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KSP Post Four joining nationwide drunk driving enforcement initiative

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As the holiday season approaches, Kentucky State Police Post Four will be joining a nationwide enforcement initiative focused on reducing impaired driving crashes and keeping roadways safe.

KSP Post Four will take part in the nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which runs now through January 1. 

According to KSP Post Four, December historically sees a sharp rise in impaired-driving incidents, with current numbers the highest they have been in nearly 15 years. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that one person is killed in a drunk-driving crash, on average, about every 42 minutes, totalling more than 12,000 lives lost each year.

The KSP says impaired driving is “entirely preventable” and offers the following tips to help make sure no holiday gathering ends in tragedy:

-Arrange a sober ride home if alcohol or any impairing substance is part of your holiday plans.
-Use safe transportation such as rideshare services, taxis, and public transportation.
-If you encounter a vehicle being operated dangerously, when safe to do so contact 911 or your nearest KSP post.
-Always wear your seatbelt.

More information on drunk driving statistics and national safety initiatives can be found on the NHTSA website.

Quicksie Toy Factory delivers toys for 34th year

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For the 34th year, Quicksie 98.3 partnered with area factories to help make the holidays brighter for area children in need by way of the Quicksie Toy Factory.

Quicksie 98.3 Marketing Executive, and Quicksie Toy Factory organizer, Jennifer Meyers said the Toy Factory came about when station personnel were brainstorming on ways to give back to the community.

“We thought, ‘Hey, why not? We’ve got all this great industry here. Let’s reach out to all these factories and see which ones we can get to help us out,’” Meyers said. “So all these years later, we’re still going strong. This year, we have nine toy factories, and all the toys go to Helping Hand of Hope.”

Meyers escorted the Coleman Allied toy sled to each factory location, and delivered the donated items to Helping Hand of Hope, where Executive Director Hope Burke was happy to receive them for their Affordable Christmas Program.

“All of this, or the majority of it, will go for our second week for our Affordable Christmas Program because we have another weekend full of families that are coming to shop for their kiddos, and so we love this program because families get to come and be loved on at the churches and get to come and actually shop for their children,” Burke said.

There’s still time to support the Affordable Christmas Program ahead of the holidays.

“Gift cards are probably the greatest need now, so when we are running out of a certain age or something like that we can fill that in with that so parents can have that choice to pick out something for their child as well,” Burke said.

Visit www.helpinghandofhope.org to donate or learn more.

Hardin County Fiscal Court hosts first December meeting

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday.

Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul said it has been just over a week since Hardin County EMS formally launched their ninth full-time ambulance, which is housed at the West Hardin Fire and Rescue Station in White Mills, and the area is already seeing improved service.

“We have 17 responses so far and the average response time has been reduced down to right around 14 minutes from where it was, around 30 minutes, in that area of the county,” Taul said.

Hardin County Animal Care and Control Director Mike McNutt said the county saw 221 animals and administered 189 rabies shots at their final clinic of the year in October. He said the shelter is currently at an 88 percent live release rate for dogs for the year, but the county needs to get to 90 percent to reach no-kill status, and overpopulation problems are weighing on the shelter.

“Our sweet spot is 60 to 80 that we can take care of with the staff that we have,” McNutt said. “We have 123, and I had four people call out sick this morning, and we met and we discussed what we were going to do because when you’ve only got eight staff members for the day and it’s down that low, it’s a hard road to hoe.”

Hardin County Jailer Josh Lindblom reported the average daily population at the detention center in November was 606. Inmates worked 9,856 hours including collecting 2,104 bags of trash along 196.2 miles of county roadways.

Hardin County Emergency Management Director Joey Scott encouraged any county residents who have not yet done so to sign up for the county’s RAVE alerts, and said he has been making an extra effort getting the word out.

“I took an initiative to go ahead and get partnered up with Hardin County Schools and do a backpack flyer stuffer program,” Scott said. “We sent them home with the flyers and we’re already getting some feedback from them. We passed out roughly 10,000 to Hardin County Schools students, so we’re going to keep building and building and getting our message out and get more and more people to opt into the system.”

Sign up for RAVE alerts on the county website.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet December 18.

Number of Kentucky students pursuing healthcare degrees up

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More students in Kentucky are pursuing degrees in health-related fields.

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education announced during a Healthcare Workforce Collaborative event in Lexington Tuesday that enrollment in health-related majors across Kentucky public and private colleges and universities is up 22.8 percent since 2022.

According to the CPE, data shows enrollment in healthcare degrees has grown among several key demographics. Enrollment among students age 25 and older is up 17.3 percent, among low-income undergraduate students is up 30.5 percent, among first-generation undergraduate students is up 31 percent, and among Appalachian students is up 32.1 percent. 

The CPE says state officials have taken steps in recent years to address the shortage of healthcare workers in the state, including the passing of House Bill 200 in 2023 which is now “supported through public-private partnerships and provides scholarships, clinical expansion, and targeted support to help Kentuckians enter high-demand healthcare fields.” The CPE is requesting $1,000,000 from the Kentucky General Assembly in the next biennium to expand the Healthcare Workforce Collaborative and expand opportunities for more students.

Learn more about the program at cpe.ky.gov.