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ECTC offering FAFSA help at tailgate party

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Elizabethtown Community and Technical College will be helping families fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid with a fun event Tuesday. 

ECTC says they will have games, food, and prizes for anyone who needs help completing the FAFSA ahead of the Fall 2024 semester at their FAFSA Tailgate Party, which will be held July 23 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Regional Postsecondary Center on ECTC’s campus.

Financial aid professionals will be on hand to help families with the FAFSA, and the help may be extra beneficial as colleges still deal with the redesigned FAFSA process that came with the passing of the FAFSA Simplification Act. ECTC says many students and parents encountered delays when they initially tried to file the form.

Tailgate attendees should bring their 2022 tax forms including W-2s as well as their FSA ID if they have one. The FAFSA must be completed in order for students to qualify for federal aid such as the Pell Grant and state aid such as the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship.

The tailgate is happening the same day as ECTC’s next Open House Tuesday. Academic and admissions assistance along with campus tours will be available from noon to 6 p.m.

Contact the ECTC Financial Aid Office at 270-706-8802 for more information or assistance.

Helping Hand of Hope launches Thrift Store to give neighbors positive shopping experience

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Helping Hand of Hope rolled out a new way of helping neighbors in need this week as they launched their new Thrift Store.

“The Thrift Store is actually an addition to Helping Hand of Hope that we have created in one of the extra areas that we have here,” said Helping Hand of Hope Executive Director Hope Burke. “We really wanted something for when our neighbors come in that really need an extra hand when it comes to clothing or accessories for their home that they were able to come in and actually afford the things that they were coming to get.”

Burke says the Thrift Store was designed to offer a unique experience.

“In our hearts when we did this, we wanted it to be a more of a boutique feel versus just everything thrown together because that was one thing that some of our neighbors had expressed when they go secondhand shopping, they just feel like everything’s everywhere and they don’t ever feel like they get to go and do things like that, like a boutique experience, so that was something very important for us,” Burke said.

All are welcome to enjoy the Thrift Store, and a voucher program is available by meeting with a case manager. Donations to support the Thrift Store will be accepted, however Burke said they are not asking for clothing at this time.

Burke says the Thrift Store is part of some exciting developments at Helping Hand of Hope.

“We’re just really excited about this, and we just want the community to come together, whether they are wanting to donate, whether they’re wanting to buy, come out and just check it out,” Burke said. “Come and see what we really, truly put our heart and soul into and just see the direction that Helping Hand of Hope is doing.”

The Thrift Store is open at Helping Hand of Hope, located at 6796 South Wilson Road in Elizabethtown, from 9 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 9 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of each month.

U.S. 62 bridge work delayed

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Bridge replacement work that was scheduled to begin on the U.S. 62 bridge over Rolling Fork Slough near the Hardin-Nelson county line has now been delayed.

“That project is going to be delayed just a couple of weeks now,” said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie. “We have just learned that some test drilling equipment and drill shafts for some of the materials they’re using are not going to be available at the time they thought, so this is going to be delayed probably a couple of weeks and we’ll be posting new information as soon as that’s available.”

The KYTC says a 90-day closure of the bridge was included in the $2.38 million contract that was awarded to E and B Paving LLC for the bridge replacement. Closing the bridge was determined to be the most efficient way to complete the work. The bridge was expected to reopen around September 20. 

Once the work is ready to go, detours will be in place for traffic going in both directions on the bridge. Follow KYTC District Four on social media for more information and project updates.

Billy and Kathy Edwards remembered for how much they cared

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Hardin County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Billy Edwards is being remembered for his kindness and commitment.

“As a young cop, Billy took me and so many others under his wing,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “At face value, he often seemed unreasonable and unnecessarily gruff, but in reality he had the heart of a teddy bear. He had a fierce passion for being an investigator, and he was distinguished and bigger than life.”

Edwards and his wife Kathy were killed Sunday evening in a collision at the intersection of the U.S. 31W Bypass and the westbound ramp of the Western Kentucky Parkway. Billy Edwards was 67 and Kathy Edwards was 58.

“Kathy complimented him in so many ways, but she was kind and loyal and made him better,” Denham said. “Following some pretty challenging times that I faced a couple years ago, Kathy checked in on me often and did so genuinely because she cared.”

Edwards was a 24-year veteran of the Elizabethtown Police Department. Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright says Edwards began serving as Creekside Elementary School’s school resource officer at the beginning of this year after serving as SRO at Woodland Elementary.

“He was well loved by the students and staff at most schools,” Wright said. “He was passionate about their safety and was dedicated to ensuring that students learned in a safe and compassionate environment. We offer deepest condolences to the Edwards family, their friends, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office family and the steadfast group of Hardin County Schools school resource officers and our community of devoted law enforcement officers.”

Creekside Elementary students wishing to speak with somebody about Edwards may contact the Creekside office. Funeral arrangements are pending.