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Law enforcement warns of ongoing scams

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Area law enforcement is warning of ongoing scam attempts.

The Elizabethtown Police Department is warning residents of a scam concerning fake alerts from RiverLink. The EPD says the scammers send a fake toll notice via text warning of an unpaid fee and impending late fee. The message links to a fake website to collect payment, where customers will be asked to enter their personal and financial information. The EPD says never click on the link in a suspicious message, verify tolls on the actual RiverLink website, and report phishing texts to your mobile carrier or law enforcement.

Meanwhile, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office says a scammer has been spoofing the sheriff’s office’s number and making phone calls to residents. The scammer tells the caller they missed jury duty and must pay a fee in order to avoid a warrant being put out for their arrest. The sheriff’s office does not solicit money over the phone, so if you receive such a phone call, do not give any of your personal information and hang up. If you have concerns, contact the sheriff’s office’s non-emergency line.

Scams can also be reported to the Scam Tracker on the Better Business Bureau’s website.

Elizabethtown council approves annexations, outdoor music venue contract

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The Elizabethtown City Council met for their first meeting of the month Monday afternoon.

The council approved three ordinances on their second readings that annexed 154 acres at 1750 Gaither Station Road, .482 acre at 2031 Bardstown Road, and 68 acres at 1001 Ring Road/Patriot Parkway from unincorporated Hardin County. The Gaither Station Road property will be zoned Regional Industrial while the other two will be zoned Regional Commercial.

The council also approved a municipal order amending a contract with construction firm Congleton-Hacker for the next phase of the Commerce Drive outdoor music venue project.

“The amendment to the contract will include tree clearing and site work for an amount not to exceed $10 million,” said Elizabethtown City Attorney Ken Howard, reading from the municipal order.

Congleton-Hacker was previously contracted for pre-construction services on the project.

Elizabethtown Director of Public Works Don Hill provided statistics on the city’s snow removal efforts. Hill said city workers put in 1,900 man hours to plow and treat 1,000 miles of city roadways as they tackled nine inches of snow and 3/10 an inch of ice over the week.

“This week’s focus, we’re going to be working on getting the equipment ready, making repairs, getting that ready, restocking our salt storage, working on removing obstructions from drainage facilities because as the snow melts off we have to get it off the streets, and then also we’re doing street inspections and assessments to look for potholes and deficiencies that may have been caused by the operation last week,” Hill said.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet January 21.

Radcliff council talks zoning change, trash pick up during work session

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The Radcliff City Council met for a called meeting in order to go into closed session, and then met for a work session Monday afternoon.

The council reviewed vehicles and equipment that the council will vote to declare surplus at their next meeting. Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall said most of the items are retired police vehicles.

Radcliff Planning Director Murray Wanner discussed a proposed zoning change for 3491 South Wilson Road.

“The existing land use classification of the property is a farm and the surrounding properties consist of single-family residential and vacant property,” Wanner said. “The Radcliff Planning Commission has recommended approval of the zone map amendment from a R-3 zone to a R-4 zone.”

The meeting was the first for newly-elected Council Member Maria Bell, who thanked the public for their trust in her to help lead the city.

“I know a little of what I am going to face and I don’t know a lot, but I have plenty of people here to help me, and I thank you again and I hope it’s not all Greek to me,” Bell said.

Members of the council discussed the delay in garbage pick-up due to winter weather in the area. Green River Waste has stated they will be picking up additional garbage bags placed next to cans in order to make up for the days lost last week. Duvall said the Green River crews have been dealing with the same problems anybody else has in the weather.

“They don’t want to make multiple trips, so trust me, if they could have picked your garbage up and done it last week, they would have done it last week,” Duvall said. “It’s just the fact that the safety and the weather, it’s just the same reason why kids didn’t go to school.”

Find Green River Waste on Facebook for more updates.

The Radcliff City Council will next meet January 21.

Irvington Fire Department hosting fundraiser for newborn

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The Irvington Fire Department is organizing a fundraiser to support two of their firefighters who recently had a baby.

“We have two firefighters that are on our department, Dakota Bishop and Christina Milburn,” said Irvington Fire Department Secretary Rhea Ballman. “They had their daughter Raelynn at 27 weeks, very unexpectedly, about a week ago, so she is going to have a two to three month NICU stay. This is their first child, so they are very unprepared. They are staying at the Ronald McDonald House, but they’re having to drive about an hour and a half from Irvington up there to deliver supplies for the baby and see her, so we are having a silent auction.”

Donations for items in the silent auction are currently being collected. 

“We are also having a soup and chili dinner for donation only, and everything will be going to their family to help with travel expenses and medical bills, and just getting ready for baby Raelynn,” Ballman said.

The dinner will be held at the Irvington Fire Department at 6 p.m. Eastern on Friday, January 31. Visit Irvington City Hall or contact a member of the fire department for event tickets.

Give270 donation lets CASA of the Heartland hit the ground running in 2025

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CASA of the Heartland ended 2024 with a nice gift.

As the beneficiary of Give270’s fourth quarter fundraiser, CASA of the Heartland received a $72,000 donation from the Elizabethtown-based nonprofit.

CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail says the donation was a nice way to wrap up 2024

“That means that we will be able to start 2025 off, definitely, on a good note, making sure that we are able to effectively serve more children, especially with the new territory that we have recently taken on,” Kail said.

On August 1 last year, the organization expanded to take over Breckinridge, Grayson, and Meade counties, which means more children are served but more resources are needed.

“In 2023, we started serving LaRue County around that same time, and we served 182 children in 2023, and we were able to serve 264 children in 2024, so definitely we’ll see an increase in the services that we are providing and hopefully be able to recruit some additional volunteers,” Kail said.

CASA volunteers serve as court-appointed special advocates for children navigating foster care and family court. Kail says if you have ever considered volunteering, reach out and learn more.

“Just take a little time to learn about what exactly it entails,” Kail said. “I know a lot of people think that they don’t have the time, but once the training is completed, being a CASA volunteer is not as time-demanding as some might think, so I just encourage people to definitely explore the opportunity.”

Visit casaheartland.org for more information.