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LTADD looking for feedback via senior needs assessment survey

The Lincoln Trail Area Development District is looking for feedback on its annual assessment survey for older adults.

LTADD Home Care and In-Home Services Supervisor Tabitha French said the response window is divided into two periods.

“A random sampling of 2,800 people were actually chosen,” said French. “They received some information in the mail to complete that survey. There’s actually a link on there, but there’s a paper form that can be completed as well, and then on July 21, we’re going to be opening that up to the general public to complete, and this is all for individuals 60 and over.”

Residences from Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington counties were randomly selected for the initial survey effort. French said the survey results are important for helping LTADD prioritize efforts.

“Well, it definitely gives us an idea of what the needs are in our community,” French said. “We base how we allot different funding that we receive from the state and federal government based on what individuals in the community say their needs are. So, is there a higher need for transportation? Is there a higher need for in-home services, home delivery meals, those types of things?”

Anybody ages 60 and up that was not selected in the random sampling and wants to provide feedback can get signed up for a reminder.

“If you’re interested in signing up at the link in order to receive an email notification, you can go to our website at LTADD.org,” French said. “The link will be there as well as on our Facebook and Twitter social media pages as well.”

Information on regional services and other studies LTADD has been a part of can be found on the development district’s website.

Two seriously injured in Western Kentucky Parkway accident

An accident on the Western Kentucky Parkway closed the westbound lane for several hours Tuesday.

According to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the 123 mile marker on Western Kentucky Parkway westbound at around 6:45 p.m. on July 9 for the report of a three-vehicle injury collision.

Accident reconstruction from the sheriff’s office indicates that prior to the collision the first unit, a passenger car operated by William Nelson of Sweeden, Kentucky, was traveling east on the parkway. The second unit, a pickup truck driven by Heather Childress of Elizabethtown, and the third unit, a passenger car operated by Eva Glover of Louisville, were traveling west.

Nelson’s vehicle hydroplaned, left the roadway on the left side of the highway, crossed the median, and entered into the westbound lanes of travel. Childress’s vehicle made contact with Nelson’s head-on, and Glover’s vehicle then struck Nelson’s.

Nelson and a passenger in his vehicle were taken to Baptist Health Hardin then transported to the University of Louisville Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Childress and Glover were treated at Baptist Health Hardin for minor injuries.

The sheriff’s office’s investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Come out for Quicksie and The Wolf Night at the Hardin County Fair

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

Thursday will feature the Dairy 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, Thursday will feature the 2024 Little Miss and Mister Pageant, which will be held at the pageant building at 6:30 p.m. UCW Wrestling will take it to the mat at 7 p.m. for their third and final night of wrestling. Thursday is the first of two nights for Bullwhip Rodeo, which will take place at the motorsports track at 8 p.m.

Thursday is Quicksie and The Wolf night at the fairgrounds. Stop by our office at 233 West Dixie Avenue in Elizabethtown or visit our websites 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!”

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

Volunteers needed to spot turkeys to help KFW

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.

KSP investigating after pedestrian killed north of Bardstown

The Kentucky State Police is investigating after a pedestrian was killed in Nelson County Monday.

Troopers from KSP Post Four responded to a report of a single-vehicle collision involving a pedestrian at approximately 10:45 p.m. July 8.

Troopers arrived at the scene of the accident, located near the 4,000 block of Louisville Road just north of Bardstown. The KSP says the preliminary investigation shows a vehicle being operated by Langleigh Winters of Bardstown was traveling north on Louisville Road when she failed to observe a pedestrian walking in the northbound lane and struck him with the vehicle.

The pedestrian was later identified as 23-year-old Matt Berry of Bardstown. Berry was pronounced dead at the scene by the Nelson County Coroner’s Office. Winters reported no injuries from the incident.

The area of the accident on Louisville Road was shut down for several hours as troopers performed accident reconstruction. The KSP says the investigation into the accident remains ongoing.

Hardin County Fiscal Court discusses rural road funding, recycling program

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.

Former Dept. of Agriculture chief of staff calls Hardin County a major part of the state’s Ag economy

Former Kentucky Department of Agriculture Chief of Staff Keith Rogers says Hardin County has a proud history of producing many of the state’s agriculture leaders, something he has personally benefited from.

“Presidents of the Kentucky Cattlemen Association, presidents of the Kentucky Pork Producers, the list can just go on and on,” Rogers said. “I’m very thankful to those that opened those doors and got those things, those opportunities because it was the coattails of many of those leaders that I was able to follow and ride along.”

Rogers was the featured speaker at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Media Luncheon at the Hardin County Fair Tuesday. Rogers discussed recent developments and growth in Kentucky’s agriculture industry. Rogers said 30 years ago tobacco represented $1 billion of the state’s $3 billion industry, with poultry not even on the radar. In recent years, farm receipts have cleared the $8 billion mark, with poultry, beef, and grains the usual top commodities.

Rogers said the more than 76,000 farms across Kentucky represent what he believes is the most unified farming community in the country.

“97 percent of those are family farms,” Rogers said. “The average size in Kentucky is still small. The national average is up to 144 acres, and Kentucky’s average is just 171, so it still shows you that even with that tobacco economy gone we still have a small farm-based small farm family.”

Rogers says efforts to diversify the state’s farming industry are ongoing, with fruit and vegetable production continuing to increase. Rogers says the story of Kentucky farming is still being written.

“But we in agriculture have to personalize that story,” Rogers said. “We have to acknowledge the consumer. We have to connect with that consumer’s wishes. We have to build trust with that consumer, knowing how that food is produced, and knowing that it’s done in an environmentally safe and a sustainable way.”

More stats on the Ag industry can be found on the Kentucky Department of Agriculture website.

Monster trucks on the schedule Wednesday at the Hardin County Fair; Kearsten Williams crowned Miss Teen Hardin County Fair

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.

Radcliff council to introduce medical cannabis ordinance, updates to police policies

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

Radcliff Police Chief Jeff Cross discussed six proposed updates to the Radcliff Police Department’s policies and procedures. One policy concerning juvenile operations is a new policy, while the others (active shooter, motor vehicle stops/seizures, promotion and assignments for sworn personnel, search and seizure: residences, and stop, arrest, and search of persons) are revisions. Cross said the policies are built on recommendations from the Kentucky League of Cities and the Department of Justice.

“If you get too far away from what they’re doing and what they’re recommending you do, if you need their backing down the road and you have a lawsuit or something they’re going to come in and stand there with you, so you don’t want to be too far other than just putting our brand and stamp on the policy,” Cross said.

The council also discussed an ordinance that would approve the operation of medical cannabis facilities in the city.

“This is a basic ordinance to get going,” said City Attorney Mike Pike. “It doesn’t go into great detail of what these things can do and not do. This just allows them. Your land use restrictions will come into play in terms of what zones of the city these will be allowed to operate in.”

Pike reiterated that the ordinance does not ban the use of medical marijuana.

“Neither the county nor a city will have authority over the use of medical cannabis by someone that has a prescription and/or approved medical card for it, so that’s outside the purview of this,” Pike said. “If you guys enact this ordinance, it’ll have no effect on individuals within the city of Radcliff who are using medical cannabis legally, or illegally.”

Both the ordinance and the policy changes will be discussed at the Radcliff City Council’s next meeting on July 16.

Free training available to Kentuckians through Ready for Industry program

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.