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Truck accident near Cecilia Valley Elementary school causes gas leak, downed power lines

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A pickup truck struck a utility pole and ruptured a gas line near Cecilia Valley Elementary School Tuesday afternoon.

Hardin County Sheriff John Ward said the incident happened shortly after 3 p.m.

“The pickup truck was westbound on Kentucky 86, and it knocked over a utility pole and also broke the gas line, which had gas leaking out the line freely,” Ward said.

Ward said Cecilia Valley had already dismissed students at the time of the incident, but 32 students along with several staff members were still in the building for the elementary’s afterschool program. Students and staff were advised to shelter in place while the gas line was sealed.

Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright said students were then unable to exit due to the downed utility pole.

“We were asked to inform parents to not come pick up their children,” Wright said. “Even though the gas leak had been repaired the power lines were still down, and it wasn’t long after that that we got word that we could resume as normal, so parents were at that time welcome to pick up their kids and students from the school-age childcare program.”

Wright thanked emergency responders for their quick response to the scene, saying the situation was ultimately back to normal in about 45 minutes.

Radcliff council denies Redmar zoning request, approves annexation

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The Radcliff City Council met for a regular meeting Tuesday.

The council voted to uphold the Radcliff Planning Commission’s denial of a zoning map amendment for four properties at or near the intersection of Wingard Drive and Redmar Lane in the Redmar Subdivision from R-1 to R-4. Council member Jerry Brown said that Radcliff is a relatively young city in one of Kentucky’s oldest counties, and it is important to preserve the city’s history when possible.

“There is so little of valid historical significance, but this area, this community that these homeowners are discussing, is probably the only valid historical area in town,” Brown said.

The council did approve on second reading ordinances that annexed a property on the east side of Bullion Boulevard between Safari Trail and Oakland Circle and a property at 691 Safari Trail from the city of Vine Grove and rezoned both properties from R-1 to R-3.

An ordinance establishing an Energy Project Assessment District program was also approved on its second reading.

“By establishing an EPAD program, pursuant to the EPAD Act, eligible property owners will be eligible to finance qualifying energy projects to their properties through the imposition of assessments on their approved real property within the city,” said City Attorney Michael Pike, reading from the ordinance.

The council received an update on the Green Dot program, a violence prevention program that trains schools and businesses while promoting bystander intervention. Leadership Hardin County, Silverleaf, and the city council partnered to implement the program, and to promote it a mural was commissioned to be designed by the North Hardin High School art class, with the winning design submitted by recent grad Megan McNight.

“We wanted to resemble a breaking away of all of this negative energy, all these bad things that could be happening like bullying, just getting away from all of that, and then behind it is something beautiful where it’s just like a calm scene,” McNight said.

A location for the mural is being discussed.

The Radcliff City Council will next meet in a work session on September 12 and a regular meeting on September 19.

2022 a bounce-back year for state, local tourism

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Governor Andy Beshear last week said that 2022 was a strong year for tourism, with the industry generating more than $12,9 billion in economic impact across the commonwealth.

Tourism on the local level also had a strong year.

“For Hardin County, tourism accounted for 2,472 jobs,” said Elizabethtown Tourism Director of Marketing Krysta Souleyrette. “The labor income from those jobs was $69.51 million in Hardin County. In state and local taxes, tourism generated $26.7 million, and visitors spent $335.57 million in 2022 in Hardin County.”

Souleyrette says tourism numbers for the county represent both a rebound from the pandemic as well as improvement from pre-pandemic numbers.

“Visitor spending increased 12 percent over 2019,” said Souleyrette. “Since 2019 was really the last normal year pre-pandemic, we used this to kind of gauge, and pretty much everything was up. So we’re really pleased with these numbers and excited to continue the growth in 2023.”

More information on tourism statistics for 2022 can be found at www.kentuckytourism.com.

CASA of the Heartland raises more than $69K at Farm to Fork event

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CASA of the Heartland held their largest annual fundraiser, the Farm to Fork event, at the Venue at Highland Sod Farm Saturday, and over 180 attendees helped make the night a successful one.

“With the team effort from our volunteers, our staff, our community supporters, and our sponsors we were able to raise $69,246 with our Farm to Fork event this year,” said CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail.

The event featured live entertainment, live and silent auctions, and a meal featuring locally-grown, farm-fresh dishes from local farmers, prepared by chef Tony York from Tony York’s on Main in Glendale.

Kail says the money is a big show of support for CASA of the Heartland’s mission.

“It’s about $2,800 to provide advocacy for one child for an entire year, and so we are able to continue those efforts with the funds that we raise,” Kail said.

In addition to fundraising, the event is an opportunity to provide outreach on what CASAs do, and find new people to join the cause.

“We had at least three new volunteers that maybe from hearing the testimonial at our event and learning a little bit more about the organization, we did receive three new volunteer applications following the event,” Kail said. “We’re really excited about that so that we can get those wait list numbers down because we do always need volunteers.”

CASA of the Heartland recruits, trains, and supports community volunteers who serve as court-appointed special advocates on behalf of abused, neglected, and dependent children in Hardin and now LaRue counties. For more information, visit www.casaheartland.org or call 270-982-2274.

Central Hardin grad arrested on Murder charges in Alaska

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A Central Hardin High School grad faces murder charges in Alaska after allegedly killing his wife.

Zarrius Ray Hildabrand faces charges of First Degree Murder (intent to cause death), Second Degree Muder (intent to cause serious injury), and Class C Felony Tampering with Physical Evidence following his arrest on August 11.

According to a complaint filed by the Anchorage Police Department in Anchorage’s district court, Hildabrand reported his wife, 21-year-old Saria Hildabrand, missing to police on August 7 after not seeing her since the morning of August 6. Zarrius Hildabrand said the two had been partying the night before, and his wife decided to walk to work instead of drive. He said he had searched for his wife the night before contacting police but waited to call it in in case there had been a misunderstanding.

Volunteers searched for Saria Hildabrand on August 8. Investigators learned that day that at around 2 a.m. on August 6 a neighbor to the Hildabrands had heard a single gunshot. A search warrant was served for Hildabrand’s apartment on August 9, and when crime scene technicians lifted the mattress of a bed Hildabrand had previously not given officers permission to search under they found it “saturated with human blood.” A blood reagent spray revealed blood had been cleaned up from other parts of the bedroom and bathroom.

On August 10, investigators discovered blood on a trash can near the residence. A search of the area with a drone led officers to the discovery of a body inside a 4 to 5 foot storm drain, which after recovery was positively identified as that of Saria Hildabrand.

A warrant was issued for Zarrius Hildabrand’s arrest, and he was taken into custody. Hildabrand was remanded to the Anchorage Jail. He was arraigned on the charges on August 11, and is due back in court for a pre-indictment hearing on August 17.