WULF News

You can help sustain the Kentucky wild turkey population by being an extra set of eyes for the state’s biologists.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife asks anyone who spots wild turkeys in July and August to report them through the Summer Turkey Online Survey Portal.

KFW says data collected through the survey helps the department better understand turkey population trends over time. Data from the survey is used to index the hatch and survival rate of young turkeys in order to assess reproductive success, which in turn influences limits set for turkey hunting season in order to help sustain the state’s turkey population.

The turkey population is studied by department biologists and graduate student researchers, and volunteers allow staff to expand the survey area. The survey gives the researchers insight into issues facing the turkey population such as habitat destruction, predation, and disease.

The online survey portal can be found at fw.ky.gov. A printable survey form may also be downloaded that a participant can then fill out and take a picture of to email back to KFW.

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

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District Four Chief District Engineer Brad Bottoms and Branch Manager for Construction and Maintenance Bow Warren presented on the county roads that will receive maintenance using funds from the state’s Rural Secondary Road Program. Warren said 22.2 percent of the state’s Motor Fuel Tax receipts go to the program, with the funds allocated to the counties using a five-point formula.

“That formula is based on one-fifth equally among all counties, one-fifth based on the rural population, one-fifth based on the road miles, and two-fifths based on the land area, and then once that money is allocated to a county it cannot be transferred to any other county,” Warren said.

The program targets rural roads that are marked as secondary routes in a county. Bottoms said with 164 secondary miles in Hardin County, the funds have to go where they are most needed.

“Our guys in the county have a pretty good idea, Bow and his staff, of what roads are in need, so we kind of triage these,” Bottoms said. “We tend to pick the worst roads out of this rural secondary set of roadways every year that this pot of money comes up.”

Hardin County will receive a little more than $2 million in funds that will go towards asphalt resurfacing of a little more than 10 miles of roadway on portions of Rineyville Big Springs Road, Valley Creek Road, and South and North Long Grove Drive.

Hardin County Public Works Director Stephanie Givens reported that the county made 32 recycling trailer runs in May and 33 in June, with more than 323 tons of materials collected year to date. Givens said the county was excited to partner with Radcliff City Hall to place a recycling trailer in Radcliff city limits for the first time. It is located at 610 South Wilson Road.

“I will say that it is being utilized a lot right now, which is great,” Givens said. “It was there for seven days and on Monday it was overflowing when we came back in after the holiday, so they are using it, the people are liking it. They’re doing a really good job down there partnering with the City Hall and Public Works Department down there.”

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet July 23.

The fun continues today at the Hardin County Fairgrounds as the 2024 Hardin County Fair rolls on.

Wednesday will feature the Youth Beef Cattle Show, which will be held at 6 p.m. at the livestock pavilion. 

In addition to great food at the restaurant and from vendors, adorable animals at the petting zoo, and exciting rides at the midway, Wednesday will feature the 2024 Miss Pre-Teen Hardin County Fair Pageant, which will be held at the pageant building at 7 p.m. UCW Wrestling will take it to the mat at 7 p.m. for their second night of wrestling. The KTPA Tractor and Truck Pull will be held at the motorsports track at 7:30 p.m. From 6 to 10 p.m., you’ll be able to take a free monster truck ride at the motorsports track, and don’t miss the big monster truck show at the motorsports track at 9:30.

Wednesday is Ride-Wright Tire Night at the fairgrounds. Stop by Ride-Wright Tire or visit their website for a coupon to get $1 off the $15 admission price.

The Hardin County Fair has lots to offer for everybody, and as Fair Board President Marty Fulkerson says: “It’s 61 years of the most fun you can have with your shoes on!”

Recapping some previous fair activity, the 2024 Miss Teen Hardin County Fair PAgeant was held Tuesday evening. Kearsten Williams was crowned as Miss Teen Hardin County, with Payton Allen named first runner-up and Ava Marie Elmore named second runner-up. Brittany and Adalyn Stout won the Parent/Child Look-Alike Contest Monday, and winners from Monday’s Demolition Derby were Hunter McQueary in the Built Big Cars division, Michael Kerr in the SS Rumble division, BJ Passmore in the Small Stock division, and Taylor Smith in the Lawnmower division.

Find the complete schedule on the Hardin County Fair website or Facebook page.

Kentuckians seeking to enter the workforce now have free access to an online learning program to help them prepare for jobs in several high-demand industries.

Governor Andy Beshear announced on Monday that a $5 million federal Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training grant will allow the state to offer free access to the Ready for Industry program.

According to the governor’s office, each Ready for Industry course is “15 to 20 hours of instruction designed to help jobseekers understand what it’s like to work in several high-demand industries like manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, transportation, distribution and logistics, and architecture and construction.” The program teaches participants on topics such as common terminology, career pathways, workplace expectations, and education.

Kentucky is the fifth state in the country that will provide free access to the program as the state aims to enhance its economic landscape by improving the skill sets of employees, job candidates, and students.

Organizations interested in becoming a Ready for Industry partner can visit readyforindustry.com/ky or visit their local Kentucky Career Center. Individuals interested in enrolling in a course can register through a partner organization or through their local Kentucky Career Center.

Attorneys for Brooks Houck maintain that trying him in a joint trial with Steven Lawson and Joseph Lawson would be in violation of Houck’s due process.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young’s motion to join the trials of the three suspects charged in the Crystal Rogers investigation was argued during a hearing in Nelson Circuit Court Monday morning.

Houck’s defense attorney Brian Butler said the argument of the defense is that Houck did not commit the crime he has been charged with and that Steven Lawson has lied in his interviews with police and his grand jury testimony, and trying the three together would remove Houck’s ability to cross-examine Lawson and refute his statements. Butler also said it wouldn’t be possible to redact Lawson’s testimony to remove Houck’s name without implicating Houck, and a jury would not be able to follow directions for one defendant and ignore them for another. Butler said because a joint trial would rob Houck of his due process any convictions would likely fail on appeal.

Special Prosecutor Teresa Young said federal and state courts have shown that they favor joint trials because all of the cases have the same information, and a joint trial promotes consistent testimony. Young also said the joint trial is needed to show the collaboration between the suspects.

Butler showed video of Lawson’s interviews with police to show what he called Lawson’s changing story and the efforts of law enforcement to guide Lawson to making a certain statement. Butler said the video shows Lawson’s testimony is unreliable, but if he is tried with Houck and chooses not to testify then Houck has no way of refuting the prosecution’s telling of events.

Young called Butler’s arguments “clear as mud”, and said the prosecution is not using Lawson’s grand jury testimony.

Judge Charles Simms III said having heard from Houck and Steven Lawson’s defenses on the motion to join and their objections, he still wanted to hear from Joseph Lawson’s defense on the matter. Joseph Lawson is due back in court on July 18, and Judge Simms said he would rule as quickly as possible after that.