WULF News

Nolin RECC officials recapped the electric co-ops activities and business figures from 2023 during their annual membership meeting Thursday afternoon.

Nolin District 3 Director Rick Thomas said the co-op ended 2023 with 36,814 active accounts.

“If you’ve kept up with that the last few years, that number’s been going up and it’s pretty obvious,” Thomas said. “Part of it, you’ll see new houses and things going up, but right now the biggest surge is in apartments, and you’re probably seeing them go up in a lot of places too, so we expect that to continue. I don’t know where we have a guess on when we’re going to get to 40,000, but we’re getting pretty close to it.”

Operating revenue was reported at about $85.3 million while operating expenses were reported at about $84.8 million. Thomas said the operating margin of about $497,000 is down from years past in part because inflation has increased the cost of materials and impacted supply chains, but the co-op’s staff has worked hard to limit the impact.

“We’re very fortunate that we have the staff that we have that have taken it in their hands to keep an eye on that, trying to keep those costs down, and also there’s an issue with just getting materials now and they’ve had to work through that, so I hope you appreciate their efforts on that,” Thomas said.

Nolin RECC President and CEO Greg Lee said the focus of operations continues to be what is best for the co-op’s members.

“In 2023, we found ourselves in the fortunate position to be able to retire just over $2.7 million in capital credits,” Lee said. “That was the fifth straight year we had been able to make a general retirement and the cumulative total over those five years is now over $20 million.”

The annual meeting can be viewed on Nolin RECC’s YouTube channel. The annual report was included in the items distributed in the buckets members received during meeting registration.

If you are attending, or are thinking about attending, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, you can take a look at campus ahead of the school year. 

New and prospective ECTC students are invited to attend Open House Days, which will be held from 12 to 6 p.m. each Tuesday in July.

ECTC says attendees will have the chance to learn about the college’s student support programs, talk to college staff about educational and career pathways, get information on financial aid opportunities and help completing the FAFSA, and complete admissions files and order transcripts.

No registration is required. Guests should start their visit at the Welcome and Admissions Center located in the Regional Postsecondary Center. For more information on open houses or other tours, contact the recruitment office via email at ectcrecruitment@kctcs.edu.

The first day of the fall semester is August 19. Visit the ECTC website for more information.

The Meade County Water District sent out a request to customers to help conserve water this week as increased demand due to the hot and dry weather has put increased stress on the district’s distribution system.

“We have a maximum pumping capacity of about 1.3 million gallons per day, and our demand is at about 1.3 million gallons per day, so we’re kind of teetering a little bit there,” said Meade County Water Conservation District General Manager Brett Pyles. 

Pyles said the water district’s goal is to increase capacity to 4 million gallons, but it will involve significant work and time.

“We have several projects in the queue to correct this issue, because I’ve been there a little over two years and this has been an issue since I got there, so we started planning right then but as with most large construction projects like ours, nothing’s quick, nothing’s easy,” Pyles said. “We have to jump through regulatory hoops. We have to secure funding. We have to do all kinds of things.”

Pyles thanked Hardin County Water District No. One for providing support, and thanked the water district’s customers. He says their efforts are already evident.

“Our tanks are in much better shape,” Pyles said. “We’re able to keep up. Just don’t use water to water the lawn or let the kids play in the backyard or what have you. If they can do that and just keep it to what they need water for to live, we’ll be in great shape.”

The water district hopes to have the first of its upcoming improvement projects, a new upsized transmission line from the Flaherty water tank to the Garrett water tank, out for bid by the end of July.

Follow the Meade County Water District Facebook page for more information.

Chief Meteorologist Brian Schoettmer with the National Weather Service in Louisville says temperatures will remain above typical June averages for some time.

“So it looks like a fairly prolonged period of above normal temperatures,” Schoettmer said. “Normal for areas around Louisville this time of year would be 86 degrees, and we’re expecting basically all week and into the weekend highs, a lot of them, in the mid 90s, and then as we get late week/into the weekend we might even see more upper 90s temperatures.”

Schoettmer says temperatures are expected to come down a little on Sunday or Monday as a cooler front works its way through, but that will only pull things from the upper 80s to the lower 80s.

“The one good thing about all this is while the temperatures are going to be pretty high, overall the humidity isn’t going to be as bad as it could be,” Schoettmer said. “For instance, our dew points are only going to be in the mid-60s, so that’s going to keep our heat indices mostly in the 95 to 100 degree range, so really not that much different than our temperatures.”

Schoettmer says with the extended period of heat, be sure to use caution when working outside, and be sure to keep an eye on others.

“Wear light and loose fitting clothing,” Schoettmer said. “Obviously drink plenty of water. Also, make sure you check up on neighbors, especially if you have an elderly neighbor, make sure that they’ve got their air conditioning and that they’re handling the heat okay. Another thing we like to caution folks is make sure you remember to check the back seat.”

Visit the National Weather Service in Louisville on the web for more information on current conditions.

Great events, exciting rides, entertaining shows, and delicious food await you at the fairgrounds in Hardinsburg as the 2024 Breckinridge County Fair gets officially underway Wednesday.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” said Breckinridge County Fair Chairman Jacyln Walden. “We’re going to have a great week. The weather looks a little warm but, overall, perfect for a county fair. We’ve got our carnival setting up right now. We’ve got our shows pulling in and getting set up, and I think we’re going to have a really good week.”

4H participants will be showcasing their hard work in the livestock shows, with cows and goats featured Wednesday night and swine and sheep Thursday. The youth premium livestock auction will be held Thursday evening.

Each night features annual fair staples at the arena and special performances at the main pavilion.

“Our main event Wednesday night, we have the horse show,” Walden said. “Thursday and Friday are both demolition derbies with different classes each night, and Saturday is our truck and tractor pull put on by KTPA.”

Walden says the fair has lots of events for everyone to enjoy.

“There’s several free events for the kids to participate in,” Walden said. “We’re really looking forward to watching our kids in the livestock auction, all the hard work and stuff that they’ve put in throughout the year. It’s just a time to celebrate all the things of Breckinridge County and to really showcase our kids and our local participants, and really just have a good time.”

The annual fair pageants were held earlier this week. Scarlett Fuller was crowned Miss Pre-Teen Breckinridge County Fair, Bella Franklin was crowned Miss Teen Breckinridge County Fair, Keiley Johnson was crowned Miss Breckinridge County Fair, and Rachel Graves was crowned Ms./Mrs. Breckinridge County Fair.

Fair admission is $10 on Wednesday and Thursday, and $15 on Friday and Saturday. Visit the Breckinridge County Fair Facebook page or website for a complete schedule of events.