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State Theater Summer Movie Series kicks off Tuesday

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The 2024 Summer Movie Series at the Historic State Theater kicks off today.

“The Summer Movie Series is my personal favorite event that we do throughout the year at the State Theater,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “We’re excited for our 2024 series. It’s a family-friendly movie series offering showings at noon and 7 p.m. each Tuesday this summer beginning June 4 and running through July 31.”

Tickets to each showing are $2 and offer affordable family fun.

June will feature four Disney/Pixar favorites.

“We have Cars, The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc., so those are the first movies in the series, and those movies are loved by, I think, young and old, so we hope people come out and see those,” Pyles said.

July’s movies were selected to follow a theme.

“We are showing movies that are based upon books,” Pyles said. “So July 2 we’ve got Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which was one of my child’s favorite books when he was growing up.” 

The other July movies are Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, How to Eat Fried Worms, Charlotte’s Web, and Mary Poppins.

Doors open one hour prior to each showtime, and concessions will be served.

“A lot of times people tell us this is the first time they’ve brought their child to the movies because it’s movies that they can enjoy,” Pyles said. “We have young and old, so it’s open to everybody. We hope that everybody comes out and sees us.”

Visit www.thestate270.org for tickets and a full schedule of events at the theater.

Woman killed and man airlifted after Lincoln Parkway crash

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The Elizabethtown Police Department is investigating a fatal accident that occurred on the Lincoln Parkway Sunday.

Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer John Thomas says shortly before 11 a.m. on June 2, emergency responders were dispatched to the intersection of Lincoln Parkway and Sportsman Lake Road due to a reported serious injury collision.

Upon arrival, responding units found an unresponsive adult female in a white Toyota Highlander, along with a juvenile female who sustained minor injuries. The other vehicle was a black Toyota RAV 4, with the lone occupant being a male driver who also sustained serious injuries.

The driver of the Highlander was taken to Baptist Health Hardin, where she was pronounced dead. The driver of the RAV 4 was transported by air to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he is in critical condition.

Thomas says the preliminary investigation indicates that the Highlander was heading south on Sportsman Lake Road while attempting to cross Lincoln Parkway. The RAV 4 was heading west on Lincoln Parkway and entered the intersection, striking the driver’s side of the Highlander.

The victims are not being identified at this time. The Elizabethtown Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team’s investigation of the crash is ongoing.

Gregory touts pay increases, increased staff, and project plans in 2025 budget

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Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory delivered his message on the city’s budget for fiscal year 2025 during a special meeting of the Elizabethtown City Council Friday.

The mayor thanked the many people involved in developing what he believed to be the largest budget in the city’s history, starting with the department head’s identifying how to improve their departments.

“They have zeroed in on that and figured out how to make their departments better, therefore making it better for our citizens,” Gregory said. “They have sent it to us. We reviewed it. The council did a great job going through each project individually and determining whether it was cost effective and whether it was something that was warranted and needed in the city, and that’s how we got to where we are today.”

The budget includes $119.7 million in expenditures, up $10 million from the prior year, and includes raises to starting pay for fire and police personnel as well as a four percent increase for all other employees. The city will use “reserves from fund balances and external funding sources” to help realize several projects the city has planned for 2025 and beyond.

“All city departments are planning for anticipated growth through the anticipated start of production at BlueOval SK and related developments,” Gregory said. “This budget continues preparations for future years.”

The total police budget is set at $13 million and the total fire budget comes in at $11.7 million. After raising the occupational rate for the current budget, the city does not have plans to raise that rate in the 2025 budget, but an increase to sewer rates is anticipated this fall.

Gregory said the budget includes improvement to current facilities and infrastructure, but also focuses on expansion to support further growth.

“Work continues on the Hawkins Draft project and should be completed early in the budget year,” Gregory said. “This is an important piece to the growth of the south end of town. $1 million has been allocated to complete this project. Funds have also been allocated for various other small projects as well.”

The budget ordinance will go up for its first reading at Monday’s city council meeting.

Roundabout construction at Shepherdsville and Battle Training roads begins

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Work is ready to begin on Hardin County’s next roundabout.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District Four says roundabout construction at the intersection of Shepherdsville Road and Battle Training Road is getting under way. 

Preliminary work along the right of way at the intersection has started, and drivers entering the intersection from all four directions as well as drivers entering and exiting nearby businesses should be on the lookout for flaggers directing traffic.

The KYTC says the roundabout, which is due to be completed by November 1, will increase safety and efficiency at the intersection that sees nearly 10,000 combined vehicles per day using the two roads. Traffic shifts and short delays should be expected as the work continues.

Meanwhile, the installation of a large culvert on Saint John Road begins Monday, meaning new traffic restrictions in the area.

“We just need everybody to know back through the Croghan Drive neighborhood there that streets like Vanderbilt Drive, Winmoor Drive, Timber Lane, Reelfoot Drive, and Turtle Creek Drive, you’re all going to have to drive out to Harvard Drive in order to access Saint John Road there for the next 30 days,” said KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie. 

Work on the culvert is expected to be completed within 30 days. Follow KYTC District Four social media for project updates.