Menu Close

Special elections Tuesday for Kentucky House Districts 24 and 26

Eligible voters will head to the polls Tuesday for special elections to fill vacancies in the Kentucky House of Representatives for District 24, which includes parts of LaRue and Hart counties, and District 26, which includes three precincts in Hardin County.

The House District 24 special election will be contested by Democrat Johnny Pennington, Republican Courtney Gilbert, and independent write-in Craig Astor. Republican Peyton Griffee is unopposed in the House District 26 race.

Polls are open today until 6 p.m. Voters in Hart County can cast ballots at the Hart County Clerk’s Office and the Horse Cave Fire Department. LaRue County Clerk Rhonda Metcalf said in addition to their clerk’s office, LaRue County voters have several options.

“On Election Day, we have our vote center which is at First Baptist Church on Tonieville Road, and then we have at Rolling Fork Christian Church in Lyons Station, and we have Uptown Graphics in Upton, and then we have the Old School Market down in Magnolia,” said Metcalf.

Hardin County voters can cast ballots at the clerk’s office’s Radcliff branch, located at 101 West Lincoln Trail Boulevard, or the West Point School building.

Check your registration status and find more election information at govote.ky.gov.

Attorneys for Brooks Houck object to consolidating cases

Lawyers for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Brooks Houck are objecting to the special prosecutor’s motion to consolidate the cases against Houck and suspects Steven Lawson and Joseph Lawson into one trial, and allege that prosecutors targeted the Lawsons in order to target Houck.

The motion filed with the Nelson Circuit Court Friday states that Houck needs to be tried separately from the Lawsons due to the “exposure of a myopic and biased investigation”, Houck’s entitlement to impeach Joseph Lawson and/or Steven Lawson with all of their statements, and the fact that redactions to records would not protect Houck’s Sixth Amendment rights. The filing’s conclusion states that: “there is no way for the Commonwealth to introduce evidence against all three defendants at a joint trial without violating the Kentucky Rules of Evidence, violating Brook’s Sixth Amendment rights, or both”.

The filing alleges that prosecutors lack proof that Crystal Rogers is deceased and “there is no crime scene, murder weapon, or realistic motive for the alleged crime.”, and the prosecution has relied on pressure put on the Lawsons in order to get information needed to indict and detain Houck.

March 21 will be a busy day in the Nelson Circuit Court as the court will consider the prosecution’s motion to consolidate, motions by Houck and the Lawsons for a change of venue, a motion by Steven Lawson’s attorney to dismiss the charges against him, and a motion by Joseph Lawson’s attorney asking for the identity of expert witnesses in the case to be disclosed.

Hardin County Teen Job Fair this Wednesday

Area teens ages 14 to 19 are invited to attend the second annual Hardin County Teen Job Fair, to be held this Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the North Hardin High School gym.

Family Fun Ice Cream Parlor owner and Radcliff City Council Member Michelle Mitchell organized the job fair after seeing a need from area teens applying for jobs at the ice cream parlor and from area businesses saying they need manpower.

“We’ve got young people who want to work, maybe do some job shadowing, community service, internship, different things like that in our community, especially for the summertime to keep them busy, as well as businesses needing good workers,” Mitchell said.

The event is free to attend, and teens that pre-register via a link available on the Facebook event page for the job fair will be registered to win door prizes provided by participating businesses and organizations. Teens should come ready to make connections.

“If they have a resume, they can bring that,” Mitchell said. “If not, that’s fine too. We’ll also have different organizations there such as the Kentucky Career Center that offer how to prepare a resume, even if they’ve only volunteered, such as babysitting or dog sitting, those type of things.”

There’s still time for businesses to sign up to participate at the job fair or support it in another way.

“Of course, there’s no fee to set up a table or a booth, but we are asking that a business brings one giveaway item,” Mitchell said. “If there’s a business out there that wants to sponsor this with some pizzas, because it is going to be after school for a lot of the kids, I would love to feed them as well.”

Contact information for Mitchell and the Facebook event page can be found on the Michelle Mitchell Radcliff Councilwoman Facebook page.

Lane closures for concrete repairs on I-65 South in effect Monday and Tuesday

The next round of lane closures for work on Interstate 65 in Bullitt County starts Monday.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says the right two lanes of I-65 South from mile marker 113 near the Bullitt County welcome center to mile marker 112 near the Clermont/Bardstown exit will be closed from 7 a.m. Monday until noon on Tuesday. Ramps to and from Kentucky Route 245 will remain open.

Crews will be repairing concrete slabs, with the lane closures necessary to allow the concrete time to cure. Due to ongoing I-65 construction between mile markers 104 and 111, motorists are advised to plan for increased travel times and seek alternate routes.

Motorists should obey restrictions and use caution when traveling through work zones. Visit the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet online for more information on the I-65 Roadway Rehabilitation Project.

EPD determines ‘no credible threat’ after active shooter report at Hardin County Justice Center

Law enforcement has confirmed there is no threat at the Hardin County Justice Center after a report of an active shooter Friday morning.

“Shortly after 9 a.m. this (Friday) morning, we were contacted by a sworn member of the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office concerning an ‘all call’ page that had been disseminated throughout the Hardin County Justice Center phone system with the report of an active shooter within the building,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. 

EPD officers arrived on scene within one minute of the initial call and began searching the building in conjunction with court security deputies.

“Approximately 10 minutes after our arrival, we learned the page had been inadvertently disseminated by the Administrative Office of the Courts,” Denham said. “Despite this, and out of an abundance of caution, we cleared the remainder of the justice center.”

Denham said there was never a credible threat, and “at no time were any occupants of the building or the public in any danger.”