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Firefighters limit impact of fire at Meade County recycling facility

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Emergency crews were dispatched to the Meade County Solid Waste and Recycle Center in Brandenburg late Friday night due to a reported structure fire. 

The Meade County Fire District says crews arrived on scene at around 10:15 p.m. on December 1 and found an open side structure fully engulfed in flames.

Meade County Solid Waste Coordinator Jacob Butler said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but because of the quick work of responding firefighters the damage from the fire was contained.

“We are very, very fortunate that the fire was not spread to our main building, so the way it’s looking we will resume normal operational hours around 10 or 11 o’clock Monday morning,” Butler said.

No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. Butler said finished recycling bales had been moved out of the older structure that caught fire.

“We didn’t really lose a lot of our equipment, but unfortunately we did lose our glass pulverizer, so at this time we’re probably going to stop accepting glass from the public and other vendors,” Butler said. “We have no way of processing it.”

Hardin County Public Works Director Stephanie Givens said she does not believe the fire will impact recycling collection for Hardin County.

(Photo Source: Meade County Fiscal Court)

Quicksie Toy Factory pick-ups set for Tuesday

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The Quicksie Cruiser will be out and about with the Coleman Allied truck Tuesday to collect for the 2023 Quicksie Toy Factory.

Now in its 32nd year, the Quicksie Toy Factory benefits the Helping Hand of Hope Affordable Christmas Program.

“All of the factories that are involved are getting their toys ready to help with the next weekend of the Affordable Christmas Program, and it’s just so important because it’s not like you’re just buying for one child because when we have it set up it’s like a store, and so parents really have an opportunity to look through things and to really pick out stuff for their kiddos,” said Helping Hand of Hope Executive Director Hope Burke. 

The program allows families to shop for Christmas gifts for their children at a discounted rate. Burke says the program helps ease the burden for families in need during the holiday season.

“It’s just very important because some of these families are really struggling because like we’ve seen rent has gone up, different things are up, and it’s just wild because a lot of these families just want to provide Christmas and this is that one missing link that they just can’t afford this year,” said Burke.

Learn more about how you can support the program by visiting www.helpinghandofhope.org, and follow along on Quicksie’s Facebook page Tuesday as Toy Factory pickups are made.

Public meeting on KY 245 at Thomas Nelson High School Monday

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The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will host a public meeting this evening in order to get public input on improvement plans for Kentucky Route 245 between Nelson and Bullitt counties.

The KYTC says the area for planned improvement covers about 10 miles from Flaget Hospital near Bardstown to Happy Hollow Road near Interstate 65.

“The corridor between Bardstown and I-65 just continues to increase each time we do traffic counts, our routine traffic counts through there, we continue to see those numbers rising, and so this is definitely identified as one of those places that needs attention for capacity, and that in turn will address safety and certainly efficiency of the roadway as well,” said KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie. 

Identified needs include improving safety, improving mobility, increasing capacity, and reducing travel time.

The public meeting will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Thomas Nelson High School. Contact KYTC District Four for more information or for special accommodations for the meeting.

Unemployment down slightly for region in October

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Unemployment saw a slight decrease across the Lincoln Trail region during the month of October. 

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the unemployment rate for the Lincoln Trail region in October came in at 3.7 percent. That’s down a bit from both September when the rate was reported at 4 percent, and October 2022 when the rate was reported at 3.8 percent.

Unemployment for Hardin County in October came in at 3.8 percent. That’s a drop from the 4.1 percent rate seen in September as well as the 4 percent rate reported in October 2022. The 3.8 percent rate is equal to the state average for October.

Breckinridge County had the highest unemployment rate in the region for the month with a rate of 4.5 percent. Marion County had the lowest at 3 percent, which ties Marion for the second lowest unemployment rate among counties in October.

The Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet says: “unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working.” Visit their website to learn more.

Holiday events happening around the county Friday

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The month of December gets kicked off with holiday events happening all around the area Friday.

The City of Elizabethtown will host their annual Light Up E-Town Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting event.

“It’s kind of an electric light parade: lots of lights, lots of excitement,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “That will kick off at 7 o’clock Friday night. It is kind of what we call the reverse parade from the Heartland Parade, so it starts out around St. John Road and comes and ends down at that tree.”

Elizabethtown Events Marketing Coordinator Priscilla Scarborough said visitors to the parade will not be disappointed.

“This is the largest parade that E-Town has ever seen for Christmas,” Scarborough said. “I mean, we have literally doubled the entries.” 

After the parade, Mayor Jeff Gregory will read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and light the city Christmas tree. Scarborough said other events will be happening as part of the parade festivities.

“In the State Theater parking lot, there’s going to be a food vendor area with snacks, so you can go and get your coffees, hot cocoas, sweets, popcorn, things like that,” Scarborough said. “There’s also going to be a dance performance before the parade in front of the State Theater.”

Go to the events tab on the Elizabethtown city website for more details.

The City of Vine Grove will host their annual Auction for the Kids and Light Up Vine Grove event starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

“We kind of do an event and then we have a big auction, and all of the money we raise in that auction helps us pay for those 70 kids that we help at Christmas,” said Vine Grove Mayor Pam Ogden. “We give them $300 per child, and then we give them food vouchers, so it costs us quite a bit of money. We need to raise $26,000.”

More details are available on the Vine Grove City Hall Facebook page.

The City of Radcliff will host Light Up Radcliff tonight beginning at 6 p.m. at the Colvin Community Center. Enjoy trees from around the world and wonderful Christmas lights, free photos with Santa, and free cookies and hot chocolate, among other activities.