WQXE News

The Twin Lakes Skatepark Project is partnering with Hunger Skateparks to begin the design process for the planned skatepark in Grayson County, and they are seeking feedback from residents.

“We want to know ‘what do you want to see?’” said Twin Lakes Skatepark Project Chairman Casey Keown. “We don’t want to just put together a park based off of what we think it should be, right? ‘Unity through community’ is our motto, so we really want to incorporate everybody’s input in this new skate park.”

A link to the survey can be found on the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project’s Facebook page and website.

Keown says the project team has continued to make progress, including official recognition as a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization.

“Right now our focus is on community engagement and fundraising,” Keown said. “We’re all really excited to see where this is going and you know I think for the most part we’ve kind of got everybody on our side, and our cards are just falling in the right place at the right time.”

If you are looking to support the project, Friday is the deadline to purchase tickets for their Blackjack and Black Tie fundraiser on March 1.

“If you want to come out, it’s going to be at the Arbor Stone Vineyards in Leitchfield, and tickets are $50,” Keown said. “With your ticket, you’ll get entry into the event, you’ll get a meal, you’ll get a drink ticket, and you’ll get $25 in gaming credit.”

The link to purchase tickets can be found at www.twinlakesskatepark.org.

Two Hart County men were sentenced in federal court Thursday. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky says Dominick Woods of Bonnieville was sentenced five years in prison followed by four years of supervised release for one count of Conspiracy to Distribute More Than 40 Grams of Fentanyl and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

Meanwhile, Joshua Sanders of Cave City was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for one count of Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

Woods and Sanders faced charges related to a July 2023 incident in which they attempted to smuggle fentanyl pills into the Hart County Jail. The firearms charges were based on previous convictions, for Woods a 2020 Enhanced Trafficking in Marijuana charge out of the Hardin Circuit Court and for Sanders multiple charges from 2009 to 2019 out of the Barren, Hart, LaRue, and Warren circuit courts.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kentucky State Police, and the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. There is no parole in the federal system.

Baptist Health Hardin President Rob Ramey says the hospital and health system is still “building for a bright future” following the opening of the new medical pavilion at the hospital. That includes the opening of new facilities in Elizabethtown and Nelson County and evaluating new uses for properties that saw their facilities moved to the medical pavilion.

“We’ve moved a lot of things out, so it gives us a chance now to continue to assess and grow to meet our patients’ needs, but even more importantly, make it more accessible, make it easier for our patients,” Ramey said.

Ramey was the featured speaker at the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s February luncheon Wednesday. He says Baptist Health Hardin provides services to more than 400,000 patients, which is equal to one-tenth of the state’s population. Ramey says serving the fastest-growing region in the state means adapting to the needs of a rapidly changing population.

“If we can’t provide the service well, we’re not going to provide the service,” Ramey said. “We’re going to recruit excellent physicians. We’re going to provide the right care team around them to make sure that we’re providing an excellent service, which is why we’re glad and proud that we’ve been able to grow to provide all of these services within our hospital.”

Ramey touted innovative technology available at the hospital, including a 4D mammography clinical trial in partnership with Duke University and Calidar Inc. and three new cardiac catheterization labs. Ramey asked Dr. Aaron Mulhall to discuss the hospital’s ion bronchoscopy technology, which uses a 2 millimeter camera to check for lung cancer less invasively and more effectively.

“One out of five Kentuckians still smoke, so it’s like 17 to 20 percent,” Mulhall said. “We had the most cases of lung cancer in the United States last year and we’re still one of the worst in mortality, so for five-year survival we’re in the bottom, I think, five or six still.”

Ramey said the hospital has 300 certified beds, including 15 specifically designated for behavioral health.