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CASA of the Heartland celebrates growth with ribbon cutting at new office

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CASA of the Heartland celebrated the growth of the organization with a ribbon cutting at their new headquarters in Elizabethtown Monday.

CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail says the new office, located at 950 North Mulberry Street, Suite 290 in Elizabethtown, was needed after the organization expanded its service area to include LaRue County in 2023 and Breckinridge, Grayson, and Meade counties in 2024.

“We were just kind of looking down the road to see when we might need to post another position, and we realized that we weren’t going to have anywhere to put another person when we got to that point, so we decided to start our search for some spaces to see what was out there, and luckily we were very blessed to find the wonderful space that we’re in now,” Kail said.

Kail says in 2024 CASA of the Heartland served 265 children, and to this point in 2025 the organization has served 222 children.

“We suspect that those numbers will continue to increase, and that’s why we need more space and why we need more staffing because we are seeing an increase in services needed, and we want to be able to try to keep up with that need as best as possible, and that’s our ultimate goal is to just be able to serve as many kiddos as possible,” Kail said.

Anybody interested in serving as a court-appointed special advocate or is interested in volunteering in another capacity may visit the new office or visit www.casaheartland.org for more information.

Unemployment for Kentucky in May comes in at 5 percent

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Kentucky’s unemployment rate in May was mostly in line with where it was the year prior. 

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state unemployment average for May was 5 percent. That is up a tick from May 2024 when the average was reported at 4.9 percent, but it is down slightly from the April average of 5.2 percent.

Kentucky’s unemployment average also came in higher in May than the national unemployment rate, which the U.S. Department of Labor reported at 4.2 percent.

The Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet says the state’s civilian labor force, which includes people currently employed and people actively searching for work, saw an increase of 1,275 people from April to May, bringing the civilian labor force to a little less than 2,120,000.

The Education and Labor Cabinet says the Manufacturing, Leisure and Hospitality, Financial Activities, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Government, and Mining and Logging sectors saw gains in the month of May. The Construction, Professional and Business Services, Information Services, Other Services, and Educational and Health Services sectors saw decreases.

Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics website for more about unemployment figures and labor market information.

Stephen Foster Story hosting special Fourth of July festivities

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The Stephen Foster Drama Association is gearing up for their 25th-annual Fourth of July Celebration. 

According to the Drama Association, the Fourth of July is particularly significant to the organization as it not only recognizes the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, but also the birthday of Stephen Foster himself, fifty years later on July 4, 1826.

In celebration of both occasions, a family-friendly celebration will be held outside the J. Dan Talbott Amphitheatre prior to the 8 p.m. performance of The Stephen Foster Story on July 4. The celebration will include bouncy houses, games, and a cast meet and greet.

Guests for the show will be treated to cupcakes at intermission, and after the show they will have the best seats in the house for the fireworks display, along with an audience countdown and custom music for the spectacular.

Visit www.stephenfoster.com/tickets or call the box office (502-348-5942) to purchase tickets. The drama association says to purchase tickets early for this popular event.

Vintage cars rumbling through E-Town Wednesday for Great Race

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More than 100 antique automobiles will be making their way through Elizabethtown this Wednesday as part of the Hemmings Great Race.

The nine-day, 2,300-mile classic car rally takes the drivers on a different route each year. This year’s route runs from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Irmo, South Carolina. The driver’s will be stopping at the Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum for a hosted lunch stop.

“We have 120 vintage automobiles, all 1974 and older,” said Great Race Director Jeff Stumb. “The majority of the cars are pre-World War II cars, which is 1941 and older. The oldest car in the event this year is a 1913 Chevrolet.”

Stumb says the Great Race is much more than a vintage car show. Drivers are given specific instructions and scored at secret checkpoints along the route based on how well they follow the instructions. The instructions are adjusted for each automobile for fairness.

“The winner will be the one who does the event the most accurately,” Stumb said. “He drives the exact speeds we tell them, makes every turn, stops for the exact amount of time for nine days, 2,300 miles, and the winning team will get $50,000 out of a $162,000 total purse.”

Stumb says spectators are in for quite the sight.

“Every car gets an hour break, and they do the same route a minute apart, so as the first car arrives, the last car is still two hours out, and when the first car has been there an hour and leaves, the last car is still an hour out, so there will be cars coming and going,” Stumb said. “Spectators will think it’s 300 cars because they’re coming and going.”

Visit www.greatrace.com or the Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum on Facebook for more information on the race stop.