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Three days of fun on the schedule at annual West Point River Days Festival

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West Point River Days Co-Chair Michelle Heavrin says the annual festival is more than just a showcase for the community.

“We kind of consider it a homecoming,” Heavrin says. “A lot of people that have moved always come back for the River Days Festival. We get to see people that we only see once a year and sometimes once every ten years or whenever they can make it back.”

The festival runs this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at West Point’s Veterans Memorial Park.

Thursday activities include a golf cart poker run, food trucks, and Carrie-oke with Carrie and Kevin Duke. Friday activities include mullett, big hair, and hot legs contests along with live music and kids activities. Saturday activity gets started with the River Days Festival Parade at 11 a.m. and concludes at dusk with the fireworks.

Heavrin says all are welcome to attend, and the more, the merrier.

“We always have some really nice things for our silent auction down here,” Heavrin said. “The entertainment is fun. We have assorted food trucks. I think we have at least six or eight food trucks this year, and they’re all different things. We try to keep a variety of things that you can do. We have vendors down here, and everything’s a lot of fun.”

Visit the West Point River Days Festival Facebook page for more information and a complete schedule of events.

Hardin County Government to begin hosting monthly blood drives

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Hardin County Government will begin offering the Hardin County Government Building as a monthly site for American Red Cross Blood Drives.

Hardin County Government Communications Officer Brian Walker said hosting the blood drives is an opportunity for the county to help bring the community together in support of a cause that impacts everybody’s lives directly or indirectly.

“It was, to me, kind of an obvious thing to use our public space at the County Government Building to bring in the Red Cross at whatever kind of schedule they would like, whatever would work for them, and it looks like we’re going to be able to do blood drives once a month,” Walker said.

The first monthly blood drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on September 21 on the third flood of the county building. The drives come at a time when the Red Cross has declared a national blood supply crisis.

“It waxes and wanes,” Walker said. “Sometimes things get us in a situation where people are well aware of how bad things are and that we need to donate blood, and then sometimes I think it just kind of slips from people’s minds. I’m not sure exactly what’s driving the lack of donations right now and what’s causing the shortage, but anything we can do can help.”

Schedule an appointment or find more information at www.redcrossblood.org.

‘Cat in the Hat’ social media trend has school districts and law enforcement investigating

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Area school districts are reaching out to families and community members regarding a social media trend that shows threatening imagery involving the Dr. Seuss character the Cat in the Hat.

“Over the last few days, our administrators and law enforcement have taken much time investigating posts that have been on social media of the Cat in the Hat theme,” said Hardin County Schools Superintendent Terrie Morgan said in a video shared by the district. “While there have been no threats, it certainly is concerning, and a distraction to our environment, which is: we want the best academic environment, learning environment, and safe environment for our students.”

The trend involves AI-edited videos which show a seemingly threatening version of the character in front of targeted school buildings. While the videos pose no credible threat, administrators are concerned with the distraction caused by the videos.

Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson said in the HCS video that threats against schools are taken very seriously.

“If you are in a school and you see videos like that, please make sure you bring it to the attention of faculty or staff, find an SRO, find some type of adult that you can report it to so that we can then take over the investigative role and make sure that our schools and all of our resources are dedicated to finding out who’s responsible for this,” Thompson said.

Morgan said individuals caught making such videos “will face severe consequences.”

Area counties included in Public Assistance approval for June flooding

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Kentucky counties impacted by June flooding have been approved for Federal Public Assistance.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday said the White House approved the state’s request for Public Assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for at least 20 counties affected by widespread flooding between June 17 and 30.

According to a release from the Governor’s Office, included in the approval are Bullitt, Grayson, Hardin, and Meade counties. The severe weather that led to the flooding saw some areas receive more than 8 inches of rainfall during a short period of time, and the flooding resulted in six deaths.

Public Assistance will reimburse eligible costs related to recovery for state and local governments along with some nonprofit organizations. Beshear also requested Individual Assistance be approved, which would provide aid for individuals and households.

Kentucky residents looking to support survivors of severe weather events and natural disasters can donate to the Team Kentucky Emergency Relief Fund. Visit www.kentucky.gov to find the link to donate and more information on flood resources.

Altec awards grant supporting Engineering Pathway at EC3

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Hardin County Schools is celebrating what it calls a major gift for students in the district’s Engineering Pathway.

Altec Industries and the Styslinger Foundation on Wednesday presented a $50,000 grant to the HCS Early College and Career Center to support equipment needs in the Engineering Pathways Lab. Altec said in a release the donation “will help provide students with hands-on learning opportunities and access to industry-relevant technology as they prepare for future careers in engineering and advanced manufacturing.”

HCS Community Relations Specialist John Wright said the district is “incredibly grateful” for the investment in their students.

“The tools for success in the workplace continue to evolve, and this gift will help our students learn more about engineering and technical fields on the most modern equipment in the new EC3 expansion,” Wright said.

Altec said the grant is part of their efforts to “promote workforce development, technical education, and career readiness throughout the communities it serves.”

“Altec has been a tremendous partner and has provided many resources to generations of Hardin County Schools students,” Wright said. “This form of stewardship provided by the Styslinger Foundation and Altec Industries will leave an indelible mark on our community.”

Learn more about the Engineering Pathway on the Hardin County Schools website.