WULF News

A Nelson County man will serve more than nine years in prison for a bank fraud and money laundering scheme.

Wavy Curtis Shain was sentenced Wednesday to nine years and two months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $4.5 million in restitution following his conviction for one count of Bank Fraud and one count of Money Laundering.

The United States Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Kentucky says from July 2019 to August 2020, Shain “engaged in a scheme to defraud two federally-insured financial institutions by attempting to fraudulently refinance real property without the knowledge and approval of the true property owner, conducted sham real estate sales where the buyer and seller were unaware of the real estate transactions, and purchased real estate in he names of other individuals without their knowledge or permission.” Shain also made a monetary transaction in fraudulent loan proceeds when he wired money to a company he controlled.

This isn’t Shain’s first conviction for a fraud case. A previous release from the Department of Justice described Shain as a “serial fraudster” based on several previous convictions.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College President Dr. Juston Pate said BlueOval SK’s pledge to donate $500,000 over the next five years in support of the Family Scholar House ECTC Campus goes beyond money.

“It’s not just the dollar amount,” Pate said. “It’s, truly, we recognize the impact that this project is going to make for generations and generations of families in this area, and we recognize what a significant contribution this is to that project.”

Representatives from ECTC, BlueOval SK, and Family Scholar House were joined by Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman for a check presentation ceremony in recognition of the battery maker’s financial commitment which will go towards the Family Services Building at the 48-unit Family Scholar House facility, providing students and their families with “access to childcare, food, and other supportive services and resources.”

Pate said the Family Scholar House facility will help ECTC students succeed, which will in turn help area employers like BlueOval SK.

“This project is clearing a path for the future workforce of this region, and we know that by removing stable housing as a barrier for our students, we’re going to be able to increase that workforce,” Pate said. “ECTC, we are so proud to say, is the number one provider of workforce and education training in Central Kentucky, but this is going to allow us to really provide that holistic support that we can’t do on our own.”

BlueOval SK CEO Michael Adams said the company is committed to being good neighbors.

“We look forward to continuing to develop relationships with community partners like ECTC,” Adams said. “People are the most important part of BlueOval SK. We care about our team. We care about the people and the communities in which we are located. Community engagement through service, partnerships, and investment is a fundamental part of our culture.”

Lieutenant Governor Coleman said investment in postsecondary education is an investment in the future.

“Elizabethtown and Hardin County are the fastest growing areas in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, largely thanks to BlueOval SK, and so by supporting the student parents here at ECTC, we are investing in the future of both Hardin County and the commonwealth altogether,” Coleman said.

ECTC hopes to begin construction on the Family Scholar House facility this spring. To learn more about the facility and how to donate, find the Home for Hope Campaign on ECTC’s website.

Later in the day Thursday, the BlueOval SK construction site was evacuated due to a bomb threat.

“Someone at the BlueOval facility found a note, a bomb threat note, inside a Porta-John,” said Chief Deputy David Lee with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office. “The note said that a bomb will go off on 2-22-24 at one o’clock.”

Detection dogs from the Louisville Metro Police Department and Fort Knox Explosive Ordnance Disposal were called to the scene. Nothing was found as of 3 p.m. Thursday. No further updates were made, but law enforcement officers were still seen at the BlueOval SK site at around 5 p.m.

Nolin River Wildlife Director Mary Key says spring is one of the most critical times at the wildlife rehab as that’s when baby animals tend to arrive in abundance.

“A baby animal comes to us after it’s either been injured or orphaned, most likely orphaned, and you know, it’s really usually people-related,” Key said. “It’s somebody trapped and relocated mom, or shot mom, or run over mom, so I think it’s really important that we work as a community to help out these guys.”

A surprise quick start to baby season means the refuge needs assistance keeping up its supplies.

“Usually we start late March, early April, but we’ve already had two litters come in in February, which is unheard of, so we were slow to ask for donations this year because we weren’t expecting things to happen so quickly, but we use so much Esbilac puppy formula, and goat formula for the deer, and it’s our biggest expense and the thing that we end up using a lot of our money donations for,” Key said.

Everything donated to the refuge goes directly towards the refuge’s mission of rehabbing and returning animals to their natural habitats.

“Every bit of the donation and everything they contribute goes directly to the animals,” Key said. “We don’t have any paid employees. It all goes directly to taking care of the animals.”

To learn more about how to donate, or to contact the refuge to learn about how you can support efforts to collect milk for the animals, find Nolin River Wildlife on Facebook.

If you enjoy singing and are looking for a chance to share and practice those talents, the Heart of Kentucky Chorus invites you to their Guest Night taking place Thursday evening.

“At 7 o’clock, we’re having a Guest Night at East Hardin Middle School,” said Heart of Kentucky Chorus Vice President Amanda Heady. “We’re going to be meeting in the cafeteria there, and we would love it if anybody that’s interested in singing would like to come on out and join us. We’re going to have some refreshments, some pizza, drinks, things like that, and we guarantee you to have a good time.”

The chorus is open to singers male and female, high school age and up.

Visitors to Guest Night will get to hear about and participate in what the chorus has meant to members such as Bob Swope.

“I’ve enjoyed the chorus now for a number of years,” Swope said. “I like to sing, and we have a wonderful group. It’s much like an extended family, really, that also love to sing. Fortunately, we have an awesome director in Aaron Dale. He has a way of getting some pretty fantastic sounds out of some rather average voices (laughs), and he makes it a lot of fun, too.”

Guest night is a no pressure way to learn more, and to have a good time.

“We’ll have some good food, as well as opportunities for our guests to learn a few tags and sing along with the chorus.” Swope said. “There’s no obligations or commitments expected. If you like to sing, come on out and join us.”

The chorus hosts their regular rehearsals Thursday evenings at East Hardin Middle School. Find the Heart of Kentucky Chorus on Facebook for more information.

The Elizabethtown City Council met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

The council approved a resolution that named Hanna Yun as the city’s director of South Korean relations. The resolution described the city’s desire to have a person that could serve as a direct liaison for the city when discussing business interests with South Korean entities, and Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregeory said Yun’s name was immediately thought of by council for the role.

A resolution was also approved that supports the Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau’s awarding of a design contract for the planned outdoor music venue on Commerce Drive at Buffalo Lake. Of the 15 proposals submitted, a joint proposal from HKS Architects and CMW Architects and Engineers for $2.1 million was selected.

The council also approved a $157,000 bid from Dirt Works Unlimited for the Jackson Street sewer project, as well as a $225,000 bid from Carl and Anne Swope to purchase a city-owned property at 210 Helm Street.

Council Member Marty Fulkerson praised fellow council member Julia Springsteen for appearing before a Kentucky General Assembly committee last week to voice her opposition to a bill concerning the commercial sale of dogs, and praised Mayor Gregory and City Attorney Ken Howard for their appearances opposing the moratorium annexation bill.

“It is not good for the city,” Fulkerson said. “It is not good for economic development, not only for the City of E-town, but for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the ramifications of this is going to be huge if this thing gets passed up there, so I appreciate the mayor going up, and Ken (Howard) was up testifying on Thursday as well.”

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet for a work session on February 26.