WQXE News

The National Weather Service in Louisville confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Breckinridge County during severe weather overnight from June 21 into June 22.

NWS Louisville Lead Forecaster Brian Schoettmer said the tornadoes were part of a larger supercell that brought several tornadoes through the area. One of the tornadoes touched down near Mystic.

“It was on the ground for just a short period of time, and it was rated an EF0 at 85 miles per hour, which is at the top end of the EF0 range,” Schoettmer said.

The second touchdown was just west of Irvington and was rated stronger.

“It was rated at EF1, 100 miles per hour, and they were just ten minutes apart, so pretty close together in time frame and in distance as well,” Schoettmer said.

Schoettmer said some structures were damaged and some large trees were snapped, which is typical for this level of storm.

He said the tornadoes are a reminder to have multiple methods of receiving alerts on inclement weather.

“A lot of people like to say they rely on outdoor sirens, but it’s important to differentiate that those are really just for folks outdoors,” Schoettmer said. “Those are not meant to be heard indoors, so it’s always good to have alerts set up on your phone, a NOAA weather radio, watch your local broadcast media, and weather apps. Those are all great ways to receive warnings.”

Schoettmer said to keep an eye on this weekend’s forecast as another round of severe storms and flooding threats may be seen.

Elizabethtown City Administrator Ed Poppe told the Elizabethtown City Council Monday that the recent groundbreaking of a hotel on the south end has highlighted city efforts to bring more projects to the area.

“The staff has also had discussions about offering other incentive programs to support the south end or to help spur additional development in that area,” Poppe said. “We have a couple programs that the city already operates.”

Poppe told the council the city is working on a development plan for the south end similar to the Downtown Master Plan. He said one of the first conversations to be had regarding development is the boundaries of the area in order to expand existing incentive programs such as grease trap installation assistance and facade work.

Poppe said whereas development downtown primarily consists of existing structures, development on the south end is primarily undeveloped lots, so the city needs to consider how to award incentives.

“Should we tie that to job creation, the number of jobs created and give certain incentives at certain levels?” Poppe said. “There’s also been some discussion that no, we should just offer incentives based on the investment.”

Poppe said dialogue needs to begin on what types of businesses the city wants to see on the south end. While a grocery store has been requested by residents, Poppe said the city has not had success with such developers.

“They have criteria where they look at the number of households or the number of rooftops within a certain radius of areas,” Poppe said. “It’s typically a one mile, three mile, or five mile radius, and again, most of those comments are there’s just not enough residential units in that sector of our community.”

Poppe said the city hopes to present a plan to the council this fall.

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

Central Kentucky Community Foundation Executive Director Davette Swiney came before the council to discuss the progress that has been made on Hardin County’s participation in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, which sends a free book each month to registered children ages birth to five. Swiney said a $20,000 commitment from the city last year allowed the program to hit the ground running.

“I can get people to sign their kid up,” Swiney said. “It takes about 20 seconds online. It is your mailing address and your name to get a free book, but we knew it would take us time to grow the dollars to support that, and by getting your support early on to help us be able to know we could enroll as many kids as we could get and not worry about having to have all of the dollars to support them for five years was huge.”

Enrollment in the program jumped from 17 percent to 44 percent after the city’s gift, and Swiney says there is more work to be done.

“If we could get to 65 percent, that would be an amazing accomplishment in our community, and that would cost us $50,000 to $55,000 a year to maintain,” Swiney said.

Learn more about the program on the Community Foundation’s website.

Elizabethtown resident Jim Becker presented to the council on a proposed native landscaping ordinance, which would allow property owners to plant native species beneficial to area wildlife in a controlled manner. Becker says more than just butterflies and bees benefit from such landscaping.

“Native species use 30 to 60 percent less water than turf grass,” Becker said. “They require zero fertilizer or pesticides once they’re established. They attract three times the pollinators that conventional turf lawns attract or support.”

Becker said such an ordinance would also benefit city stormwater infrastructure.

City Administrator Ed Poppe presented on development on the south end of Elizabethtown. Poppe said the recent groundbreaking of a hotel on the south end has highlighted city efforts to bring more projects to the area.

“The staff has also had discussions about offering other incentive programs to support the south end or to help spur additional development in that area,” Poppe said. “We have a couple programs that the city already operates.”

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet July 6.