WQXE News

On the same day that rain arrived in the area, the Office of the State Climatologist and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet issued a Level 1 Drought Declaration for the commonwealth.

According to the energy and environment cabinet, a Level 1 dDought “indicates moderate to severe drought conditions have developed, primarily affecting soil moisture and vegetative health.” The cabinet says western and central Kentucky, along with parts of the Bluegrass region, are the hardest hit areas, with impacts to agricultural water needs and increased wildfire risk prevalent.

Widespread dryness intensified over the later half of the summer, with precipitation over the last two months spotty. These conditions prompted Hardin County last week to declare a burn ban.

“This is due to the dry conditions, the lack of rain that we have experienced in Hardin County,” said Hardin County Emergency Management Director Joey Scott. “We are implementing the burn ban and we’ll carry on until we get some significant rain to help these dry conditions out. Counties around us are going to burn bans. It’s all across the state of Kentucky right now. We’re entering into a really dry season, so we’re just being proactive and trying to get ahead of it.”

The state climatologist’s office expects the drought conditions to continue for at least the near future.

Election Day is November 5, and voters looking to request an absentee ballot may now do so as the state’s absentee ballot request portal opened Saturday.

“It will be open now through October 22, but don’t wait,” said Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith. “If you qualify for an absentee ballot, you can visit govote.ky.gov or you can call our election hotline at 270-765-6762.”

Qualifications for an absentee ballot are available on the Go Vote website.

There is still time to register to vote or to update your registration ahead of the election.

“That deadline is 4 p.m. on October 7,” Smith said. “We encourage everybody to visit govote.ky.gov and make sure everything is up to date – your address, your party affiliation, all of that is up to date by 4 p.m. on October 7.”

Ahead of the election, Smith says the clerk’s office has been reaching out to area schools in order to help teach about the importance of the right to vote.

“We’ve done voter registration drives,” Smith said. “We’ve helped with the student council elections in some schools, and we’ve held mock elections. We want to get the young people in our community excited about voting, so we hope when parents or grandparents vote, take your kids with you. It’s a great lesson that you can teach them.”

Contact your county clerk’s office for election questions.

Casey Keown is a detective with the Kentucky State Police, but he remembers the many days and nights he spent skateboarding growing up in Grayson County, something that motivated him and others to create the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project.

“The skatepark is horrible here in Grayson County,” Keown said. “We need something new, somewhere to take our kids. My daughter recently found my skateboard in the shed. So I rode with her in the driveway a few times, and that kind of sealed the deal for me, so I decided to spearhead this and just take it on.”

The group is raising funds and bringing in community partners to construct a 10,000 square foot concrete skate park in Grayson County, with a mission of creating positive experiences for youth and bringing the community together for a common goal.

“Any partners in the community that support this or want to help us out, you can visit our website,” Keown said. “It’s TwinLakesSkatePark.org. We’re looking for donations. We’re looking for volunteers. We’ve got a concert coming up on October 12. We’re going to have some great music, so we’d love to see as many people that we can get out there. Tickets are available on our website.”

In addition to the Twin Lakes project, the group was able to move ramps from the former Highway 54 skate park to behind the Purple Flash Community Center in Caneyville to create a skate spot.

“We all coordinated together, came up with a design, and all but two of the ramps are there now,” Keown said. “We’re still waiting on two more, so if anybody has a crane and is willing to donate some time, we do need a crane to move the last two, but we do have somewhere now where kids can go and ride bikes, skateboards, scooters, and just have fun.”

Visit the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project Facebook page or website for more information on how to donate, how to get involved, and ticket information for the October 12 concert.