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Hardin County Schools introduces online payment platform

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Hardin County Schools is introducing an online payment platform to give parents convenient payment options.

The district partnered with SchoolCash Online to implement the new system.

“Parents can manage all school fees and items for their students in one location and have the convenience of a secure online payment platform, and the schools improve safety and reduce risk by minimizing cash and check payments at the schools,” said HCS Community Relations Specialist John Wright. 

The system will be available for student activity-related items such as field trips, fundraisers, club dues, and registration fees.

“When those things come due, when parents have signed up to participate in SchoolCash Online, they will get an email that the fee is due, and so they can go into the SchoolCash Online system and pay that fee,” Wright said.

Parents can learn more by visiting the Hardin County Schools website.

Meanwhile, HCS announced this week that District Maintenance Supervisor Jamey Hawkins is now the district’s Director of Buildings and Grounds.

“He’s a true leader, and will do an amazing job in this role,” Wright said. “He has a strong relationship with the current members of the Buildings and Grounds family, and he knows our facilities inside and out. Each schools’ staff knows him and the outstanding work he does.”

Prior to serving as maintenance supervisor, Hawkins worked as a district HVAC specialist.

Hardin County Fiscal Court discusses tax ordinances related to future development

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

The fiscal court voted to advance two ordinances from first to second reading, the first which updates the creation of an industrial taxing district and payment of a special ad valorem tax related to anticipated development spurred by industry such as BlueOval SK, and the second which updates the occupational tax within the industrial and commercial taxing district.

Judge-Executive Keith Taul said there is never a good time to increase taxes, but with the county responsible for providing services to residents it is a necessary investment.

“Honestly, I hate it,” Taul said. “I don’t want to do it, but it is, I believe, the responsible thing to do.”

Magistrate Chris Yates said the tax is unfortunate but necessary.

“When you call 911, you want the sheriff’s department to be out there ASAP,” Yates said. “When you call for an ambulance, you want them there yesterday, and at that time you wouldn’t put a price tag on your family, so this is the necessary thing to do to ensure that we have the resources available to you guys.”

Larry Hicks was the only magistrate to vote against the ordinances. Hicks said he was not comfortable putting an extra burden on taxpayers, and had concerns with the recently announced delay of the opening of BlueOval SK’s second plant.

“How many more times is BlueOval going to back up?” said Hicks. “It’s 5,000, then it was 2,500, and the latest I’ve heard maybe 1,000, so do we have to do this right now? I’m not against doing this if it’s needed, but I’m not sold on it’s needed right now.”

The ordinances, which can be viewed on the county’s website, will go up for a vote at the next fiscal court meeting.

In other meeting news, Hardin County Jailer Josh Lindblom reported that the Hardin County Detention Center took in 476 inmates during the month of October while 481 were released, and inmates worked more than 13,000 hours, resulting in more than $81,000 in savings for the county.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet December 12.

BlueOval SK opens office and recruiting center on Ring Road

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Area officials joined executives from BlueOval SK Tuesday as the company dedicated its new executive office space and recruiting center, located at  2323 Ring Road in the former First Federal Savings Bank of Elizabethtown building.

“From day one, you’ve welcomed us with open arms,” said BlueOval SK CEO Dr. Robert Rhee. “You are our neighbors, and you are friends, and like you we are proud to call the commonwealth home. I’m from Korea, and it certainly is an exciting time to live and work in Kentucky. We could not have picked a better place than Gelndale, Kentucky, to build our two plants.”

Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said the city is proud to be a partner and to open the community to new opportunities.

“We appreciate the investment,” Gregory said. “We appreciate the friendship. We can’t wait to continue to work together, and Dr. Rhee, ‘welcome home.’”

Following remarks by officials, the BlueOval SK sign was unveiled in front of the building.The company said in a release that placing the office space in Elizabethtown allows the company to have better connection with “partners, suppliers, and the people of Hardin County.”

Representatives from BlueOval SK said they consider the opening of the Ring Road office to be a milestone, and the recruiting center was quickly put to use with a job fair Tuesday afternoon.

Plane One Manager Mark Haley said work at the battery park continues to progress.

“Right now, we are moving from the construction phase to the training phase, so everybody’s getting the opportunity to go through new employee orientation,” Haley said. “We’re going through safety, we’re going through other people skills, and we’re going through battery technology. We have over 100 people that have already experienced going to our partner’s plant and going to experience battery manufacturing.” 

Visit www.blueovalsk.com for more information.

Hardin County Fiscal Court talks recycling, home construction

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

Hardin County Director of Public Works Stephanie Givens reported that 58.3 tons of recyclable materials were collected from the county’s recycling trailers in September and 67.8 tons were collected in October, bringing the year to date total to 412.8 tons. Later in the meeting, the Fiscal Court voted to approve extending the county’s inter-local agreement with Meade County for recycling.

“We collect all of the recycling products in the trailers and then we haul those to Meade County,” said Hardin County Judge-Executive Keith Taul. “They’re the ones that take it from there and do the sorting and do all of the things that they do, and then they sell it whenever they can.”

Hardin County Planning Director Adam King gave a report to the court on his department’s activities. He said the county has seen growth this year in houses built.

“We are at 95 single family dwellings so far for the year,” King said. “In addition to that, we’ve done six duplexes, so that would be an additional 12 units, so the numbers are up. In 2022, we were at 98, and in 2021 we were at 110.”

King also said his department has issued 51 stop work orders so far in 2023. He encouraged anybody planning to build to contact the office.

“If you are constructing something out in the county, it’s kind of a misnomer that you don’t need a permit. You do need a permit,” King said. “Depending on the use of that structure and your acreage, it may qualify as ag exempt, but come see us and we’ll help you out. It will be easier to do things right on the front end.”

Taul said during the meeting that he had received calls from residents expressing concern with the news that the second plant at the BlueOval SK battery park in Glendale will be delayed. Taul said he was told construction on the facility will not be interrupted by the delayed opening, and said there will be no changes to the county’s work on improving infrastructure to prepare for future development. Taul said he thinks the delay could be something of a silver lining.

“Things have moved so fast that it’s hard to adjust that quickly, and so if anything it gives us a little more time, as your local government and the services that we provide, to adjust and to get prepared for a lot of people moving to this area.”

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet November 28.

Radcliff Police Department investigating fatal collision on Joe Prather Highway

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Accident reconstructionists are still investigating a fatal collision that occurred on the Joe Prather Highway Tuesday morning.

According to the Radcliff Police Department, officers responded at around 7 a.m. to Joe Prather Highway in the area between Education Drive and Logsdon Parkway.

Police believe at this time that a vehicle was traveling on Joe Prather Highway in the direction of Logsdon Parkway when an individual on a type of motorized scooter pulled out onto the travel portion of the roadway. The vehicle struck the individual, who died as a result of the collision.

The investigation by the RPD and the Hardin County Coroner’s Office is ongoing.