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Area law enforcement warns of two reported scams

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Area law enforcement agencies are warning residents of two scams attempts that have been reported.

“There’s a scam text message circulating that claims to be from the United States Postal Service alleging that a portion of your address was absent on a parcel that is to be delivered to you,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “The text message suggests that the recipient should click on an embedded link to resolve the issue. I would encourage anyone who receives this message to delete it as it is not legitimate.”

Meanwhile, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office says a person named Spencer Turner is calling people claiming to be with the sheriff’s office and telling people how to pay a $1,500 fine they supposedly owe. The sheriff’s office says this is a scam, and is reminding the public that law enforcement will never try to collect money via phone or text.

Voter registration strong to end 2023, Sec. of State says

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Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams says the state ended 2023 with another strong round of voter registrations, with 6,562 voters registering in December.

The Secretary of State’s Office also says in December 3,459 voters were removed from the voter rolls including about 2,500 deceased voters and about 500 felony convicts.

The office says about 1.6 million Kentucky voters are registered as Republicans, about 1.52 million are registered as Democrats, and about 358,000 are registered as independent or other.

Adams says voter interest is expected to be strong in 2024 with it being a presidential election year, so his office is preparing for early voting and election day operations as more than 2 million Kentuckians are expected to cast ballots in November.

You can check your registration status or find election information on the state’s voter information portal at govote.ky.gov.

Hardin County Fiscal Court hears department updates

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court heard several department updates during their meeting Tuesday.

County Attorney Jenny Oldham provided statistics on her office’s activities in 2023, which included work in criminal, civil, and family court cases. The office handled more than 2,000 misdemeanor cases and more than 1,300 felony cases, and helped collect more than $9.2 million in child support. Oldham said a 44 percent decrease in child abuse cases has been seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that number is not what it seems.

“What we think we’re seeing is 44 percent fewer cases that we’re involved in because there’s not staff, staffing for social workers is down,” Oldham said. “A big part of that is because our teachers and our school personnel are the people who make the reports, and kids were not in school and teachers were not seeing these.”

County 911 Director Mike Leo said 911 answered more than 4,200 calls in December, and more than 55,000 calls over 2023. County EMS Director Mark Peterson said the department made 1,734 runs in December, bringing their total runs during the fiscal year to date to more than 9,800. Peterson said he is proud of the efforts of his staff to help meet a goal by Judge-Executive Keith Taul for the department to reduce expenses by $200,000.

“Our supply budget overall is down about $87,000 from this time last year, and we’ve reduced our costs-per-run from $25 a run to $14 a run,” Peterson said.

Taul issued a proclamation declaring January 23 as Sophia Todd Day in recognition of Miss Kentucky’s Teen’s fourth runner-up finish and talent preliminary win in the Miss America’s Teen pageant. Todd thanked her family and community for their support, and said she is proud the pageant has allowed her to leave a legacy for her hometown.

“My mission is to promote art therapy so that it is available in all schools the way that speech therapy is now,” Todd said. “Art can combat depression and anxiety as well as improve heart health in those who cannot physically get fit.”

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet February 13, but the fiscal court’s next town hall forum will be held at 5:30 p.m. on January 30 in the fiscal courtroom. The open house presenting the county’s new comprehensive plan will also be held on the 30th at the county building beginning at 4:30 p.m.

ECTC using DOE grant to advance manufacturing pipeline

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Elizabethtown Community and Technical College is celebrating what the college says will be a new opportunity to get area students into advanced careers.

“We received a $1.9 million grant from the Department of Education to build our manufacturing pipeline across the region and create local teams that bring education together in K-12, employers, the college, all of these stakeholders who want to see more people in manufacturing careers and provide the coordination and support needed to help make that happen,” Stith said.

That’s ECTC Chief Advancement Officer Megan Stith. ECTC is one of four institutions in Kentucky and 22 nationally to receive the grant, which will run through 2027.

Stith says the new program will be a collaborative effort.

“This is a really exciting opportunity to stand up a team approach to filling these advanced manufacturing skills gaps in our rural parts of ECTC’s service area, and with four years to bring this project to life,” Stith said. “We’re just really excited to see the potential that our region will have now to work together and help put more, especially, middle and high schoolers into these high-wage, high-demand skills.” 

Stith says ECTC is excited that the grant will provide for a long-term mission rather than a short-term boost, and they are already looking for the personnel that will lead that mission

“This funding has created four full-time positions, three that will be posted in the coming weeks, and one is currently active right now: the director for the program,” Stith said. “We would love a wonderful pool to draw from with that opportunity, so folks are encouraged to apply.”

You can find more information on the program, and view that job opening, on ECTC’s website.