WQXE News

The Kentucky State Police is investigating a fatal collision in Meade County Thursday.

According to KSP Post Four, at around 10:30 a.m. on August 21 troopers from Post Four and the KSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division responded to a request from Meade County Dispatch to assist with the investigation of a crash near the 14,000 block of U.S. 60.

The KSP says the preliminary investigation indicates that a tractor-trailer operated by Marshall Morgan of Guston was travelling east on U.S. 60 when for unknown reasons the vehicle crossed the center line, striking a pickup truck operated by Glenda Ricketts of Shepherdsville.

A passenger in the pickup, 80-year-old Jerry Ricketts of Shepherdsville, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Meade County Coroner’s Office. Glenda Ricketts and Morgan were both transported to the University of Louisville Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

The KSP’s investigation is ongoing.

Hardin County/Ninth Judicial Circuit Commonwealth’s Attorney Shane Young is receiving some special recognition.

Young received the 2025 Outstanding Commonwealth’s Attorney Award at the Kentucky Prosecutors Conference in Lexington Wednesday.

“Personally, it’s gratifying, but really, I think it’s a reflection on what the office does,” Young said. “Not just me, but I have seven other prosecutors that work with me, and I’ve been lucky enough to assemble what I think is probably the most talented group of commonwealth’s attorneys in the state, and they’ve actually stuck with me.”

Young said to him the job means “bringing justice to victims, and then keeping the community safe.”

“Me and Teresa relocated there 20-something years ago, and our kids grew up there, and waking up every morning and making sure your kids are safe, and that your parents are safe, and that your family’s safe, is something really easy to work at,” Young said.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said in a release: “Shane has never shied away from a challenge. There was no hesitation on Shane’s part when he took on a decade-old murder case and ultimately secured three convictions. On behalf of our office, the people of Nelson County, and the family of Crystal Rogers, we are grateful for his dedication and tireless pursuit of justice.”

Young said the Bardstown cases are another testament to his team.

“There’s a lot of people involved in that besides me, especially my wife Teresa Young and Jim Lesousky, who is a prosecutor at Louisville, and my office with me not being there a lot has continued to operate and continue to deliver consistent justice to Hardin County on their own, and I think that’s a good reflection of the talent that’s working out of the office,” Young said.

Young was elected to his third term as commonwealth’s attorney in 2024.

Kentucky will be getting a new area code as an overlay complex is introduced in the 502 region.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission has announced that residents in the 502 area code region will soon be seeing a second area code: 761.

According to a release from the commission, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator estimates that available telephone numbers will soon be exhausted in the 502 region, with projections indicating the numbers will run out in the third quarter of 2027. The commission held a series of public comment meetings and determined that an overlay was the most efficient and cost effective strategy rather than splitting the region. The 502 area code will remain in use and current customers will not lose their number. The only change for customers will be the need to utilize 10-digit dialing.

The release from the commission states: “Industry guidelines maintain that an ‘overlay’ area code should be in place at least six months before an in-use area code is exhausted. A specific date for the introduction of the 761 area code has not been set.”

The NANPA estimates the new area code will have sufficient numbers for the region for approximately 30 years. The 502/761 region includes Bullitt, Jefferson, and Nelson counties along with parts of Hardin and Meade counties including Fort Knox, Muldraugh, and West Point.

502 was one of the original area codes introduced in 1947, when it covered the entire state. It became the area code for Western Kentucky when 606 was introduced in 1954 for Eastern Kentucky, then became the code for North-Central Kentucky in 1999 when 270 was introduced for Western Kentucky.