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Ford to repurpose Glendale facilities for energy storage

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Four days after the announcement that Ford and SK On would be dissolving their joint venture for battery factories, the Detroit automaker announced a shift in focus that will result in a new operation at the Glendale facilities and the loss of 1,600 jobs.

In a release published by the company Monday, Ford announced “a series of actions to sharpen its Ford+ plan, executing a decisive redeployment of capital to meet customer demand and drive profitable growth.”

Those actions include the repurposing of the Kentucky One and Kentucky Two BlueOval SK plants in Glendale “to serve the rapidly growing battery energy storage systems market.” Ford says the change “will leverage currently underutilized electric vehicle battery capacity to create a new, diversified, and profitable revenue stream for Ford.” Ford plans to convert the facilities from an electric vehicle battery plant to produce advanced battery energy storage systems. Ford says they plan to produce “LFP prismatic cells, battery energy storage system modules, and 20-foot DC container systems” at the facility.

Ford says it will invest $2 billion over the next two years to develop the new operation, which they plan to bring online within 18 months. While Ford says the energy storage facility will include 2,100 jobs, Ford executives said in a call with media that current operations at BlueOval SK will cease and the plant’s 1,600 workers will be laid off. A timeframe for the layoffs was not announced, but Ford said the laid off workers would have the opportunity to apply for the new operation.

The original BlueOval SK announcement from September 2021 reported the project to be a $5.8 billion investment which would lead to approximately 5,000 new jobs. BlueOval SK announced the production of their first battery in August.

Hardin County PAC taps Taylor as new director

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Aaron Taylor came on board as the Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center’s technical director in 2005, but he will be moving into a different office soon as HCS has announced Taylor as the PAC’s new director.

Taylor said getting selected was “extremely humbling.”

“I’ve been here for 20 years, and I knew from the second that I walked in here, before I even worked here when I used to come here with the Blue Apple Players on their tour, I knew this was a place I wanted to spend my life,” Taylor said. “I absolutely love this theater. I love what we do. I love what is possible here, what we can do in the future, and I can’t wait to tap into that.”

Taylor steps into the role as Bart Lovins, the PAC’s director since 2001, retires at the end of the month. Taylor says it is special to follow the person who hired him on.

“I am extremely indebted and grateful to Bart,” Taylor said. “One, for that opportunity, and to be lucky enough to work beside him for 20 years has been unbelievable, and to just try and soak up a little bit of his energy and work ethic. We say around here, ‘if you play the game of trying to keep up with Bart, you’re going to lose.’”

Taylor says he is looking forward to making sure everybody knows about the PAC.

“I feel I owe it to this theatre to make sure that people understand how beautiful and important she is, and to make sure that we create all kinds of arts opportunities for especially our kids and everyone through our community,” Taylor said.

The PAC will present The Nutcracker December 19, 20, and 21. Visit www.thepac.net for ticket information.

North Hardin Team wins $10,000 prize at Altec Innovation Challenge

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Fifteen teams from area schools put their creativity and critical thinking to the test Thursday during the sixth annual Altec Innovation Challenge, held at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.

According to Altec, participants in the challenge are tasked with “developing innovative solutions to real-world problems that positively impact their communities.”

“The idea for the Innovation Challenge was really to just continue to spur the idea around technology and STEM in our younger generations,” said Altec Elizabethtown General Manager Daniel Flory. “We’ve been in our communities for a long time. We’ve been in E-Town since 1997. We want to continue to invest in our communities so that we can have a great place to work for our families and see our communities grow.”

North Hardin High School’s team which consisted of students Michael Logan, Josiah Smith, Gabriel Roche-Melendez, Ryan Johnson, and Amber Kirksey claimed first place for their project titled “Under 10 Seconds”. With their teacher Clyde Grant, the team “designed a mechanical device that secures a classroom door in less than 10 seconds, and remains dependable even during high stress, power failures, or situations where technology may not respond as expected.”

“When we had lockdowns last year at North Hardin High School, that was a real life scenario, and the students that were in Mr. Grant’s classroom, they used this device and they said ‘can I go back to working? I feel secure, I feel safe,’” said North Hardin student Michael Logan. “So you take that and you multiply that throughout the district, and now every student in our school has that security to know they are protected in the worst-case scenario.”

The winning team received $10,000 to implement their project in the spring of 2026. Educators interested in learning more may email etowninnovationchallenge@altec.com.

Nominations open for Kentucky Governor’s Service Awards

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The Kentucky Governor’s Office is recognizing the contributions of community volunteers across the commonwealth. 

Nominations are now being accepted for the Governor’s Service Awards, which honor Kentuckians whose dedicated service is improving the lives of others. Now in its 30th year, a special ceremony is held to publicly honor the recipients and others who have served their communities “through volunteering and service without expectation of reward or commendation.”

According to the governor’s office, nominators should provide detailed examples of service activities, impact, leadership, and community outcomes. The nominations will be reviewed by a statewide panel, with selected honorees recognized at a ceremony in Frankfort in April.

The governor’s office says nominations may highlight service in areas such as education, public health, food security, disaster response, social supports, community revitalization, nonprofit leadership, and more. Previous honorees have been individuals, youth, AmeriCorps members, nonprofits, veterans, and faith-based organizations.

Nominations are due by January 6. More information on the awards and volunteer efforts in the commonwealth, along with the required nomination form, can be found at serve.ky.gov.