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WQXE News

Your source for local community news, weekdays at 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30, 8, 9 and Noon.

Police searching for escaped Hardin County Detention Center inmate

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Law enforcement is requesting the public’s assistance in locating an escaped inmate.

The Kentucky State Police and Hardin County Detention Center are searching for 37-year-old Tony R. Stephens, who reportedly escaped from the detention center’s substance abuse treatment program annex Monday morning.

The KSP says they were notified of Stephens’s escape at around 8:30 a.m. While the last reported address for Stephens is for Fordsville, officials believe Stephens may be attempting to head toward the Covington/Northern Kentucky area.

Stephens is described as a bald white male with blue eyes standing five feet nine inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. The detention center’s inmate registry shows that Stephens was booked into the facility in July on drug charges. 

The public is asked to not approach Stephens if located. Contact the Kentucky State Police at 270-766-5078 or dial 911.

(Photo source: Hardin County Detention Center)

New alignment goes into effect for Interstate 65 at Exit 86

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Construction crews are switching traffic on Interstate 65 at Exit 86 to a new alignment at the new bridge over the interstate and the Kentucky Route 222 intersections with BlueOval SK and US 31-W.

According to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, traffic was scheduled to be moved off the bridge this past weekend. Motorists exiting and entering I-65 on the south side of the intersection will utilize the new ramps, while the existing ramps on the north side will remain in use until the old bridge is demolished.

Southbound exiting motorists will follow a temporary extended path to the new section of KY 222 and turn right toward Glendale or left toward US 31-W until the new southbound exit ramp is complete.

KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie said motorists should approach the new area with increased awareness and pay attention to striping and signage.

“Keep in mind that we’re not done with construction yet, so as time goes on folks are going to acclimate to where they want to go, how they’re going to get there, how they’re going to navigate,” Jessie said. “We’ve got three new signals through that area, so again, just be patient. Pay attention to the markings on the road and the signs, and everybody should be fine.”

The timeline for construction will be dependent upon weather this winter.

“From here on out, crews are going to continue working on really completing the overall project, and that’s going to include demolition of the old bridge, so that will start to come down,” Jessie said. “Once they get that demo work done then they can work on tying in the new ramps on the north side of town and cleaning that up.”

Posts from the KYTC with pictures and more information on the work at the interchange have been shared to the Quicksie and Wolf Facebook pages.

Hardin County Clerk’s Office set to open branch office in Radcliff

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Radcliff residents will soon have easier access to vehicle registration.

The Hardin County Clerk’s Office has announced the planned opening of a branch office in Radcliff, to be located at 101 Lincoln Trail Boulevard in the Nolin RECC office.

Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith said expanding access to services has been one of his main priorities.

“It was more important to me to get it right than to get it done fast, and we’ve gotten it done right partnering with Nolin RECC to utilize a facility they already have,” Smith said. “It’s turnkey ready, and we’ll be able to serve the public once again for vehicle registration in Radcliff.”

The office will initially be open Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Smith anticipates adding more days as needed.

“We’re going to be providing all vehicle registration services, the same kind of services that are available in the Elizabethtown office,” Smith said. “We’ll also have voter registration cards there if folks need to change or update or get newly registered.”

Smith thanked residents for their patience, and said the opening of the Radcliff office caps a busy year for the clerk’s office.

“We have expanded our polling locations, we’ve improved service, and now we’ve fulfilled the promise of returning vehicle registration to Radcliff,” Smith said. “I ask folks to stay tuned to our Facebook page for an announcement on the opening date.”

Beginning January 15, Nolin RECC will no longer have drive-thru or lobby options for the Radcliff office, but customers will be able to use a new kiosk and drop box in the front of the building or contact the office via phone, web, or the SmartHub app.

Area banks remind residents to be on guard for scammers

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Area financial institutions are reminding residents to be on the lookout for several bank scams targeting customers.

“Scammers are using these internet-based services and some out-of-state telephone providers to spoof different banks’ telephone numbers, and they’ll send texts to thousands of random numbers in that bank’s service area about unauthorized charges, and the scammers hope that some of those random phone numbers will belong to real customers at the bank that they’re targeting,” said Cecilian Bank Senior Vice President Jim Eastridge. 

While Cecilian Bank has been the subject of several scams seen locally, banks across the country have seen their names come up in scam attempts.

If you get a text that you think is suspicious, go through the proper channels to verify it.

“If you get a text from a bank or business, use a safe link, a search engine, or an app for that business to log on to the retailer banking account to verify that activity,” Eastman said. “Never click on the link, no matter how legitimate it looks.”

Now is also a good time to make sure you are using a variety of passwords, as a single password makes you more susceptible.

“When these credentials are stolen in breaches, they can be cross-referenced with other stolen data like information from credit bureaus to try to determine where a person banks, to get their phone number, their email address, and a whole lot more information,” Eastman said. “This data’s sold on the dark web all the time, and the bad guys use this information to attempt logins to banks that you may have done business with in the past according to that stolen information.”

Similar to phone scams, remember to never give out personal or financial information unless you can confirm who the information is going to.

Elizabethtown woman crashes into home near Lincoln Trail Elementary School

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An Elizabethtown woman suffered an apparent medical emergency and crashed her car into a home near Lincoln Trail Elementary School Friday.

“At approximately 11:04 a.m. this morning, we received a report of a motor vehicle accident in the 5200 block of Bardstown Road,” said Hardin County Sheriff John Ward. “It was called in as a one-vehicle injury accident. Somebody had run off the right side of the roadway, striking a home.”

Ward said deputies arrived on scene and discovered that an 88-year-old female from Elizabethtown “had a diabetic emergency and blacked out, went off the right side of the roadway, striking the chimney of a home and doing minor damage to the home.”

The driver of the vehicle was transported to Baptist Health Hardin by ground transportation. Air Ambulance was initially called to the scene but the helicopter was canceled.

Ward did not have an update on the driver’s condition as of Friday afternoon. The sheriff said no other injuries resulted from the vehicle collision.

Hardin County Schools noted on social media that the accident did not impact Lincoln Trail Elementary School.