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State making preparations to allow 15-year-olds to apply for driver’s permits

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Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said during his Team Kentucky Update Thursday that one of the factors in the way of enacting House Bill 15, which lowered the age Kentuckians must be to apply for a driver’s permit from 16 to 15, is the age of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s licensing system.

“The system we use to ultimately issue those permits in the process is about 40 years-old,” Beshear said. “It means I took the test and registered under the same system that my kids will. It is taking us reprogramming that system in order for it to allow and then be able to provide those permits to 15-year-olds.”

Beshear said the state believes 15-year-olds will be able to begin scheduling appointments with the Kentucky State Police for permit applications and testing on April 2. He said that date is significantly sooner than originally projected and credited the hard work put into reprogramming the system.

Ahead of appointments becoming available, potential drivers and their families can sign up for email updates at drive.ky.gov and get ready for their application and test.

“You can collect all necessary documents such as a birth certificate, Social Security card, and you have to have a school compliance verification form, so go ahead and get that, and you can begin studying,” Beshear said. “The official Kentucky driver’s manual can be found on the Kentucky State Police website.”

Beshear noted that the new law does not change any other license requirements; it only extends the period of time drivers can practice driving with a permit.

United Way of Central Kentucky accepting project proposals for Day of Action

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The United Way of Central Kentucky is inviting project proposals for their annual Day of Action campaign. 

The United Way says the Day of Action campaign brings volunteers together to address community needs by working on meaningful projects. The organization will mobilize volunteer teams that will support the projects from June 16 through 20.

The United Way is encouraging schools, churches, and organizations in Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, and Meade counties to submit their project ideas. Project proposals should include key details such as a project description, the number of volunteers needed, and estimated completion time. Selected applicants will provide a volunteer team leader to coordinate assigned volunteers.

Projects from last year’s day of action campaign include a pet bed drive, revitalizing the United Way’s community garden, and landscaping and playground enhancements at an area school. Area businesses, organizations, and individuals are encouraged to volunteer their time.

Find the links to submit a project and to sign up to volunteer at www.unitedwayck.org.

E-Town Parks and Rec hosting Spring Play in the Park series this week

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It is spring break for many area school communities, and Elizabethtown Parks and Rec has several events planned to help families get out during their time off with their Spring Play in the Park series.

“This is our third year doing the program, and what it is is for families that are maybe just staying home in town doing a staycation for the week of spring break,” said E-Town Parks and Rec Programs Coordinator Adam Case. “It gives them free low-cost activities to do throughout the week.”

Festivities kick off Monday with the scavenger hunt at Funtopia at American Legion Park, and then the State Theater will host two screenings of the film Migration on Tuesday.

“And then that evening, we are also doing our own program,” Case said. “We’ll have the Panther Prowler with Elizabethtown Independent Schools out there doing a glow craft party, so we’re making a glow in the dark craft with the kids and then we’ll be giving out the foam glow wands. It will be a fun time out at the park that evening.”

Panther Prowler will co-host an event at the Oasis at Freeman Lake Park on Wednesday and there will be an Art in the Park craft event at the park on Thursday, which is when the State Theater will have two showings of Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Registration is requested, but Case says the fun is open to all families.

“For families that maybe are just visiting the parks the day of and didn’t know what was going on, if they see us out there we definitely encourage them to come join in on the fun,” Case said. “Don’t let the fact that you need to register discourage you from coming.”

Visit www.etownparks.org to register and for more information.

Red Cross installing fee smoke alarms; volunteers needed

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The American Red Cross of South Central Kentucky will be installing free smoke alarms and reviewing critical fire safety information with Elizabethtown-area households from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.

“It’s part of our national Sound the Alarm event where we go in and work to make homes safer,” said American Red Cross of South Central Kentucky Executive Director Jennifer Capps. “We’ll send out teams of two to three people and they will go into the home. They’ll provide some home fire safety education. They’ll help the family create an evacuation plan, and then we’ll install free smoke alarms.”

The event is free and open to anybody in the community.

“Our smoke alarms expire after 10 years, so if you pause and think, your smoke alarms may be expired in your home, so we want to make sure that we’re not only checking those as the time changes and replacing batteries and those sorts of things, but if your smoke alarm is more than 10 years old you definitely need new ones, and there are so many people that don’t even have working smoke alarms,” Capps said.

Capps says a working smoke alarm cuts the risk of death in a fire by half.

As the organization is looking to reach as much of the community as possible, the Red Cross is seeking volunteers to assist with the campaign.

“If you need smoke alarms and you want to volunteer, we’ll make sure that your home is on your route with your team that goes out and you can knock that out during that shift,” Capps said.

Visit www.soundthealarm.org/kentucky to register to volunteer or to schedule a home visit.

Scholarship program available for Hardin County Water District No. 2 students

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Students in the Hardin County Water District No. 2 service area are encouraged to apply for a scholarship opportunity. 

The Burton and Barbara Langley Family Foundation and Hardin County Water District No. 2 are making $30,000 in scholarships available through the family foundation’s scholarship program.

According to the water district, the scholarships are available to high school seniors and college or trade school students that receive their water service from District No. 2. High school seniors must have a GPA of at least 2.5 and college or trade school students must have a GPA of at least 3.2.

The water district says the Langleys established their foundation in 2011 “as a means of helping others achieve financial independence and become socially responsible members of society.” Burton Langley was commissioner of the water district from 1965 to 1991 and is credited with designing the district’s logo.

The deadline to apply for the scholarship program is April 15. Find more information and the scholarship application under the education tab at www.hcwd2.org.