The City of Elizabethtown is asking citizens who are removing debris from their property to follow these steps to aid in clean up. “As the cleanup process begins from last Friday’s storms, I would ask that residents please be patient with our Public Works crews. They have been on the clock all weekend and will continue to work extra hours in the weeks to come to help them out. We were asking that everyone residing in the city who places brush along the roadway to be picked up to please make sure brush piles are manageable. Crews are unable to handle trees or limbs larger than 6 feet in length. Additionally, if you have brush cleared by a professional or have the ability to haul the debris away yourself, I would encourage you to do that as it may take city crews several weeks to pick everything up. Any city resident who decides to haul debris away themselves can take it to the multi-purpose storage facility located at 1600 Nicholas Street that facility is open Monday through Friday from 8 A.M. until 6 P.M. Again we want to thank everyone for their patience and also thank the Public Works crews for their hard work. They are truly unsung heroes, “ said Spokesperson Chris Denham.
As citizens are assessing property damage following the wind storms from Friday, local insurance agents offer these tips to assist in documenting damage for their insurance claim. “Assess the damage, notify your insurance company, take pictures, document everything if you have a contractor to come out. So if you have a tree down and you have to get that tree off of your property or a fence, keep those receipts and invoices. Make sure the contractor is usually going to keep notes, make sure you get that too. We want to reimburse you, but we have to have proof. Do anything to mitigate any further damage to your property and be patient,” shared Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance Agent Lindsey Alicna.
Kentucky State Police investigated a fatal collision on Thursday night. Preliminary investigation indicates that a 2021 Mack truck operated by 39 year old Corey Calloway of Rockport, Indiana, crossed the center line for unknown reasons striking a 2014 Honda driven by 21 year old Jacob Gardner of Irvington. Calloway attempted to return to his lane to avoid the collision but could not. The Breckinridge County Coroner pronounced Gardner deceased on scene. The investigation is ongoing.
United States Department Of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the BlueOval SK Battery Park on Friday. The visit was to help highlight job growth and workforce development in the state of Kentucky. “We just had a look at some of the construction underway. We got to meet some of the construction workers on this site that when it opens, will be one of the largest EV battery manufacturing facilities in the world. We’re mindful that these workers aren’t just building a factory, they’re building a future. We’re not just going to be building batteries here, we’re going to be building livelihoods for those who are working on the construction project. And for the 5,000 skilled auto workers who for decades to come will be putting food on the table, putting their kids through school and coaching Little League – doing all the things you can do when you have good paying jobs. Five thousand workers here will be part of a new generation of American auto manufacturing.” said Secretary Buttigieg. The visit included a round table discussion with representatives from BlueOval Sk, Ford, state and local representatives. Hardin County Judge Executive Keith Taul took part in the event. “We just were able to meet some of the construction workers from all over, really. It’s just interesting to hear some of their comments and all the work that they’re doing.” Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory was also part of the tour and round table. ”It was a great opportunity for the Secretary to come down from (Washington) DC and talk to us a little bit about some of the things that are going on in the federal government. It was great to have Secretary Noel here from the state government representing, and we had a little round table discussion and we’re able to voice any concerns that we had or any praise that we had. And it’s just good to see that there’s interest from levels higher than local government and that we’re all in this together. So we’re really pleased with what we’re seeing, what we’re hearing, and the collaboration.” The Battery Park will create 5,000 new high tech jobs within the two new electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities being built.
Several areas of the region are still working hard to restore utilities following the historic wind event Friday afternoon. At the height of the windstorm, more than 300,000 consumers had lost power across the state. “This ranks, as far as storms go, about third all time for our system for number of customers in one day. Once those fronts moved through, we saw those high wind gusts and then by 5:00 we were up past 115,000 (customers without power), “said LG&E KU Spokesperson Daniel Lowery. As of this morning, LG&E KU reported just over 81,000 customers statewide still without power. “Crews have worked to get outages from, at the height of the storm, about 18,000 of our members, down this morning to about 1,200. Obviously we’ve been working since the very first outage started on Friday morning and have encountered just a whole lot of damage across our system. Broken poles continue to be the biggest challenge. We found at least 30 of those at this point, and expect that as the work continues, we may even find more. Those really are the time-consuming parts of this restoration but we are working across our entire system and will continue to do so until all of our members are restored.” said Nolin RECC Spokesperson Sarah Fellows. Additional crews from across the Commonwealth and nine states have been working to help restore utilities.
Drivers need to be aware that there are still areas where traffic lights are not working. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and multiple law enforcement agencies want to remind drivers to treat these as an all stop where each vehicle stops and takes turns passing through the intersection.
The Hodgenville Police Department have made an arrest in a drug related investigation looking at the sale of marijuana and THC vapes to juveniles. On Monday, Officers were attempting to serve an arrest warrant for drug related charges to Jabin Hite, 25 of Hodgenville, when they were able to secure a search warrant for the address. During the search, Officers located marijuana, vapes, a large sum of money and two AK-47 style rifles, one of which was reported stolen. Hite arrived to find the Officers on scene and fled but was located later that evening. Hite was arrested and charged with various drug charges, receiving stolen property, and possession of drug paraphernalia with all the charges being gun enhanced. Hite is currently lodged in the LaRue County Detention Center.
Severe Weather Awareness Week in Kentucky begins today with the Statewide Tornado Drill at 10:07 AM Eastern time. The week serves as a reminder that citizens need to be weather ready for all types of hazards. All week long The National Weather Service in Louisville will be sharing information on their social media with tips on how to prepare for severe weather.
Hardin County Fiscal Court held their regularly scheduled meeting last night. Hardin County Clerk Brian Smith presented information from his office including a report concerning the State Board of Elections purge of Kentucky’s voter rolls. “The Secretary of State’s office, working with the State Board of Elections, purged outdated voters off of the list. They use a process to remove voters who have died, voters who have moved. They reached out to those voters to try and make sure that no mistakes were made, but it’s possible. Hardin County went from 92,233 voters, our current registration is 86,554. If any voter is worried that they or someone they care about may have been removed by mistake, you can go to GoVoteKY.com and you can check your registration at any time.” The next Fiscal Court meeting will be held on March 14 at 3:30 PM.