WQXE News
UPDATE: Due to forecasted temperatures, the ceremony has been moved to American Legion Hardin Post 113 (1251 Ring Road, Elizabethtown), to begin at 11 a.m. The motorcade will leave American Legion Park at 10:15 a.m.
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The City of Elizabethtown will celebrate those who served this Tuesday with their Veterans Day motorcade and ceremony.
City Events Manager Beth Pyles says this is the second year for the motorcade.
“We started it last year as an opportunity for those folks that maybe couldn’t brave the weather,” Pyles said. “November is not necessarily ideal to have an outside ceremony, so we decided to have a motorcade. Folks can just be in their nice, warm car and feel like they’re part of the celebration of the day.”
Active duty servicemen and veterans are welcome to line up at American Legion Park beginning at 9:45 a.m.
“We will proceed from American Legion Park around 10:30 a.m. and head down Miles Street to Ring Road, and we’ll turn and make our way to the Nature Park where the ceremony is set to start at 11,” Pyles said.
Community members are encouraged to line the motorcade route and cheer on the participants.
The ceremony at the Nature Park is hosted by the city and American Legion Hardin Post 113. The ceremony will begin with the Posting of the Colors at 11 a.m. The keynote speaker is American Legion Department of Kentucky Commander Joe Garrett
“It’s a beautiful ceremony,” Pyles said. “I know we’ll have the commander of the Legion speaking, along with Mayor Gregory, and some musical selections including the National Anthem will be performed by the Heart of Kentucky Chorus from right here in Elizabethtown.”
All are welcome to attend the ceremony. Seating is limited, so attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland is ramping up efforts to support Kentuckians affected by the ongoing government shutdown.
During a press conference at their Elizabethtown headquarters Thursday, the organization discussed the impact of the $5 million Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear ordered to be disbursed to Feeding America’s network of food banks as part of his state of emergency declared on October 31 after the shutdown disrupted SNAP benefits.
FAKH Executive Director Charles Dennis said the prevailing theme of the last several weeks has been “fear and uncertainty”.
“Fear from parents wanting to provide for their children, fear from our agency partners worried about having enough to meet the demand, and uncertainty for when things will change,” Dennis said.
FAKH says data shows more than 57,000 households in the organization’s 42-county service region received SNAP benefits in October.
Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman said it is likely that every Kentuckian knows or is related to somebody dependent on SNAP benefits.
“13 percent of Kentucky’s population, which is a higher percentage than the national average, receives SNAP,” Coleman said. “Over 60,000 of those are adults with disabilities. Over 92,000 of those are elderly. We also must recognize that those are not just numbers or statistics. They are human beings. They are our families, our friends, and they are fellow Kentuckians.”
FAKH received just over $1 million as part of the emergency funding to purchase and distribute food.
Learn more about how you can support the organization through donations or volunteering by visiting www.feedingamericaky.org.