WQXE News
Vine Grove Mayor Pam Ogden says in 2025 the city focused on moving Vine Grove forward in a smart, responsible way by “investing in infrastructure, supporting public safety, and working with regional and state partners” to position the city for future growth.
“We invested $5 million in our wastewater treatment plant,” Ogden said. “We are still in the process of that. We purchased a new ladder truck for our fire department. We also ordered a new fire truck to replace the one that burned up in our fire that happened this year.”
Ogden spoke during the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s January Membership Luncheon Wednesday. Ogden said the city installed 16 Flock cameras, hired two full-time firefighters for the first time, and supported a fully-staffed police department with 12 officers.
The city received several grants aimed at infrastructure and beautification efforts, and city staff worked hard to improve the city’s service offerings.
“We had 15 out of 31 employees either attend training or they were certified in their position, so to me, that’s amazing,” Ogden said. “We have eight active subdivisions, 159 single and multi-family units. I’m especially proud of our city staff, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to serve our residents and businesses.”
Ogden said the goal for 2026 is to support local business, encourage thoughtful growth, and preserve quality of life.
“Some of my goals this year include a farmers market upgrade, finishing our wastewater treatment plant which should be finished this year, revitalizing our downtown and supporting the businesses that are moving there, sidewalk improvements, and hopefully we will have an ambulance stored in Vine Grove,” Ogden said.
Follow the Vine Grove City Hall Facebook page for city updates.
Students and their parents are invited to learn about scholarship opportunities and other college resources at Get Your Money Right 2026, to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, January 17 at North Hardin High School.
“The goal of the event is to put the high school students in the same room with these local scholarship opportunities and get them to fill out as many applications as they possibly can,” said event organizer Selena Hudson. “If they bring their Chromebooks that day, or in the future this month, they can fill out the application and get awarded that money, and not leave any money on the table.”
In addition to scholarship opportunities, the event will feature workshops, panel discussions, and guest speakers focusing on a range of financial literacy topics.
“We have Budgeting 101 through Abound Credit Union and AI for Teens with Lucas Solutions, and we also have our former garrison commander coming back in and he’s going to be our motivational speaker to kick off the day, to talk to the students about ‘don’t talk about it, be about it,’” Hudson said.
All students are welcome to attend this free event, but seniors are encouraged to register ahead of time in order to qualify for door prizes and scholarship giveaways.
“It’s going to be a great day for the college students,” Hudson said. “We’ve had businesses donate gift cards and gift all the things, and we will have about 20 local vendors that are offering scholarships and local organizations that are offering scholarships will be there.”
Find the link to register and more information on the Get Your Money Right Inc. Facebook group.
Kentucky is looking to help prevent identity theft and deliver modern licensing services.
Kentuckians can now download a Kentucky Mobile ID, a secure digital version of a standard or Real ID driver’s license or ID card. The Mobile ID can be used for air travel at more than 250 airports.
According to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the Mobile ID is stored on the user’s smartphone as a valid form of ID locked behind a mobile phone’s unique pin, touch ID, or face ID. Kentuckians with a state license, permit, or ID card can request a digital version through the app. The mobile ID does not replace your physical ID, so continue to carry a hard copy.
To get your Mobile ID, download the Kentucky Mobile ID Verify app from the App Store or Google Play, register the phone number of your device, take a picture of the front and back of your physical ID using your device’s camera, and take a live selfie.
The Transportation Cabinet says the Mobile ID is the state’s first step before launching driver licensing digital wallet options. More modernization efforts for Kentucky driver licensing will take place this summer. Visit drive.ky.gov/mobile-id for more information.