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Kentucky voter registration sees another increase in December

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Voter registration in Kentucky saw another surge in December.

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office says more than 6,500 Kentuckians registered to vote in the month of December.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Republican registration in December increased by 5,690 voters, and independent or other registration increased by 1,018. Democratic registration decreased by 4,580 voters. Republican registration makes up 48 percent of the state electorate, Democratic registration makes up 41 percent, and independent or other makes up 11 percent.

The Secretary of State’s Office says 4,422 voters were removed from the rolls in December. 3,906 were deceased, 232 moved out of state, and 170 were convicted felons.

While the deadline for currently registered voters to set their party affiliation ahead of the primary election passed on December 31, unregistered Kentuckians have until April 20 to register to vote in the primary. You can register or check your registration status by visiting govote.ky.gov, or by contacting your county clerk’s office.

In other voting news, the public drawing for ballot position in Hardin County will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Hardin County Fiscal Courtroom. The drawing will be preceded by a meeting of the Hardin County Election Board at 1 p.m. Both the meeting and the drawing are open to the public.

Hardin Circuit Court Clerk’s Office temporarily relocated at justice center

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Visitors to the Hardin County Justice Center looking for the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office will find it has been temporarily relocated.

Due to construction at the justice center, the clerk’s office service windows are now in the former driver’s license area on the first floor, past the elevators and beyond the first hallway on the right. Patron services are located in the lobby outside the clerk’s office across from the court security office. Visitors to the justice center should also avoid parking in the third row of the front parking lot.

According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, the construction at the justice center will expand the clerk’s office, and the justice center will get a new HVAC system, updated lighting, and new ceiling tiles. To accommodate the expansion, Pretrial Services and the Court Designated Worker Program offices moved to 916 North Mulberry Street early last year.

Project updates will be posted to the Hardin County page on the Kentucky Court of Justice website. Contact the circuit clerk’s office at 270-766-5000 for more information.

Warm Blessings board says services continuing following death of executive director

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Warm Blessings Community Kitchen board member Diana Leathers says following the death of executive director Dawn Cash in December the board began taking actions to move the organization forward.

“There was a week that was already planned to be closed, and then we knew that with Dawn’s passing we needed to work out some details and understand what the situation was going to be going forward, and to give staff time to grieve and volunteers that are so important to the mission, give them time to grieve and work through that, Leathers said.

Warm Blessings reopened on January 8. Leathers says day services will remain open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and all core services will continue, including hot community meals which will still be served Monday through Friday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Leathers says the lone exception is pantry services, which the organization is working with Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland on spinning off.

“Anybody who is food insecure, and that just means that they don’t necessarily know where their next meal is going to come from, those doors are open for them,” Leathers said. “We do not ask for any kind of income verification. A lot of programs are required to do that because of their funding sources, but Warm Blessings has always been an open door.”

Leathers says any changes at the organization are made with sustainability in mind.

“We want to make sure that everything, especially what Dawn put into it, all the previous executive directors, that that is something that we’re going to be able to carry forward, and so we are very committed to that and we want to make as little changes as possible, but some changes were necessary, and again, that’s just for sustainability,” Leathers said.

Leathers says appointments are required for shower and laundry access, but walk-ins can check on availability or schedule a time.

Visit www.warmblessings.org or the Warm Blessings Community Kitchen Facebook page for more information.

CASA of the Heartland expanding to include Hart County

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In their first full year serving five counties, CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail says the organization and its volunteers put in the effort to meet growing demands.

“Within that year, we were able to serve 312 children with 108 CASA volunteers, and we had several case closures throughout the year, kiddos who were able to achieve permanency, so we had some really great successes,” Kail said.

Part of that success came from bringing new volunteers into the fold.

“We trained and swore in 38 new CASA volunteers, which is more than our program has ever trained before, and a lot of those volunteers were sworn in at the very end of the year and just took their first case this week, so we’re hoping to see even more growth and success in 2026,” Kail said.

2026 will bring more growth as the organization expands its service area to include Hart County.

“Hart County and LaRue County share a judge, and so it was just a natural affinity for us to be able to pick up and continue services in Hart County, and they were previously served by CASA of South Central Kentucky, and they’re looking at having conversations to expand in other parts of the state, so it was just a good opportunity for us to be able to transition Hart County over to CASA of the Heartland,” Kail said.

Kail says the organization still has 125 children on their wait list who are in need of a volunteer. Learn more about how you can get involved or support the organization by visiting www.casaheartland.org or by calling 270-982-2274.