WULF News

All are invited to attend Tuesday at 9 a.m. as the Hardin County Clerk’s Office cuts the ribbon on their Radcliff office, located at 101 West Lincoln Trail Boulevard.

“We’re excited to finally cut the ribbon on this,” said Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith. “I want to thank Nolin RECC for being a great partner in this. I want to thank our community leaders who’ve been very, very supportive of this effort. The public’s invited to the ribbon cutting, but most importantly, we want the public to come out and use the services that are available.”

The Radcliff office will be able to process voter registrations and vehicle registrations.

“We are still having some issues with KAVIS, the statewide computer system that county clerks were issued by the state transportation cabinet, so there may be a few hiccups,” Smith said. “We ask for the public’s continued patience, but this is going to be an office that’s going to provide the services that people were used to when it was open.”

Returning operations to Radcliff was something Smith talked about during his campaign, but he says getting the office up and running was more about responsibility to residents in the northern half of the county.

“Yes, this was a campaign promise,” Smith said. “Yes, I’m thrilled we’re able to get to the point where we can open this office, but this is about the people. This isn’t about a promise or a policy or anything like that, but for me, this is about taking care of all of Hardin County, which is what I promised.”

The clerk’s office’s Radcliff location will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The motion to dismiss filed by the attorney for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Steven Lawson has been denied.

Lawson faces charges of Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence, but he claimed he was promised immunity in exchange for his cooperation with the investigation, so therefore his charges should be dismissed.

Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III denied that motion in an order filed Wednesday.

In the order, Judge Simms says a written immunity agreement was never executed, and while Lawson’s defense provided transcripts of discussions of an immunity agreement, the judge said it was clear that such an agreement was contingent on Lawson being completely truthful, which the judge said the prosecution showed was not the case. The judge also said Lawson’s defense never called any witnesses during a hearing reviewing the immunity claim, instead relying entirely on the transcripts.

In the motion to dismiss, the defense had also requested that should the motion be denied the court then suppress Lawson’s statements to police and his grand jury testimony. While the grand jury testimony request was denied, Judge Simms said Lawson does have the right to suppress his interviews with police. The court will discuss whether Lawson uses the interviews or not in a hearing set for August 8.

Brooks Houck is due back in court Monday as the prosecution will argue to consolidate Houck, Lawson, and Joseph Lawson’s cases into one, which Houck’s defense has filed an objection against.

The number of new voter registrations in Kentucky in June outpaced the number of voters removed from the voting rolls.

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office says Kentucky added 9,693 new voter registrations and removed 4,362 voters from the rolls in the month of June.

Of the voters removed from the rolls, 3,030 were for deceased voters, 603 were for convicted felons, and 554 moved to another state.

The Secretary of State’s office says Republican registration increased by 4,947 voters in June, and independent or other registrations increased by 1,502 voters, while Democratic registrations decreased by 1,717 voters. Republican registrations currently make up about 46 percent of the electorate while Democratic registrations make up about 43 percent, with independent or other making up about 10 percent.

Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith says getting registered is a simple process.

“Registering to vote has never been easier,” Smith said. “The quickest and easiest way for most. folks would be to visit govote.ky.gov. They can do that on the computer or their phone and they can register to vote that way. They can also call or visit their county clerk’s office. The deadline to register to vote and participate in the November election is October 7, so don’t wait until the deadline. Go ahead and get it done early.”

Visit the Kentucky Secretary of State’s website for more information on voter registration statistics.

Hardin County Schools Superintendent Teresa Morgan will be hosting three Coffee and Conversation with the Superintendent events over the next month and a half.

“It’s a great opportunity for Ms. Morgan to visit with our community stakeholders about the great things taking place in our schools and for her to answer some questions from our community members,” said HCS Community Relations Specialist John Wright.

The first session will be held Tuesday, July 9 from 8 to 9 a.m. at Apostoli Coffee in Radcliff, the second on July 19 at Tony York’s on Main in Glendale, and the third will be at Social on Main in Elizabethtown on August 13.

“It’s just a great time to learn what’s taking place across our district,” Wright said. “Hardin County Schools is a leader in the state in instructional initiatives and technology initiatives, and it’s just a great opportunity to learn more about that and the quality education that the students in our community are receiving.”

All are welcome to attend.

Meanwhile, HCS has announced new start times for some of their schools ahead of the first day of classes on August 7. The district says the changes are by no more than five minutes. You can find a link to the new schedules on the Hardin County Schools Kentucky Facebook page.

Fort Knox Garrison Commander Colonel Christopher Ricci says Fort Knox may have changed shape since the armor days, but the installation remains a “strategic, critical, and high functioning Army base.”

“In fact, we’re currently right in the middle of Cadet Summer Training right now,” Ricci said. “That is the largest annual training event for the Army, so we’ve got over 10,000 cadets from colleges and universities across the country descending on Fort Knox for training across this span of 100 days of summer. Additionally, over 5,000 cadre from across the Army are on post to assist in the training of these cadets.”

Ricci was the featured speaker during the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s June Business at Breakfast event, held Thursday at the Colvin Community Center in Radcliff.

Ricci discussed the command operations that are located at Fort Knox and their relationship to other operations in the Army. The colonel also said Fort Knox’s importance to the Army is evidenced by the construction of the Digital Air-Ground Integration Range, or DAGIR, at Fort Knox’s Yano Range, making it one of only three such ranges in the Army and the only one located east of the Mississippi River.

“DAGIR allows for all manner of tank, gravity fighting vehicle, aviation, mounted, and dismounted training and allows for integration of air and ground unit training simultaneously,” Ricci said “It’s a huge deal for the Department of Defense, the Army, and the greater Fort Knox community. It was a $56 million investment to make this range possible, but it’s been made to ensure our troops are the best trained in the world.”

Ricci said Fort Knox tries its best to alert the surrounding area of training activity and to limit the noise when they can in order to be good neighbors. He closed by recognizing Fort Knox’s gratitude for the support offered by area communities.

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have the relationships that we do with all of the leaders in this community, and all the folks that are in this room right now,” Ricci said. “It’s something we don’t take for granted and we look forward to advancing in the years to come. Again, thanks for your time. We hope you know that your positive support to the soldiers, families, and civilians who live, work, and play on Fort Knox is without a doubt appreciated and absolutely contributes to the success of Fort Knox.”

Ricci encouraged anybody interested to visit Fort Knox. Information on the necessary passes can be found on the installation’s website.