WQXE News

The City of Elizabethtown has applied for two grants for hopeful future projects. The first was an application to the Kentucky Economic Cabinet in hopes of making improvements to the industrial park. The amount requested is $500,000. The second grant was submitted to the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management in an attempt to gain funds for improvements and repairs to local flood control structures in the amount of $2 million. The results of the applications may not be known for six to nine months.

The Elizabethtown Police Department has issued a warning after fraudulent credit cards were used to purchase building materials. Reportedly, two suppliers accepted a credit card payment over the phone, and the buyer picked up the supplies in a U-Haul. It was later found that the credit cards used were in fact compromised. Officer Chris Denham with EPD emphasizes using extreme caution when taking payments over the phone, and doing extensive checks on identification when taking payments in person. Detectives with the department are working to bring the suspects to justice.

The Hardin Memorial Health Board of Trustees has approves a two million dollar building project to remodel Hardin Memorial’s Progressive Care Unit (PCU) in order to make rooms more private. Currently, the PCU has thirty-four beds; two that are private, and thirty-two that are semi-private. This remodel will relocate sixteen beds to another area of the hospital to allow for the floor to be made into a private room only floor. The remodel is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

At a meeting of the Elizabethtown City Council held last night, Mayor Jeff Gregory issued a proclamation in honor of Linda Funk, former executive director of Warm Blessings Soup Kitchen. In the proclamation, Mayor Gregory declared that January 21^st, 2020 would be celebrated as Linda Funk Day in the city of Elizabethtown. Funk served Warm Blessings for thirteen years before announcing her retirement in December.

In the days following the announcement that West Point Independent Schools would be discussing entering into negotiations with Hardin County Schools for the purpose of a merger, interim superintendent Sally Sugg discussed some of the difficulties she sees members of the district facing as talks proceed. Sugg predicts that adults in the community will have the most trouble with a transition, considering how much history people in the community have with the school, as some families go back multiple generations of attending West Point. However, Sugg is confident that the students are resilient and strong enough to make the transition without much difficulty. The next board meeting for the district will be held on January 28^th, and the public is invited to attend.

A Radcliff man was arrested earlier this week after his part in a verbal altercation. According to arrest citations, Isaac Patterson of Radcliff was involved in a verbal argument over his continued drug use when he became outraged. Patterson told the victim, his mother, that he was going to take a knife and stab her to death while she was asleep. When police arrived, they found Patterson rolling a blunt with marijuana in plain view on the table. Patterson was charged with terroristic threatening, as well as possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He is lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.

The artistic community of Elizabethtown will be on display tonight at the Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center as The Novel Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four, opens at the theater. The show will run tonight, where house opens at 6:30 PM, and through this weekend with a matinee on Sunday, then next week from Thursday to Sunday with the same hours. Tickets and prices can be found online at thepac.net.

The Elizabethtown Police Department responded to a report of a man dragging and assaulting a woman carrying a young child on the street in the 700 block of Hawkins Drive Tuesday night. Upon arrival, Police found Bradley Williams, 31, who was heavily intoxicated, as well as a victim with visibly swollen eyes, red marks around her neck, and bruising and swelling on her hands. The victim said she and her son tried to get away from Williams with her young son, but that he had dragged her back into the residence, punching and kicking her on the way. Once he had the two back in the home, he locked the door to prevent them from leaving. Upon medical examination, the victim was revealed to possibly have a broken orbital bone, while the child suffered scrapes on his knees from the altercation. Williams faces charges of strangulation, disorderly conduct, alcohol intoxication in a public place, resisting arrest, wanton endangerment, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and child abuse.

The Elizabethtown City Council and the Elizabethtown Planning Commission met for a joint meeting last night, discussing the comprehensive plan for Elizabethtown for the next twenty years. The representatives from both organizations were given a presentation by Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group, who specialize in community planning, and their principal, Amy Williams. Williams outlined four different themes for the advancement of the city: sustainable growth, healthy lifestyles, strong legacy, and active commerce, which were discussed in greater detail. Also discussed were possibilities for advancement to Towne Mall as well as the south side of town. The next steps for the comprehensive plan include another public input survey and drafting of plan documents, as well as another joint meeting in late March before the adoption process in April or May.

Heavy storms rolled into the Hardin County area over the weekend, and with it came power outages. Nolin RECC dealt with the calls regarding outages throughout Saturday. At two points during the day, outages peaked at approximately 900 members around the Nolin Area, though crews were quick to respond and were able to restore power to most within two hours. The Nolin service area missed the more significant damage that occurred in Western and Southern parts of the Commonwealth.