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Water districts make annual reports to Hardin County Fiscal Court

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

Hardin County Water District No. 1 General Manager Jeff Metz and Hardin County Water District No. 2 General Manager Shaun Youravich gave the court their respective companies’ annual presentations.

Metz said despite lower than anticipated revenues, District 1 was able to keep expenses under control and finished 2024 with a positive margin. Metz noted several projects which expanded the district’s water efficiency by 18 percent and connected unserved roads in the county to water service, and many projects benefited from county ARPA funding and other grant opportunities.

“That would basically be impossible without grant funding to help make that happen, so all those citizens I can assure you are greatly appreciative of being awarded those grant dollars, and we appreciate giving opportunities to expand that and get that water service to them,” Metz said.

Youravich said District 2 was anticipating a loss for sewer operations in 2024, but the BlueOval SK plant getting online in 2024 had not been anticipated in projections and instead sewer operations had more than $400,000 in revenue. Water revenue saw an increase in 2024 partially due to an extended dry season, and Youravich noted the efficiency of the district’s operations.

“We had 10 breaks per 100 miles, because we had about 1,100 miles of water main, so we were well within the excellent performance category, and when you compare that to other utilities across the U.S. the national average is 25 to 30 breaks per 100 miles,” Youravich said.

Metz said District 1 was awarded the Best Tasting Water award from the Kentucky Rural Water Association, and Youravich said Kentucky as a whole ranked third in best drinking water rankings nationwide.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet March 25.

Health officials advise of importance of vaccination after two more child flu deaths reported

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The deaths of two more Kentucky children from influenza have been announced. 

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services says a total of three children have died from influenza this respiratory illness season after the deaths of a child from the Barren River District and a child from Jefferson County were reported.

According to a release from the cabinet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described this flu season as the worst in over 15 years. Health officials recommend necessary precautions including washing hands regularly with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes, staying home when sick, and staying up to date on vaccinations.

The CDC recommends everyone that is six months of age or older get the annual flu and COVID-19 vaccines, especially people with high-risk medical conditions. There’s still time to get vaccinated as flu season traditionally runs through April, and there are two codominant subtypes of influenza currently circulating. Contact your medical provider or your area health department for vaccination information.

More information on respiratory illness data can be found at CoverYourCough.ky.gov.

Murder trial for Rineyville man set to begin this week

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The murder trial of a Rineyville man is due to begin this week.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that jury selection began Monday for the Commonwealth of Kentucky versus Jordan Henning. Henning was arrested and charged with Murder following the June 2023 shooting death of his wife Ashley Henning.

“From my knowledge, it was her birthday and they were having a party, and sometime during that party, the husband and wife get into it,” said Hardin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy David Lee, discussing the incident with Quicksie and the Wolf in 2023. “People at the party start to leave. Neighbors come over to try to talk to them, and I think one of the neighbors actually takes the children and takes them home. He kind of runs the neighbors off. The majority of the people leave, and evidently they still get into it, stay into it, and he shoots her five times and then leaves, and he was caught by our deputies shortly after he left the scene.”

Officials said both of the Hennings were active duty service members stationed at Fort Knox at the time of the incident, which led to the Fort Knox Criminal Investigation Division joining the sheriff’s office in the investigation.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Wednesday. Henning has been held at the Hardin County Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond.

Elizabethtown council discusses proposed stormwater utility fee

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The Elizabethtown City Council met for a work session Monday evening.

Chris Rust with Strand Associates Inc. presented to the council on the stormwater utility fee assessment commissioned by the city. Rust said the study evaluated residential and non-residential properties across the city to determine the number of equivalent residential units.

“Basically what that means is what is the average amount of impervious area on one residential parcel,” Rust said. “So when we’re talking about impervious areas, we’re talking about rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, those types of surfaces that really generate more stormwater runoff when there’s a rainfall event.”

77 percent of the ERUs identified are on non-residential properties and 23 percent are on residential properties. The study broke down projections based on rates the city could potentially set.

“Even at $4 per ERU, that stormwater utility program would generate nearly $1.9 million annually, and up to about $4 million annually if the ERU was $8.60,” Rust said.

Elizabethtown Stormwater Management Director Rita Davis said the additional revenue from a stormwater utility fee would be useful as the city looks at increased usage with area growth.

“As you guys know, we spend $4 million or so a year on stormwater, capital stormwater projects, so this is a way to kind of offset some of those costs,” Davis said. “Every property in the city is utilizing our stormwater system in some capacity.”

In other meeting news, City Engineer Michael Page updated the council on several projects. Page noted work such as the completion of the Meadow Lane project, securing easements for the outdoor music venue, and the Veterans Way roundabout.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet March 17.

Decline in voter registration seen in Kentucky since 2020

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Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams says despite Kentucky’s population increasing since he took office in 2020, the number of registered voters has actually declined. 

The Secretary of State’s Office says more than 231,000 eligible voters were removed from Kentucky voter rolls in February in compliance with federal and state laws. The National Voter Registration Act and Kentucky’s equivalent law require a multi-year process to remove inactive voters “unless they die, are judged mentally incompetent or guilty of a felony, or act to remove themselves.”

About 225,000 voters removed in February were removed due to inactivity. Of those removed, 99,168 were Democrats, 95,732 were Republicans, and 30,411 were independent or other. 

The Secretary of State’s Office says Republican registration accounts for 47 percent of the electorate. Democratic registration makes up 42 percent, and independent or other makes up 11 percent.

Kentuckians can register to vote or check their registration status by visiting govote.ky.gov, or by contacting their county clerk’s office.