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Drug investigation lands Elizabethtown man in jail

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An investigation by the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force has landed an Elizabethtown man in jail.

Marvin Brookins faces multiple charges including three first degree counts of Trafficking in a Controlled Substance following his arrest Friday.

According to a release from the task force, on April 11 members executed a search warrant on a residence on Bardstown Road east of Elizabethtown. Officers located 17 pounds of crystal meth, 54 grams of cocaine, 16 oxycodone pills, and a small amount of marijuana and anabolic steroids.

Brookins was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $75,000 cash bond. He is due to appear in Hardin District Court on April 25. The investigation is ongoing and additional suspects are expected to be charged.

Anybody with information on possible drug activity is encouraged to submit a tip to the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force at 270-769-0694. Tips may be made anonymously.

Steven Lawson’s attorneys say testing hairs necessary for due process

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Lawyers for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Steven Lawson told Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms III that testing hairs found in the victim’s car is part of Lawson’s due process, while Special Prosecutor Shane Young said testing the hairs does nothing but unnecessarily delay Lawson’s trial.

The two sides were back in Nelson Circuit Court Monday morning to argue the defense’s desire to see the hairs tested despite Young withdrawing his motion during an April 3 hearing after he said analysis from the Kentucky State Police Crime Lab showed the hairs in question could not belong to either Steven Lawson or his son Joseph Lawson, who is also a suspect in the case.

Lawson’s attorneys submitted case examples to argue that Lawson “has a fundamental right to due process, which includes the right to present evidence of an alternative perpetrator.” In a supplemental brief filed with the court April 12, the defense said several identified persons of interest over the course of the case, such as fellow suspect Brooks Houck’s brother Nick Houck, could be identified through testing the hairs, and said “it is not inconceivable that someone could have come along who was involved in the alleged conspiracy to tamper with the automobile after Steven Lawson and co-defendant Joseph Lawson allegedly abandoned the automobile (but prior to law enforcement first locating the automobile).”

Young said Nick Houck’s hair has already been tested and said he could not be the contributor of the hairs in question. Young stated, as he did when he withdrew the motion at the previous hearing, that he did not want to waste money testing the hairs when the hairs could not belong to the Lawsons, and said “the simple fact that someone else’s DNA is in the vehicle is not exculpatory.”

Simms took the matter under submission and asked the prosecution and defense to submit any additional materials within 48 hours as he would like to make a ruling this week.

Elizabethtown council hears update on city’s natural gas department

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

City Natural Gas Department Director Matthew Hobbs provided a report on his department. He said the department is fully staffed with 14 employees, and the department comes into 2025 with a “solid budget.”

“The biggest ticket item that we’ve got on that is a ‘de-hy,’ so that’s basically a unit that’s drying your gas as you’re pulling it out of the storage field,” Hobbs said. “Ours, I think, dates back to sometime mid-late 90s.”

Hobbs says while business has remained consistent, customer growth has stagnated.

“The industrial pool is still strong and holding pretty steady,” Hobbs said. “That makes up about 50 percent of our flow, so the amount or the volume of gas we’re using is staying pretty consistent, but that customer number is not going up.”

The city is in the beginning stages of a natural gas rate study, with data collection currently under way.

Representatives from Hope Academy for Kids presented on the organization’s services. Resource Development Coordinator Dara Bryant discussed additional efforts to support program members and their families.

“To better assist, Hope Academy has become part of a nationwide effort to end family homelessness,” Bryant said. “In 2024, we became a program site for Bridge of Hope, and I’m excited to share that we are the first and only program site for Bridge of Hope in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

Bryant said statistics show 1 in 30 children in the United States struggle with homelessness each year.

Members of Scout Troop 221 led the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of the meeting. The members then stayed after the meeting for a question and answer session with the mayor and council members.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet April 21.

West Point City Council holds April meeting

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The West Point City Council met for their regular monthly meeting Monday.

The council approved a zoning change for property along Dixie Highway the city intends to lease to TowerCo for construction of a cellular tower. Mayor Richard Ciresi said the property was zoned on the city’s original zoning map as Residential R-1, but the state zoned the property Agricultural, so the zoning change matches the city’s zoning designation with the state’s. Ciresi noted that the location, which is the fourth proposed location for the tower, fits agricultural zoning definitions as it is more than 10 acres without houses.

The council voted down an ordinance that would amend city  zoning and building codes to accommodate the construction of tiny houses. Council Member Chris McVey introduced an ordinance that will move city council meetings from the former West Point School building to West Point City Hall when the city’s lease on the building expires in May. That ordinance will have its second reading at the next council meeting.

Ciresi discussed flood recovery efforts, including issues with getting supplies out to victims in an efficient manner. Ciresi said the city and county is still waiting for the White House to approve a local disaster declaration, and he is hopeful FEMA will assist with securing assistance for residents in need of electrical inspections. The city will be collecting waste placed along curbsides beginning Tuesday.

The West Point City Council will next meet May 12.

Voter registration sees another decline as state continues voter roll maintenance

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Voter registration in Kentucky saw another decline in March amid ongoing voter roll maintenance. 

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office says more than 7,000 voters were removed from the voter rolls in March. Of the voters that were removed, about 4,600 were deceased, about 400 were felony convicts, about 200 moved out of state, and about 1,700 registrations were duplicates.

The Secretary of State’s Office credited the drop in registration to vigorous maintenance of the voter rolls. In a release, Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams says federal oversight of the voter rolls that has been in place since 2018 was recently lifted due to the state’s work on election integrity.

Republican registration grew by 157 voters and independent or other registration grew by 1,181 voters in March, while Democratic registration fell by 248 voters. Republican registration makes up 47 percent of the state 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.