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Springhaven partnership with FOHCAS supports animal owners during difficult time

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Springhaven Inc. Assistant Director Shonna Sheckles says the organization’s partnership with Friends of Hardin County Animal Shelter over the past year has provided peace of mind for domestic violence survivors as they are faced with a difficult choice.

“Our survivors, when they come to us, they have pets, and a lot of people look at their pets as their children and they don’t want to leave, but due to our partnership with FOHCAS, now people are able to know that they can bring their pets and their pets be safe and they be safe as well,” Sheckles said.

Sheckles says 13 survivors with a total of 24 pets were able to leave their abusers and get their animals out of dangerous situations in 2024 through the partnership.

“FOHCAS is able to board the animals while the survivor is at the shelter,” Sheckles said. “The pet owner can have visitation with their pet, so it’s not like you’re handing your pet off to a stranger.”

FOHCAS is able to get the pets up to date on their shots while under their care. Springhaven is able to offer services to survivors without fear of financial burden.

“There is no cost for anyone to come to Springhaven,and there is no cost for anyone that has a pet for FOHCAS to board and take care of their pet during the time that they’re at the shelter,” Sheckles said.

The partnership is limited to cats and dogs. Organizations and individuals can support the program financially by visiting www.fohcas.org.

ECTC gearing up for Giving Day

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The month of April is Community College Month, and as Elizabethtown Community and Technical College celebrates the role ECTC plays in advancing the lives of its students, they’re inviting the public to help support their mission.

“If anybody wants to help those who are helping others, we’ve got our Giving Day coming up on April 16, and that’s a really good opportunity to connect in with ECTC and this team, and support them as they’re doing this work, because as much as people can love and do, it also takes resources,” said ECTC President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate. 

Fundraising on Giving Day supports several initiatives including the ECTC Unstoppable Fund, emergency funds for students and employees, scholarships, and more.

“There’s a lot of options for people to give, and we’re not trying to raise a million dollars on Giving Day,” PAte said. “We’re just trying to resource some little pockets of good that occur within the college so that our folks can maximize their ability to help others.”

80 donors across seven states raised more than $26,000 during last year’s Giving Day event. Pate says support for ECTC students goes hand in hand with supporting the community.

“95-plus percent of our graduates stay in our communities, and that’s where I think from even a state tax dollar perspective ECTC is a good investment because our mission is to add value to the lives of our students and return that value right to our community,” Pate said.


Visit ectc.us/giving-day or contact ECTC Director of Philanthropy Chrissie Angell at 270-706-8833 or chrissie.angell@kctcs.edu to learn more.

KSP Electronic Crime Branch investigation leads to Elizabethtown man’s arrest

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A Hardin County man is in custody on child sexual abuse charges.

Joseph Blake Bowling of Elizabethtown faces 10 counts of Class C Felony Distribution of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor Under 12-Years-Old following his arrest Thursday.

According to the Kentucky State Police, Bowling was arrested as the result of an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation. The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began an investigation of Bowling after it was discovered he was allegedly sharing images of child sexual exploitation online. Bowling was interviewed by investigators on April 10, and equipment used to facilitate the crime was seized and taken to a forensic laboratory for examination. Bowling was placed under arrest following the interview.

Bowling was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $250,000 cash bond. He is due to appear for a video arraignment Monday morning. The KSP’s investigation is ongoing.

Hardin County Justice Center set to reopen Monday

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After being out of commission for a week, activity is set to return at the Hardin County Justice Center.

“The Hardin County Justice Center will be reopening on Monday, April 14 after having been closed for flooding that we had as a result of the rain event, and we were closed for a week because of that,” said Hardin Chief Circuit Court Judge David John Simcoe. 

Simcoe thanked State Representative Steve Bratcher and State Senator Matt Deneen for helping get assistance from the state to help get the justice center ready for reopening.

Despite reopening, work on the justice center is ongoing.

“The remediation process in the basement is probably going to continue for about three weeks,” Simcoe said. “We had a lot of files in the basement as well as some mechanical stuff, and so we’ve had to have some inspections done. We are having the files removed, cleaned, and they will ultimately be returned to us through Servpro.”

The courts are rescheduling cases that were affected by the closing.

“Anyone who had court will be receiving a court notice of their new trial date or their new court appearance date, and they should be getting those, probably, in the next week or two,” Simcoe said. “No bench warrants or failure to appears will have been issued as a result of missing court last week.”

Anybody with questions should contact the circuit clerk’s office or their attorney.

I-65 on ramp at Cedar Grove road closed; WKP reopened in White Mills

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Drivers heading north on Interstate 65 this weekend should be on the lookout for a closure in Bullitt County.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District Five says the I-65 North on-ramp at KY 480 (Cedar Grove Road) will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. The ramp closure is for asphalt work that is part of the I-65/KY 480 Interchange Reconstruction Project.

Drivers should follow the signed detour by taking Cedar Grove Road westbound to KY 61 northbound, then continue on KY 44 eastbound to the I-65 interchange.

Work is weather permitting. Check with KYTC District Five for project updates.

Meanwhile, KYTC District Four says traffic is flowing normally on the Western Kentucky Parkway at the White Mills exit. Water has been drained from both the eastbound and the westbound lanes, and drivers no longer need to use the on and off ramps to get through. Traffic has also returned to normal configurations at the WKP/I-65 interchange at Exit 91. Visit the KYTC District Four Facebook page for the latest update on roadways still impacted by flooding.