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Unemployment sees slight increase in Lincoln Trail District for February

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Slight increases were once again seen in unemployment rates for counties in the Lincoln Trail District for February. 

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says unemployment rates rose in 112 counties from February 2023 to February 2024, with the state unemployment average for February 2024 reported at 5.1 percent.

Six counties in the Lincoln Trail District saw February unemployment rates increase from the year prior. Meade County, with a rate of 5.4 percent, and Washington County, with a rate of 3.8 percent, were among the four counties in the commonwealth where unemployment rates in February 2024 remained the same as February 2023.

The unemployment rate for Hardin County in February 2024 was reported at 5.1 percent. That’s an increase from the rates reported in January 2024 as well as February 2023, both of which came in at 4.7 percent.

Washington County’s 3.8 percent rate was the lowest in the district, while Breckinridge County posted the highest rate in the district at 5.9 percent.

Visit the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet online for more information.

Hosparus Health opens Care Guide Partners PACE center in Elizabethtown

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Hosparus Health affiliate Care Guide Partners held a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday celebrating the opening of the William B. and Janet B. Schmidt PACE Center, which is designed to provide easily accessible care for area seniors and their families.

Hosparus Health President and CEO David Cook said Wednesday’s opening was a long time coming.

“At two years, we’ve been working from the idea to getting the facility up and running, working through different pieces with the state, with Medicare, and to get that approval, to finally be ready to start helping people, it’s just phenomenal, so we’re thrilled today to be open and ready for business,” Cook said.

The PACE center is designed to support up to 250 individuals living in Bullitt, Grayson, Hardin, Hart, LaRue, and Nelson counties daily.

“On any given day as many as 120 of those individuals could be here at the center, whether it’s socialization, bingo, fun, or whether it’s actually health care, or therapy, or different support,” Cook said.

The PACE center is up and running, but Cook says Care Guide Partners is still seeking support to further expand.

“We had a goal of $3 million, and so we’ve got about $500,000 more that we want to raise to help support what we’re doing here, but we’re getting really close,” Cook said. “So we’re still looking for some final gifts to make this fully successful, but we’re thrilled at where we stand today.”

More information on the PACE center is available on the Hosparus Health website.

Radcliff Public Works offering pick-ups for Spring Clean Up

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Radcliff residents looking to tidy up can take advantage of the city’s Spring Clean Up Days, which run April 1 through April 30.

Items authorized for pick-up include no more than 10 gallons of paint in its original container, no more than 10 used tires, metal items, household appliances with freon removed by a certified tech, used motor oil, and small household items not normally picked up by waste management collectors.

Items that will not be accepted include propane containers or bottles, spray paint cans, toxic materials, fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, gasoline, diesel, paint thinners, pipe cleaners, chemical cleaning compounds, construction materials including shingles, commercially developed refuse, and plastic bags.

Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall said during the last city council meeting that residents should let the city know when they have placed items curbside, and keep items in a separate pile from trash, limbs, and leaves.

“If you do set something out, you can always call our Radcliff Public Works (270-351-8150) to notify them your address and what needs to be picked up,” Duvall said. “Also, limbs is coming up. For a limb pick-up, we ask you to also have those out by April 1.”

Spring clean-up is also a good time to remind residents to take care of their yards.

“It’s one of the biggest complaints, and I think our fire chief will tell you that people aren’t cutting their grass, without weedeating,” Duvall said. “Obviously, we know everybody’s not going to be pristine, but we do ask people to just try to do what’s right. If you can’t get your grass cut and you need help cutting your grass, feel free to call us.”

Contact the Radcliff Public Works Department or visit the Radcliff City Government Facebook page for more information.

Elizabethtown Public Works launching Spring Clean Up operations April 1

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The City of Elizabethtown will assist residents with the disposal of junk and debris during the annual Spring Clean Up days which run from April 1 through 30.

Elizabethtown Public Works Director Don Hill says the guidelines for collection can be found on the city’s website.

“We ask that you place the items near the street, not in the street, and within 10 feet of the back of the curb or edge of pavement, that way our equipment can reach it,” Hill said. “Smaller, loose items, we ask that you bag them. Put them in clear plastic bags, limit the weight to 50 pounds, and you can purchase those at Public Works and at the Pritchard Community Center.”

The city says do not mix large items with small items when setting them out for collection, and place brush in a separate pile.

“What we will not pick up is garbage, hazardous materials, liquids, paints, oils, antifreeze, construction debris, tires, or automobiles,” Hill said.

Junk and debris collection will cycle through the designated zones as needed throughout the month. Appliances will be picked up on a call-in basis from April 22 through 30.

“We’ll pick up dehumidifiers, washing machines, dryers, ranges, water heaters,” Hill said. “They’ll be picked up and recycled. Anything that contains freon needs to be removed professionally and tagged so we know when we show up that the freon or refrigerant has been removed in a professional manner.”

Find the Spring Clean Up guidelines on the city’s website or contact the city’s Public Works Department for more information.

Hardin County EMS revenue in February sees increase

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court heard updates from department heads during their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

Hardin County EMS Director Mark Peterson reported on January and February activity, with 1,623 calls responded to in January. Peterson said data may change for county EMS as Baptist Health Hardin’s EMS service went live for transfers in February.

“We were kind of curious to see how that’s going to impact us,” Peterson said. “We don’t have a great picture of it, but you can see right away that our responses went down significantly in February. We made 1,213 responses in February, and only 32 of those were transfers.”

Peterson said county EMS made more than $1,004,000 in collections in February.

“As far as I know, that’s our best month in revenue ever, and there’s a lot of things to that,” Peterson said. “We had some increases to our monthly allotments for the House Bill 8 money. We had about a $34,000 increase in that money that comes into us every month, and we’ve also been working very diligently with Judge Taul on some process improvements as far as our patient care reporting and stuff like that.”

In other meeting news, Hardin County E-911 Director Mike Leo said county 911 answered 4,116 calls in February.

Hardin County Jailer Josh Lindblom said the Hardin County Detention Center took in 510 inmates in February and released 506, with the average total population for the month 580. Inmates worked 10,735 hours, including filling 2,280 bags of trash.

Hardin County Judge-Executive Keith Taul said county government is preparing for the next fiscal year.

“We are in the middle of a budget process for the next fiscal year, as painful as it is, but we will plan to present the budget at the next meeting in April, and that will be our first reading of that budget, so that’s our plan right now,” Taul said.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet April 9, and the next Town Hall Forum will be held in the fiscal courtroom at 5:30 p.m. on April 30.