WQXE News

The registration window is now open for young drivers in Kentucky to sign up for the second Safe Teen Driving Challenge.

“Like last year’s challenge, teens ages 15 to 19 with a learner’s permit or a driver’s license are eligible to sign up and to participate, and thanks to program sponsors we’ll be awarding $10,000 in cash prizes to the safest teen drivers,” said Governor Andy Beshear during Thursday’s Team Kentucky Update.

Teens can register for the challenge at www.kentuckyhighwaysafety.com now through Thursday, April 16. Participants will then download the DriveWell Go app, which will use smartphone sensor data to track risky driving behaviors such as speeding, hard braking, harsh acceleration, cornering, and phone use. The challenge runs April 17 through July 17, after which the top five drivers will receive cash prizes, with the winner receiving $3,000.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says over the past three years more than 49,000 crashes involving teen drivers have resulted in more than 13,000 injuries and 197 deaths. Beshear says the challenge is an opportunity for teenagers to learn about their driving habits so they can become safer drivers, something he says is especially important to him as the father of two teenagers.

“Our statistics on fatalities for teen drivers is way too high in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “It’s something I now think about every single day. This is one way, if we can get a whole lot of teens signed up, that we can encourage the type of good habits that can help reduce those statistics and make sure everybody’s kids get home for dinner, that everybody’s kids get home safely.”

Visit www.kentuckyhighwaysafety.com for more information and to register for the challenge.

The Kentucky State Police is investigating a fatal collision on Dixie Highway Saturday.

According to KSP Post Four, the single-vehicle collision occurred at approximately 9:50 a.m. on March 21 on U.S. 31W within Muldraugh city limits.

The KSP says the preliminary investigation indicates 34-year-old Dennis J. Perry of Louisville was operating a vehicle heading north on U.S. 31W when for unknown reasons the vehicle left the roadway and struck the end of a guardrail. The collision caused the vehicle to overturn, coming to rest on the driver’s side on the outside shoulder of the roadway.

Perry was pronounced dead at the scene by the Meade County Coroner’s Office.  The KSP’s investigation of the collision is ongoing.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and CASA of the Heartland will once again be participating in the national Pinwheels for Prevention campaign “as a reminder of the uplifting and great childhood that all children deserve.” The blue and white pinwheels represent hope, health, and happiness for children served by the CASA organization.

CASA of the Heartland will kick off the campaign with their annual Pinwheel Planting Community Event, held in partnership with the Elizabethtown Police Department. The event will be held Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the EPD’s headquarters, located at 300 South Mulberry Street. All are welcome to attend, and lunch sponsored by the EPD from Papa Haoles Hawaiian Foods will be featured.

Speaking with the Elizabethtown City Council last month, CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail said expanding to cover a six-county service area has its challenges, but the organization is up to the task and is still growing in Hardin County.

“We’ve gone from serving about 120 children in our community in 2022 to 185 this last year, so we’ve seen an increase in need and an increase in services, and we’re happy to be able to step up and provide that service and meet that need,” Kail said.

Kail said 129 children are currently on the waitlist.

“We’ve seen those numbers steadily increase over the last several years,” Kail said. “When I started, we had about 98 kiddos on the waitlist. We got it down to 50, and we’ve seen a heavy increase in educational neglect cases in the last year and a half, so those numbers have gone back up.”

Learn more about CASA of the Heartland on their website and on their Facebook page.