Raft Up Nolin Lake Event Coordinator Brent Schaber says the annual Raft Up event at Nolin River Lake has turned into a strong annual fundraiser.

“Raft Up is a charity event that we host annually,” Schaber said. “We help support the local community down around the lake, covering Grayson County, Hart County, and Edmonson County, to try to help support the youth around the community.”

This year’s Raft Up event, which was held in late July, turned out to be one of the most successful editions yet.

“Our goal was set at $60,000 this year, and we’re finalizing the numbers and we should be able to hit our target number this year, $60,000,” Schaber said.

The event includes an auction and prizes for costumes and boat decorating, as well as a good time for friends and family to come together. Schaber says the funds raised at the Raft Up are able to go towards a variety of programs.

“The local sheriff’s department, they run a Behind the Badge Program,” Schaber said. “Edmonson County, they run a Christmas program. We help with the local schools. We’re branching out this year to create some more options with the amount of money we’ve raised. It keeps growing every year we’re branching out to help support more of the local communities.”

Visit the Nolin Lake Unofficial Raft Up Facebook page for more information.

Upton man killed in alleged hit and run

94.3 The Wolf

A 71-year-old man is dead and another man is in jail following an alleged hit and run incident in Upton Wednesday.

“At 11:53 a.m., a 911 call was received of a vehicle versus pedestrian accident on U.S. 31W in Upton,” said Hardin County Sheriff John Ward. “Upton Volunteer Fire Department personnel were on scene first and found a 71-year-old male from Upton had been struck by a vehicle. The vehicle was no longer at the scene. The vehicle left the scene.”

The victim was tended to by EMS, however he was later pronounced dead by the Hardin County Coroner’s Office.

Deputies began investigating the incident, and through cameras available at the scene the suspect vehicle was identified and later located about two miles into Hart County on 31W, where Ward said it appeared that the driver had attempted to put the vehicle into a barn.

“Our deputies and the Hart County Sheriff’s Office approached the vehicle and found a gentleman, and he was arrested for DUI and lodged in the Hart County Jail,” Ward said. “He also has pending charges coming from out of Hardin County.”

Ward later identified the victim as 71-year-old Pete Hawk of Upton and the accused driver as Matthew Bush. The crash remains under investigation.

Kiwanis Club pancake breakfast this Saturday

94.3 The Wolf

You can eat good food for a good cause this Saturday morning.

Kiwanis Club of Hardin County will be hosting their annual all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast Saturday, August 3 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.

“We have a change of venue this year,” said Kiwanis Club President Hunter Hammer. “It’s at Memorial Methodist Church at 631 North Miles Street here in E-Town. It’s all you can eat pancakes, and that does include a side of eggs and sausage and a drink of your choice.”

Tickets are $5 for kids 10 and under, and $10 for everybody ages 11 and up.

Hammer says outside of their annual gala the pancake breakfast is the club’s largest fundraising effort each year.

“The portion of the pancake breakfast this year will be going to purchase an AmTryke for a child in Hardin County, and if you’re not familiar, AmTryke are adaptable bicycles for kids who have a variety of physical disabilities,” Hammer said.

Hammer says the Kiwanis Club is proud to offer this annual event both in order to support their mission and to connect with the community.

“We have a lot of veteran pancake flippers, pancake makers,” Hammer said. “They have special aprons. They’re great at what they do. Luckily, we have a lot of local vendors and partners that donate all the items that we need, so we’re very appreciative for that, and so it’s just a great time to sit and eat breakfast with some friends and bring your family, bring your kids.”

Kiwanis Club of Hardin County focuses on supporting area children through programming and partner organizations. Learn more about Kiwanis and find more details on Saturday’s pancake breakfast by finding the Kiwanis Club of Hardin County Facebook page.

Lane closures scheduled for I-65 over Salt River in Bullitt County

94.3 The Wolf

Daily lane closures will begin on Interstate 65 in Bullitt County today.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says KYTC engineers will be performing routine hands-on inspection of the I-65 bridge over Salt River near mile marker 116. The bridge deck will also be cleaned, requiring additional lane closures.

The right lane of I-65 South at the bridge will be closed from 9 to 11 a.m. today, then the northbound lane will be closed from 12 to 3 p.m. The right lane will then be closed Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the northbound lane will be closed Wednesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Motorists should always use caution when approaching a work zone and look for signage. Visit the KYTC on the web for more information.

Tuesday storm knocks out power for more than 4,300 residences

94.3 The Wolf

A strong storm cell that blew through the area Tuesday resulted in widespread power outages and extensive restoration work for Nolin RECC crews.

Nolin RECC Communications Manager Sarah Fellows says the storm that came through did a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

“At the peak there were about 4,300 members without power, and that was really spread across our entire service territory,” Fellows said. “It wasn’t isolated in one area, and because of the widespread nature of that damage, we could see full restoration taking a couple of days, so some members may expect to be without power at least through tomorrow or longer depending on where we find the damage across our system.”

Nolin crews had reduced the number of members without power to about 1,600 by late Tuesday afternoon. You can stay updated on the outages by staying connected via the web.

“We do post updates regularly to our social media channels, especially as we get new information in from the field to be able to update our members, and we also have a real time outage map that can be found at NolinRECC.com,” Fellows said.

The power outages postponed the open house scheduled for West Hardin Middle School seventh and eighth grade families, which has been rescheduled for Wednesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m.

“It will be a staggered open house,” said Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright. “Students with last names beginning A through M are asked to attend from 6 to 7 p.m., and then students with last names N through Z are asked to attend from 7 to 8 p.m. The sixth grade Laker Fun Day will still take place on Wednesday the 31st from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Of course, all of that will take place at West Hardin Middle School.”

Watch for downed trees as a result of the storm, and always stay away from downed power lines.

LaRue County Chamber hosting Back to School Bash this Friday

94.3 The Wolf

LaRue County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sandy Kidd says area families are invited to come out to a fun event this Friday.

“We have our Back to School Bash that begins at 5:45 p.m. and runs until 7:15 or whenever the school supplies run out,” Kidd said. “We do have a lot of folks that come out for this event so that is possible that we run out of supplies, so be there early.”

Participating businesses and organizations will set up in both directions around Lincoln Square. The event will also feature music and food.

“At 7.30 p.m., the Dylan West Band will be performing until 10.30,” Kidd said. “There’ll be food trucks available, so don’t come having already eaten. You’ll want to eat there, and there’ll be plenty of choices.”

The LaRue County Schools Child Nutrition Program will also be set up at the event to provide free meals for children 18 and younger.

Kidd says the evening promises to be a fun one.

“We will have some giveaways as well, so you’ll see me in the center circle and I’ll give kids a ticket and we have lots of giveaways beyond the school supply giveaways, so we have lots going on and we invite the community and the public to come out and enjoy it.”

Businesses interested in participating, or folks looking for more information, can visit the LaRue County Chamber of Commerce’s website or Facebook page.