WULF News

Current eighth graders heading to Central Hardin High School for ninth grade next school year will be attending classes at a satellite campus.

“Near the beginning of this school year, we shared, through multiple channels, videos and letters to eighth grade families, so current eighth graders, that when those current eighth graders become Central Hardin High School freshmen, that they may have to relocate to a satellite campus in their freshman year in order to expedite construction at the Central Hardin campus,” said Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright. “We sent that out as a possibility, and now that favorable bids have come in for Phase 2 of construction of Central Hardin High School, that will happen.”

The Bruin Academy will be located in the former Lincoln Trail Elementary School building on Bardstown Road. In a release sent out by HCS, the district says it considered multiple factors including convenience, travel logistics, and location. Students participating in electives and extracurriculars will still have access to those activities at the main campus, with counselors working on transportation schedules.

Wright said the district is dedicated to giving every student a positive experience.

“We know it will work, and we are committed to making sure that next year’s freshman at the Bruin Academy receive every opportunity that they would have were they, literally, on the Central Hardin High School campus,” Wright said.

A form for parents and community members to ask questions and express any concerns is available on the HCS website.

One person is dead following a crash in Hardin County.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office says at approximately 7:20 a.m. Tuesday deputies responded to the 1600 block of North Pleasant Hill Road following a reported multi-vehicle accident.

The preliminary investigation indicates that a vehicle driven by Destiny McClawley of Upton was traveling west on Pleasant Hill Road when the vehicle went left of center, striking an eastbound vehicle operated by Taylor Riggs of Upton.

McClawley was pronounced dead at the scene. Riggs and two juvenile passengers in McClawley’s vehicle were transported to Baptist Health Hardin for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The Elizabethtown City Council heard two presentations during their work session Tuesday.

Silverleaf Sexual Trauma Recovery Services Executive Director Dr. Jillian Carden provided an update on some of the organization’s activities in 2023. Carden discussed the results of the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Abuse Involvement Test which received 66 responses from adult participants in the organization’s services. Carden said the organization did not previously have strong data on substance abuse.

“We know intuitively, and we know by research, that substance abuse and trauma go hand in hand,” Carden said. “They are co-occurring at a very high rate, and when you drill down even to sexual assault and substance abuse those numbers are incredibly high.”

While Silverleaf is not a substance use treatment facility, the data gives the organization a better idea on what it is dealing with.

“We recognize that if we’re going to say that trauma and substance abuse co-occur, we need to be intentional about assessing for that to make sure that if our clients and our survivors are working on their trauma, but they also have a substance abuse history, we need to be making sure that they’re getting referred to the place that they need to work on their sobriety as well,” Carden said.

Elizabethtown and Hardin County are its most frequent subject areas, but Silverleaf provides services for all of the Lincoln Trail District.

Meanwhile, RBS Design Group Architecture presented design plans for Elizabethtown Fire Station No. Four to the council. RBS President Craig Thomas said the design is largely based on that of Fire Station No. Two, with some changes based on feedback from E-Town firefighters.

“One of the things that we have done, when you look at Fire Station 2, we reduced the height for this portion of the building so it’s not going to be as tall,” Thomas said. “Another thing that we’ve done, we’ve added a baby drop box here on the western corner on the building.”

The estimated total cost of construction is $6.9 million, which City Administrator Ed Poppe said comes in under the $7.5 million budgeted by the city. The plan is to get the project out to bid in April, begin construction in May, and complete construction by April 2025.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet March 4.

A Campbellsville University student is dead after being found unresponsive in his dorm room early Saturday morning, and a fellow student is in custody.

The Campbellsville Police Department says that a male student, later identified as 18-year-old Josiah M. Kilman, was found unresponsive in his dorm room at around 12:43 a.m. Saturday, and was pronounced dead by the Taylor County Coroner’s Office after being transferred to Taylor Regional Hospital. The CPD says Kilman was transferred to the Kentucky State Medical Examiner’s Office in Louisville for an autopsy.

The CPD stated an arrest warrant was issued for 21-year-old Charles E. Escalera for Murder, and officers were searching for him in the Campbellsville area. Campbellsville University issued a lockdown of campus as a result of the search.

The CPD says at approximately 5:15 p.m. Saturday the Green County Sheriff’s Office and the Kentucky State Police were alerted to a suspicious male in a barn near the Green and Taylor County line. Escalera was located and taken into custody without incident.

Escalera is currently lodged in the Taylor County Detention Center on charges of Murder and second degree Burglary. He is being held on a $2 million full cash bond.

Apothecare Pharmacies owner Gary Hamm said he thought it was important for customers and consumers alike that he and members of his team reach out to area representatives and senators during Pharmacists Day in Frankfort last week to discuss State Bill 188, which relates to patient access to pharmacy benefits.

Hamm said the bill’s main focus is to keep people from being taken advantage of.

“There’s a lot of patient steering that’s going on,” Hamm said. “For example, if you come to us, you may pay one price or pay a copay, you may be able to go to another pharmacy and get it at no charge, or vice versa, or you could only get the best deal if you go mail order, which those mail order pharmacies many times are owned by the insurance company.”

Hamm also said the bill creates a more even playing field, which will keep shops like Apothecare Pharmacies more competitive.

“The main thing is a lot of local pharmacies are having to close for poor reimbursement,” Hamm said. “For example, we have a store here in Vine Grove. That’s the only pharmacy in this town. So a lot of people love their hometown pharmacies. We feel like we give better service, better customer care, and if they want to come to us, they should have the right to.”

Hamm said the members of the Kentucky General Assembly he spoke with were receptive to his team’s concerns, and ultimately understand that the bill puts more decision making in hand of the customer.

“I had a lady say this the other day,” Hamm said. “She comes to us because she prefers us, but she has to pay a little bit more, so people can go where they choose, that kind of freedom of choice and pay the same price. If they want to go mail order, they can, it’s not limiting that. If they want to go to a chain pharmacy, they can, and if they want to come to an independent pharmacy, they can.”

The bill will go up for discussion in the Kentucky Senate’s Banking and Insurance Committee.