WQXE News

The trial of Shawn Welsh, the Marion, West Virginia man who was tried for a death investigation surrounding a 2018 automobile crash, concluded yesterday with his sentencing. Welsh will serve four consecutive life sentences, and another consecutive 43 years for other charges. As previously reported, Welsh was found guilty on charges including murder, assault, possession of a controlled substance, fleeing or evading police, receiving stolen property, and driving under the influence. He will stay at the Hardin County Detention Center for a few weeks before being transferred to a prison.

Three Hardin County cities have been awarded discretionary funds for pavement improvements by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Vine Grove received $166,600, Muldraugh received $51,052, and West Point will receive $45,608. These funds will go towards resurfacing repairs for major roadways in the cities. The cities will be responsible for administering the work, and will be reimbursed by the Transportation Cabinet.

Kentucky State Police arrested a Louisville man operating a motorcycle over the speed limit on 31W last Friday. According to reports, Aaron Breeden was speeding, and fled when officers attempted to stop him, reaching speeds of 105 miles per hour. At one point in the pursuit, Breeden left the roadway and struck a U-Haul truck. Breeden was charged with wanton endangerment of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving, and driving on a suspended license, as well as speeding and fleeing or evading police. He is being lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.

Four Kentucky State Veteran’s Centers have earned five-star ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is the first time all the Veteran’s Centers in Kentucky earned the five-star rating. These centers are located in Wilmore, Hazard, Hanson, and Radcliff.

Reminder that trick-or-treat times for Hardin County and the city of Elizabethtown will be 5-8 PM Halloween night, rain or shine.   

Current Elizabethtown Governor Matt Bevin made a campaign stop in Elizabethtown Friday morning. Bevin was joined at the area Shoney’s by fellow Republican candidates including Ryan Quarles and Elizabethtown native Daniel Cameron. Bevin’s opponent, Attorney General Andy Beshear, visited Elizabethtown the week prior.

Renovations on one of Elizabethtown’s fire stations have begun. The new fire station 2 on the south side of town is now under construction. The $3.2 million project is expected to last until June of 2020.

The city of Sonora was awarded $20,000 in discretionary funds for critical pavement improvements at a presentation at Sonora City Hall on Friday. According to a release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, the funds will go towards resurfacing work on Broadway Street in Sonora, which is a main passageway through the city. The improvements are expected to benefit two churches, a business, and over ten homes. The city will be responsible for doing the work, and will be reimbursed for the project by the Transportation Cabinet.

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College will hold a special concert on Tuesday, October 29^th to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The concert will feature Latin American compositions arranged for two guitars. The concert will start at 7 PM in the Science Auditorium on the college campus. This is a free concert that is open to the public.

In response to Dr. Larry Hall’s petition to the Kentucky Court of Appeals for a re-hearing, Hardin Memorial Health announced Tuesday that they will be seeking monetary damages from Dr. Hall in relation to his appeal to stop the sale of HMH to Baptist Health. Hardin Memorial has cited at least 15 costs to the hospital including a $250,000 decrease in HMH Foundation donations from the amount in 2018, inability to retain top-shelf physicians in key specialties, difficulty recruiting new physicians, and staff morale and frustration.

United Way of Central Kentucky is seeking volunteers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program, which provides tax service for anyone making under $55,000 a year. More information can be found at unitedwayck.org or on United Way of Central Kentucky’s Facebook page.

Following a setback in the cleanup process of yesterday’s structure fire, Amazin’ Glazin’ Donuts has noted they will be closed today as well. Previously, the store was believed to be in good enough working condition following a fryer fire that shut the store down yesterday, but a post on the shop’s Facebook page states that they are still attempting to get everything in working order once more.

Two Central Hardin High School students each earned $20,000 scholarships, and placed second in a fishing tournament on the Fishing University’s Make Me a Star television show featured on the Outdoor Channel. Juniors Zach Perry and Hayden Whitsell met with television crews and started filming on October 17^th. To earn a spot on the show, teams had to make posts on social media with pictures of them fishing. The two top teams who posted the most went on the show to compete with a pro angler. Perry and Whitsell made 5,004 posts, approximately 2,000 more than the show’s previous record.

Nolin RECC’s Round Up program grant fund, which comes from members choosing to round their bills up to the nearest dollar, was given to Greenspace. The money was used by Greenspace to add stone columns to new bridges at Freeman Lake, and to plant crabapple trees near one of the parks most active walkways.

The Elizabethtown Panthers boys soccer team fell last night to the Oldham County Colonels in the state soccer championship tournament by a score of 8-0. Meanwhile, the Central Hardin Bruins girls soccer team lost their game against the South Oldham Dragons by a score of 8-0.