It is opening day at the Elizabethtown Sports Park as they celebrate the start of the inaugural season of the The Ripken Experience tournament season. “It is a very exciting weekend for those of us at the Elizabethtown Sports Park because it is the kickoff to a whole series of The Ripken Experience baseball tournaments. That will happen starting this weekend running all the way through October,” said spokesperson Janna Clark. The opening night festivities include a game featuring hometown 12-under talent. “The opening night is a very exciting event for us where we will feature a ceremonial first pitch and a ribbon cutting. It is go time and time to kick this really exciting season off. The featured game will be the hometown team E-Town Shock playing against the Motor City Hit Dogs coming here from Michigan. We would love for people locally to come out and catch a game of The Ripken Experience baseball.” More information can be found at EtownSports.com
The Cabinet of Health and Family Services is partnering with The Foundation For A Healthy Kentucky to encourage Kentuckians to improve immunity and overall health with a new campaign called “Raise Your Guard, Kentucky.” Data shows that chronic conditions have increased since the start of the pandemic. The campaign encourages people to take several steps such as eating well, moving more and keeping up with annual check-ups, screenings and immunizations. According to a statement about the campaign, Kentucky Commissioner for the Department For Public Health Dr. Steven Stack states that small healthy choices add up to a big positive impact. The campaign includes a video series featuring Kentuckians sharing why and how they stay healthy. Resources are available in several languages and can be found at RaiseYourGuardKY.org
The Elizabethtown Police Department is preparing for the annual Coffee With A Cop event. “On April 27 from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM, CarLay Coffee along with several of our officers will be at Freeman Lake Park. This is a very informal opportunity for citizens to stop by for a free cup of coffee and good conversation with our staff,” shared Elizabethtown Police Officer Chris Denham. For more information follow the Elizabethtown Police Department Facebook page.
Kentucky State Police will be raising funds for Special Olympics Kentucky in Elizabethtown today. “Kentucky State Police Post 4 will be having its annual Cover The Cruiser event from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Five Star located at 501 Ring Road,” shared Trooper Scotty Sharpe. A minimum $1 donation gets you a Law Enforcement Torch Run icon that you can personalize and tape onto the cruiser. The Cover The Cruiser event was initiated in 2020 when The Torch Run was canceled due to the pandemic. The Torch Run escorts the Special Olympics Flame Of Hope to kick off the State Summer Games in Richmond each June.
The Hardin County Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting was held Wednesday. The keynote speaker was Jeff Noel, Kentucky’s Secretary of Economic Development. Noel praised not only government and local leaders for their hard work to secure the Blue Oval SK project but the community for their efforts to make the company feel welcome to the community before the decision was made. “The world is looking at us. The world is talking about Elizabethtown. Hardin County. Kentucky. You know, economic development is one of the most ill defined, misunderstood professions that exist. But I can boil it down in a very simple way. And that is tell people what you are gonna do, get it done, live up to all of your obligations and do it on time. Companies hate uncertainty and data, knowledge, understanding and information is that you remove uncertainty in the corporate boardroom,” stated Secretary Noel. Secretary Noel also feels that economic development is not done solely through business deals. “I’m a big believer that economic development is not about cutting the ribbons. It’s not about announcing the jobs. It’s really about understanding that this is about helping people. It all begins with making sure that individuals have access to their fulfilled dreams, to have that opportunity and they have a good job.” Secretary Noel also stated that by securing the Blue Oval SK project, Hardin County helped attract other automotive industry projects to the state by setting an example of what Kentuckians have to offer to companies.
The Cecilian Bank is warning customers about a scam that they have been made aware of. According to the bank, scammers are spoofing the name and phone number on Caller ID to appear as a legitimate call or text. The scammers will attempt to convince the customer to provide their online banking credentials or multi-factor authentication code. If they get that information, they will then tell you to not log into your account for a specific amount of time. Never give your credentials or codes to anyone who calls. If you have concerns, hang up and call the bank directly yourself or visit your local branch.
On Wednesday, bridge work will require KY-313 to be reduced to one lane over Otter Creek between Ditto Lane and Fort Avenue in Meade County.“Our contract company will be working on slabs of the bridge deck, jacking those, providing a smoother transition from asphalt roadway to the bridge and the slabs on the bridge.” shared spokesperson Chris Jessie. Work will take place during the day and travel lanes will be reopened at night. The repaving should be completed within three days.
Hardin County Fiscal Court held their regularly scheduled meeting last night. Both Hardin County Water Districts provided their annual presentations including financial reports, upcoming projects, community involvement and accolades. Hardin County Water District #2 also shared the impact of the BlueOval SK project on their capacities and demands for the next fifteen to twenty years. “So when we look at projected demand over the next twenty years, you know, without the project in Glendale, our projections show that we would be good through 2024. However, when you add the BlueOval SK project, and any growth that may occur from that, very quickly, the projected demand is above our current capacities. So that’s why we have a couple of projects in the pipeline here that we’re working on. One project will expand that capability of pumping from the Louisville connection, which allows us to take full advantage of the amount that they can provide to us from there now. But even with that in place we still fall short by 2029. So that’s why we signed the second contract with Louisville Water this past year,” stated Hardin County Water District #2 spokesperson Shaun Youravich. Even with the projects to expand pumping capability, the district has to make plans to address possible expansion again in the future to increase capacity through their Louisville connection. “We’ve actually looked beyond 2040 as well and have already had discussions with Louisville Water and have a plan in place for future growth as well. We’ll keep an eye on our projected demands and if we need to pull the trigger on that next phase sooner, that’s what we will do.” The next regularly scheduled meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 25 at 5:30 PM.
The Radcliff Community Yard Sale is happening this Saturday. “Coming up on April 15 will be our city yard sale that we have in the City Hall parking lot. That’s on a first come, first serve basis. We open the gates at 7:30 AM. You come in and set up. We block all traffic and all cars out of the area by 9:00 AM and we’ll go till about 1:00 PM. People come in, shop and make some deals with your community neighbors,” said Radcliff Parks and Recreation Director Tim Jeffries. More information can be found on the City of Radcliff Facebook page.