WQXE News
A Hart County company was given probation and a fine for environmental violations.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky says Logsdon Valley Oil Inc., also known as Hart Petroleum, was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $100,000 for violating the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says court documents show that in 2019 Logsdon Valley Oil discharged brine water from oil and gas production into sinkholes without a permit, threatening the quality of groundwater in the area. It was noted that the company was previously convicted of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2013.
A representative from the Environmental Protection Agency said sentencing companies like Logsdon Valley Oil is important in order to demonstrate to companies that the EPA and local law enforcement will take action to protect communities and local water supplies.
Information on the Safe Drinking Water Act can be found on the EPA’s website.
An Elizabethtown factory was highlighted during Governor Andy Beshear’s Team Kentucky update Thursday.
The governor congratulated LOTTE Aluminum Materials USA for beginning the hiring process to fill 122 full-time jobs at their Elizabethtown facility.
Governor Beshear said LOTTE’s commitment to Elizabethtown is a product of the state’s strong relationship with South Korea. He said LOTTE has connections across the globe that can benefit the state.
“I got to visit the company when I was in Seoul just about a month ago, and the opportunity to have such a sophisticated company open up a facility in Kentucky gives us the opportunity for growth over time,” Beshear said. “This is a big win for us, and we’re going to make sure it’s a big win for this company, and we can’t wait for the decades to come and how this partnership grows and evolves.”
LOTTE announced plans to build a $238.7 million aluminum foil manufacturing facility in Hardin County in 2022. The facility will produce cathode foil, a core material used in EV batteries.
Production Manager Germain Smith spoke during the update and said support from the state and from LOTTE’s Korean headquarters will allow employees to hit the ground running.
“We have been fortunate to have the ability to start investing in our employees from the beginning,” Smith said. “By partnering with the local community college and Kentucky Trains, this opportunity has allowed us to build custom training programs for our employees to participate in.”
Smith said partnerships with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College have also proven beneficial, including training for Korean employees on American culture and for American employees on Korean culture.
The staff at the Hodgenville Police Department are enjoying their new digs.
“The city had the opportunity to purchase the old DWE building located at 1250 Old Elizabethtown Road at the corner of KY 210 and Northridge Circle here in town,” said Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson. “It’s a big building. We have an administrative portion of the front and a large warehouse in the back along with an impound lot area that’s fenced in next to the building.”
That’s Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson. The new location was an opportunity for two city departments to get more space.
“It was a little bit too big for us, and a bit too big for maintenance, but together we’re going to share it, so we’re in the front and we share the back portion of the building with the Maintenance Department,” Richardson said.
Richardson said after splitting some services between the old and new locations things are just about at 100 percent at the new office.
“We moved in last week, and we’ve got everything up here,” Richardson said. “We’ve got a few more minor things to get done, some housekeeping issues. We’re constructing a little bit of this, that, and the other, but everything we need is here, so we’re actually moved into the building.”
The Hodgenville Police Department plans to host an open house at the new building once things are fully installed.
A late-summer staple in Elizabethtown will return next weekend.
“The Heartland Homecoming Parade is Saturday, August 24,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “Step off is at 10 a.m. This will be the 41st event for the Heartland Homecoming Parade. We step off on the square and travel north on Dixie Highway, ending at St. John Road.”
The theme for this year’s parade is “Hello Hollywood.”
“We are very excited about that, and some of the floats that you will see will be showing some of the latest and greatest favorite Hollywood stars, so we’re very excited about the entries we have this year,” Pyles said. “We have over 70 entries in the parade this year.”
The entertainment theme fits in well with the selection of this year’s parade Grand Marshal Betty Marsee, the former co-president of Youth Theatre of Hardin County.
“Her name is synonymous with Youth Theatre of Hardin County, and her and her late husband led the board as a team until she retired,” Pyles said. “The impact that they’ve had on our community is immense, and we could not think of someone more fitting to be the grand marshal, especially with the theme of ‘Hello Hollywood.’”
Road closures in the area of the parade began at 7 a.m. on August 24. The parade is set to begin at 10 a.m. Visit the Events page on the City of Elizabethtown website for more information.