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Breckinridge County Schools looks to improve upon a strong 2025

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Breckinridge County Schools Superintendent Dr. Nick Carter says he is very proud of the growth the district continued to see in 2025.

“Our graduation rate was 96.6 percent,” Carter said. “That was one of the highest in the region. The post-secondary readiness rate was 98.3 percent, which was also one of the highest in the region, so we’re excited about that. Our high school earned an overall high rating with state test scores, and there was academic achievement growth in all of our schools throughout the district.”

Carter said extracurricular participation rates across the district are starting to return to pre-pandemic numbers, and a long-term facilities goal made headways in 2025.

“We’ve been working since 2021 to build a new middle school in Breckinridge County, and in 2025 we made a lot of ground on that, and we’re set to begin construction on a new middle school in February of 2026, so we’re really proud of that,” Carter said

Carter says goals for 2026 in addition to the new middle school include some updates for the district’s area technology center, more growth for extracurriculars, and continued work on academic standards improvements that began in mid-2025.

“Our goal for 2026 is to continue working to fully implement that research-based curriculum, continuing the curriculum alignment with our state standards and our assessment expectations, so really just continuing the good work that’s going on academically, but trying to continue improving student academic outcomes,” Carter said.

Visit the Breckinridge County Schools website for more information.

Lincoln Trail district unemployment rates see improvement in September

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Unemployment rates across the Lincoln Trail District in September are down from where they were the year prior.

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says unemployment rates decreased in 116 counties, increased in three, and stayed the same in one when comparing September 2025 with September 2024.

The state unemployment average for September was 4.5 percent. That’s a slight increase from the 4.4 percent average in August but is down from the 4.9 percent average reported in September of 2024.

Hardin County’s unemployment rate for September was slightly above the state average at 4.9 percent. That is up from the 4.7 percent rate reported in August and down from the 5.1 percent rate from September 2024.

Grayson County posted the highest September unemployment rate in the district at 5.5 percent, followed by Breckinridge County at 5.3 percent. Washington County posted the lowest unemployment rate in the district, and tied for the seventh-lowest rate in the state, for September at 3.9 percent, followed by Nelson County at 4 percent.

Learn more about how the unemployment rate is calculated and find more labor market information by visiting www.kystats.ky.gov.

Kentucky Animal Shelter Advisory Board hopes new design will boost spay and neuter license plate sales

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Kentuckians for the last twenty years have shown their support for animal shelters across the commonwealth with the Kentucky Spay or Neuter special license plate. With more special interest plates available and the same design in place for two decades, Kentucky Animal Control Advisory Board Co-Chair, and Elizabethtown City Council Member, Julia Springsteen said the board decided it was time for a refresh.

“We did a statewide design competition in the spring, and in the summer, we looked at all of the submissions,” Springsteen said. “We actually had about 120 submissions. It was great, and we chose this one that you guys will see online and at the clerk’s office, and we’re just hoping it’ll do some good.”

The winning design was submitted by Hayli Strickland, a graphic design teacher at the University of Kentucky. When you register your vehicle or renew your registration, you can pick Strickland’s plate and support the state’s animal population.

“The Animal Control Advisory Board’s mission is to distribute revenue from the sale and renewal of the Spay/Neuter license plate, and those monies go out in the form of spay/neuter grants to animal shelters across the state, including the Hardin County Animal Shelter,” Springsteen said.

The new plate comes at a time when shelters everywhere are struggling with demand.

“Shelter Animals Count reports the average intake for Kentucky shelters is 319 dogs and 322 cats each month, and adoptions are only about a third of those numbers, so we hope this encourages people to be very public about their support for spaying and neutering pets,” Springsteen said. “Every animal fixed outside of a shelter gives a shelter animal a better chance at getting a new family.”

The new plate is available now for purchase at all Kentucky County Clerk offices, including Hardin County, or on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s website.

Matching donations available for Wreaths Across America through end of the year

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Wreaths Across America Area Coordinator Donna Betson says the annual effort at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff to “remember those who served, honor those who have passed, and teach the next generation” has grown more and more with each passing year.

“When we started out it was a thousand, and we are now up to ten thousand buried out there,” Betson said.

As the year comes to a close, you can support the local chapter through an ongoing matching program. Now through December 31, every wreath purchased for the local chapter will be matched by a purchase from the national Wreaths Across America organization.

Betson says especially with the presence of Fort Knox, area connections to the KVCC run deep.

“My main thing that I got started with was my dad’s out there, and since I started, my mom has joined him in that cemetery, and I don’t think there’s hardly anyone in Hardin County who does not have a family member or doesn’t know a friend or know a person that is buried out there,” Betson said.

Make your donation through the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central Radcliff page on www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. Contact Betson at 270-319-2122 for more information.

Holiday cheer still on display at Freeman Lake Park

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Christmas may have come and gone, but there is still time to enjoy a long-running Elizabethtown holiday staple at Freeman Lake Park with the annual Christmas in the Park lighting tour.

“That will run nightly from 6 to 11 p.m.,” said City of Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “This year we have over 115 displays from not only the city of Elizabethtown, but many local community partners, and you will be surprised we’ve got a lot of new displays and a lot of new businesses have joined in.”

Visitors will enter Freeman Lake Park at the Blue Heron Way entrance. Don’t forget to turn off your headlights when you reach the entrance and set your radio to the posted frequency.

Christmas in the Park runs through January 1. The lighting trail is free but donations are accepted. Visit www.etownevents.com for more information.