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Hardin County Attorney Oldham says domestic violence services will not end with SpringHaven closure

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

County Attorney Jenny Oldham provided some background information on the upcoming closure of the SpringHaven Inc. domestic violence shelter on June 30. Oldham said ZeroV, the state domestic violence coalition which distributes funding from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, will no longer be providing SpringHaven with funding designated for the Lincoln Trail District, but the funding isn’t going away.

“So the funding that the legislature gives ZeroV still exists for services in these eight counties, and I want to make sure everybody understands that,” Oldham said. “I don’t want to speak for ZeroV, but they’re going to give out more information. There’s a plan in place that will be executed July 1.”

Oldham said community partners may have to work a little harder to make sure services remain available at this time, but victims of domestic violence will not bear the burden and will still have access to help.

“I don’t want anyone who might be listening to this to think there’s no way out, there’s no reason to reach out,” Oldham said. “They will still get an answer on the other end of the call.”

Victims of domestic violence can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

In other meeting news, Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore said his office responded to 88 cases in April and 97 in May. Hardin County Sheriff John Ward said his office made 144 arrests, issued 203 citations, and served 138 warrants in April and May.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet July 14. The next county Town Hall Forum will be held in the fiscal courtroom on June 30.

NWS storm surveys confirm two tornadoes in Breckinridge County

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The National Weather Service in Louisville confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Breckinridge County during severe weather overnight from June 21 into June 22.

NWS Louisville Lead Forecaster Brian Schoettmer said the tornadoes were part of a larger supercell that brought several tornadoes through the area. One of the tornadoes touched down near Mystic.

“It was on the ground for just a short period of time, and it was rated an EF0 at 85 miles per hour, which is at the top end of the EF0 range,” Schoettmer said.

The second touchdown was just west of Irvington and was rated stronger.

“It was rated at EF1, 100 miles per hour, and they were just ten minutes apart, so pretty close together in time frame and in distance as well,” Schoettmer said.

Schoettmer said some structures were damaged and some large trees were snapped, which is typical for this level of storm.

He said the tornadoes are a reminder to have multiple methods of receiving alerts on inclement weather.

“A lot of people like to say they rely on outdoor sirens, but it’s important to differentiate that those are really just for folks outdoors,” Schoettmer said. “Those are not meant to be heard indoors, so it’s always good to have alerts set up on your phone, a NOAA weather radio, watch your local broadcast media, and weather apps. Those are all great ways to receive warnings.”

Schoettmer said to keep an eye on this weekend’s forecast as another round of severe storms and flooding threats may be seen.

Historic military vehicles and helicopter rides coming to Elizabethtown Nature Park

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Area residents looking for a fun way to celebrate Independence Day can take to the skies next week.

The Elizabethtown Nature Park will be hosting helicopter rides and a display of historic military vehicles July 2 and 3. The vehicles will be on display near the Veterans Tribute inside the nature park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

According to the City of Elizabethtown Events team, the National American Huey Museum will be offering public flights on an authentic Huey 369 helicopter. The flights will be available for a fee, with registration on site.

Other vehicles on display will include a Huey 803/Warrior 11, and vehicles provided by the U.S. G.I. Military Vehicle and History Group. The event, which is presented by Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1051 and the City of Elizabethtown, is free and open to the public.

Flights are weather permitting. Visit etownevents.com for more information.

City of Elizabethtown working on development plans for city’s south end

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Elizabethtown City Administrator Ed Poppe told the Elizabethtown City Council Monday that the recent groundbreaking of a hotel on the south end has highlighted city efforts to bring more projects to the area.

“The staff has also had discussions about offering other incentive programs to support the south end or to help spur additional development in that area,” Poppe said. “We have a couple programs that the city already operates.”

Poppe told the council the city is working on a development plan for the south end similar to the Downtown Master Plan. He said one of the first conversations to be had regarding development is the boundaries of the area in order to expand existing incentive programs such as grease trap installation assistance and facade work.

Poppe said whereas development downtown primarily consists of existing structures, development on the south end is primarily undeveloped lots, so the city needs to consider how to award incentives.

“Should we tie that to job creation, the number of jobs created and give certain incentives at certain levels?” Poppe said. “There’s also been some discussion that no, we should just offer incentives based on the investment.”

Poppe said dialogue needs to begin on what types of businesses the city wants to see on the south end. While a grocery store has been requested by residents, Poppe said the city has not had success with such developers.

“They have criteria where they look at the number of households or the number of rooftops within a certain radius of areas,” Poppe said. “It’s typically a one mile, three mile, or five mile radius, and again, most of those comments are there’s just not enough residential units in that sector of our community.”

Poppe said the city hopes to present a plan to the council this fall.