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Elizabethtown man escapes from custody in Richmond

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An escapee in Madison County the Kentucky State Police is currently searching for has local ties. 

Troopers are currently searching for 28-year-old Jarod Ryan Barnes, who KSP Post Seven Public Affairs Officer Trooper Justin Kearney says walked away from the Bluegrass Career and Development Center in Richmond just before 6:45 p.m. on Sunday.

The KSP says Barnes is serving a sentence for multiple charges including second degree Engaging in Organized Crime-Criminal Syndicate and first degree Trafficking in a Controlled Substance. According to the KSP, Barnes is from Elizabethtown and “Barnes is known to frequent Elizabethtown, Jefferson, Hardin, and surrounding counties.”

Barnes is described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes. He is five feet nine inches tall and weighs 206 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white tank top, black sweatpants, and white tennis shoes, and has several tattoos on his chest and arms.

Anybody with possible information on Barnes’s whereabouts is asked to contact KSP Post Seven at 859-623-2404.

(Photo Credit: KSP Post 7)

Hardin County Fiscal Court approves policy changes

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

The fiscal court approved a resolution that amended the Hardin County Administrative Code. After an amendment to the resolution presented by Magistrate Chris Yates removed policies concerning take-home vehicles and social media, Magistrate Kenny Saltsman said the amendment only changed policy concerning the use of county facilities by for-profit businesses.

After the administrative code amendment was approved, Yates then reintroduced the policy changes for take-home vehicles and social media as a resolution amending the county’s personnel policies and procedures, which the court also approved. Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul said the limits on take-home vehicles interfered with necessary work for county employees, and the social media policy restricts communication and interaction with county offices.

“These restrictions not only lack transparency, but are the opposite of transparency,” Taul said. “The opposite of communication.”

Magistrate Aaron Pennington said the social media policy change addresses concerns that have been previously raised, and said directing social media traffic to one page allows for more clear messaging.

“The other pages were created when we took office,” Pennington said. “They weren’t here under the previous administration. There’s a reason for that, and I brought to your attention some of the reasons why we don’t need to have a bunch of different pages. It’s not supervised efficiently by a bunch of different people in different departments. We have a person for this reason, and it makes sense for that person to be in charge of social media in general.”

In other meeting news, the first reading of an amendment to the county’s ethics ordinance was held. The Hardin County Coroner’s Office responded to 181 cases in April and May, and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office made 181 arrests, issued 301 citations, and served 160 warrants in those two months.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet July 8.

EPD chief says support from city council and public has helped department grow

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Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson says with the area experiencing growth from developments such as BlueOval SK, the EPD knew it would need to match that growth, and that growth has been a reflection of the trust the city council and the community have in the department.

“We were voted one of the safest cities in the United States a few years back,” Thompson said. “We didn’t stop there and just say ‘well, that’s in the past.’ We want to continue to provide that same level, if not a higher level, of safety and security for our citizens, and again, if not for the trust that you all have in us, the trust that the community has in us, we can’t accomplish these things.”

Thompson provided an update on the EPD to the Elizabethtown City Council during their work session Monday afternoon. He said over the last eighteen months the department has added 38 positions, which in addition to increased efficiency has allowed the city to keep a step ahead of challenges that come with growth.

“Many cities that have experienced population growth, percentage wise, have had to reduce police services, fire services, because they can’t keep up with the growth because they’ve not been investing in personnel,” Thompson said. “We haven’t had to do that. As a matter of fact, we are building, we are adding on to the services we provide.”

Thompson credited department plans formed with the city and the support of the city council for making the strides the department has made possible. Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said people living in a community want to feel safe, so supporting first responders is a priority.

“We do take pride in investing in our PD and our fire department, not only for those reasons, but because we want to make sure that you all have all the tools that you need to do the job that you do, because it is very tough,” Gregory said. “I did it for a long time.”

Data provided by Thompson says the EPD has responded to 15,663 calls in 2025. The department has responded to 452 collisions so far this year, which is trending lower than the 1,284 responded to in 2024.

CASA of the Heartland celebrates growth with ribbon cutting at new office

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CASA of the Heartland celebrated the growth of the organization with a ribbon cutting at their new headquarters in Elizabethtown Monday.

CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail says the new office, located at 950 North Mulberry Street, Suite 290 in Elizabethtown, was needed after the organization expanded its service area to include LaRue County in 2023 and Breckinridge, Grayson, and Meade counties in 2024.

“We were just kind of looking down the road to see when we might need to post another position, and we realized that we weren’t going to have anywhere to put another person when we got to that point, so we decided to start our search for some spaces to see what was out there, and luckily we were very blessed to find the wonderful space that we’re in now,” Kail said.

Kail says in 2024 CASA of the Heartland served 265 children, and to this point in 2025 the organization has served 222 children.

“We suspect that those numbers will continue to increase, and that’s why we need more space and why we need more staffing because we are seeing an increase in services needed, and we want to be able to try to keep up with that need as best as possible, and that’s our ultimate goal is to just be able to serve as many kiddos as possible,” Kail said.

Anybody interested in serving as a court-appointed special advocate or is interested in volunteering in another capacity may visit the new office or visit www.casaheartland.org for more information.

Unemployment for Kentucky in May comes in at 5 percent

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Kentucky’s unemployment rate in May was mostly in line with where it was the year prior. 

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state unemployment average for May was 5 percent. That is up a tick from May 2024 when the average was reported at 4.9 percent, but it is down slightly from the April average of 5.2 percent.

Kentucky’s unemployment average also came in higher in May than the national unemployment rate, which the U.S. Department of Labor reported at 4.2 percent.

The Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet says the state’s civilian labor force, which includes people currently employed and people actively searching for work, saw an increase of 1,275 people from April to May, bringing the civilian labor force to a little less than 2,120,000.

The Education and Labor Cabinet says the Manufacturing, Leisure and Hospitality, Financial Activities, Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Government, and Mining and Logging sectors saw gains in the month of May. The Construction, Professional and Business Services, Information Services, Other Services, and Educational and Health Services sectors saw decreases.

Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics website for more about unemployment figures and labor market information.