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E-Town Christmas Christmas in the Park poster contest accepting entries

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It may be Spooky Season, but the City of Elizabethtown is also inviting area elementary students to help the city spread holiday cheer. 

The city’s Christmas in the Park Committee is once again sponsoring the Christmas in the Park Poster Contest, which is open to children in grades kindergarten through fifth.

Participants will make a poster displaying their favorite holiday scene using their own artwork on a 22 inch by 28 inch poster board. Children are encouraged to make their displays bright and colorful, and note that glitter is not permitted. Any entry that includes glitter will be disqualified.

One winner will be selected for each grade level. Each winner will receive a $50 gift card and will be invited with their parents to be recognized at an Elizabethtown City Council meeting. The winning artwork will be displayed at sponsoring banks during the holiday season.

Posters must be dropped off with a completed registration form at Elizabethtown City Hall by 4 p.m. on Friday, November 1. Find the registration form, and more information on the contest, at etownevents.com.

Weather radios for deaf and hard of hearing available

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As the country sees the impact of natural disasters, state officials in Kentucky are reminding residents to stay alert and be prepared for severe weather. The state has a new program available to help the deaf and hard of hearing stay alert to storms.

Through the “Moore Safe Nights” program, 700 adapted National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radios are available for free through a partnership between the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.

“Any Kentucky resident who is deaf or hard of hearing is eligible to receive one of these free weather radios, which are available on a first come first serve basis,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear during a September Team Kentucky Update. “Equipped with pillow shaker and strobe light attachments, these weather radios are designed to alert people who are deaf and hard of hearing of severe weather in their area, so they can take shelter to protect themselves and their families.”

The program is named in memory of Virginia Moore, the late executive director of the KCDHH. Visit the commission’s website or call 1-800-372-2907 to register for an adapted radio. The state says funding will be sought to make additional radios available after the initial 700 are claimed.

Hardin County Animal Care and Control fighting to maintain no-kill status

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

Hardin County Animal Care and Control Director Mike McNutt reported that during the month of September the animal shelter adopted out 52 dogs, returned 37 to owners, and euthanized 15. McNutt said the hard work of the animal control officers can be seen.

“The return to owner rate is at 30 percent,” McNutt said. “That’s the highest it’s been in five years. I think there’s a lot of different reasons for that, but mainly it’s because they’re doing it in the field as much as they can.”

The year-to-date shelter live release rate is at 91 percent, and McNutt said the struggle to maintain no-kill status only gets harder.

“The no kill status that we’ve received twice nationally, what it’s been for the past five years is a ratio, so it’s 90 percent of our animals leave alive,” McNutt said. “ We’re at 91 percent for the year-to-date and it’s a battle every day to make it to that.”

Due to the remnants of Hurricane Helene, the annual rabies clinic at the Hardin County Fairgrounds was rescheduled to Saturday, October 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. McNutt said the county has a goal of expanding their rabies services.

“It’s not something we’re mandated to do, but it is something we want to do to keep the public safe and healthy,” McNutt said. “The judge and I have been talking about it, and we have some plans. We’ll have one large major one on a Saturday and then we want to have little ones at different locations.”

In other meeting news, Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith reminded voters the absentee ballot request portal is open.

“It will be open through October 22,” Smith said. “If you will be out of the county all days and all hours of voting, or you qualify due to age, illness, or disability, please get in those requests early. To request those, it’s at govote.ky.gov or you can call our election staff at 270-765-6762.”

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet October 22.

Company that owns Elizabethtown JCPenney files motion to halt Towne Mall renovations

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Attorneys for Penney Property Sub Holdings LLC, which owns the Elizabethtown JCPenney, and for Linnick Investments LLC, which owns the Towne Mall, were in Hardin Circuit Court Tuesday morning.

Zachary VanVactor with Stites and Harbison PLLC, representing Penney Property Sub Holdings, asked the court for a hearing on a temporary injunction along with an emergency restraining order to stop work on renovations at the Towne Mall property. VanVactor said the change of the design of the mall from an indoor to an outdoor retail space violates JCPenney’s lease. The attorney said the lease gives JCPenney the rights as an anchor tenant to have input on the design of the facility, and the store’s access to the rest of the mall has been walled off. VanVactor said the restraining order is necessary as each day that progresses with more work means more damage to JCPenney’s anchor rights.

Corky Coryell with Wyatt, Tarrant, and Combs LLP, representing Linnick Investments, said the JCPenney company has known about the redesign plans since the beginning of the year, and Coryell said at the time they were informed the company said they were thrilled with the potential the design offered for the property. Coryell said the wall blocking the entrance to JCPenney went up in July, and the store has installed shelving on the wall and is selling merchandise on it. The attorney said no objection was raised on the construction until a rent concession request was denied two weeks ago. Coryell said stopping the work on the mall now potentially jeopardizes nearly $10 million in possible commitments from future tenants.

Hardin Circuit Judge Larry Ashlock denied the request for a restraining order, as the judge said the work that JCPenney wanted stopped has already taken place, and both parties would still have the potential to seek damages through a later breach of contract case. Judge Ashlock did grant the request for a hearing on an injunction, which was scheduled for Thursday, October 17 at 1 p.m.

Crystal Rogers investigation trials moving to Warren County

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The trials for the three men charged in the Crystal Rogers investigation are officially moving out of Nelson County.

Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III issued an order Monday to move the trials of Brooks Houck, Steven Lawson, and Joseph Lawson to Warren County.

According to the order, the defense attorneys for Houck and the Lawsons along with the special prosecutors agreed that the jury trial could be conducted in either Christian or Warren counties. Judge Simms noted in the order that Kentucky law states that “the change shall be made to the nearest county to which there is no valid objection.” The Warren County Justice Center is about 102 miles away from Bardstown.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young said during a pre-trial conference in March that the prosecution agreed with the motion to transfer submitted by Houck’s attorneys. The original motion to transfer requested either Boyd or Daviess counties, and the prosecution and defense previously submitted a proposal to Judge Simms to transfer to Christian County but the judge declined it after an on-site visit. Judge Simms said during the March pre-trial conference that the chosen venue needed to be large enough to accommodate members of the public and needed to have a separate entrance for jurors.

Judge Simms is expected to rule soon on the prosecution’s motion to try the three defendants in the same trial. The next pre-trial conference in the case is scheduled for October 25.