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WQXE News

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Health department continues to investigate Upton water contamination

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The Lincoln Trail District Health Department is continuing to monitor water supplies after an investigation into possible contamination in Upton in August.

According to a release, the health department became aware of suspected water contamination in Big Spring on August 17. Samples collected on August 21 “indicated the presence of coliforms and E. Coli bacterium.” Additional testing was conducted to determine the type of E. Coli present and “indicated the presence of fecal waste from humans and deer.” The test results were shared with the Kentucky Environment and Energy Cabinet.

The health department says based on information from the Environmental Protection Agency bacterial levels in bodies of water can vary and change with rainfall, which makes it difficult to pinpoint the source of the contamination. 

After offering free well water testing to residents in the affected area, the health department has conducted or assisted with 14 tests across 12 locations in Hardin and LaRue counties. Sites from tests taken on August 21 and 27 resulted in E. Coli counts of more than 2,400, but five tests resulted in zero counts.

The health department will continue to work alongside the Environment and Energy Cabinet to test and monitor private water supplies as they work to identify the source of the contamination. If you believe your water supply has been impacted, contact the health department (270-769-0312 for Hardin County and 270-358-8665 for LaRue County), and visit their website for information on well and cistern maintenance.

Heavy rains expected and heavy winds possible with Hurricane Helene

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Hurricane Helene is due to make landfall in Florida Thursday night, with the storm impacting Kentucky on Friday.

“First there will just be a light rain, and then Friday we will get some winds,” said Meteorologist Samantha Michlowitz with the National Weather Service in Louisville. “We are looking at about 30 to 50 miles per hour there for winds on Friday and some pretty heavy rains, then scattered rain chances will last Saturday into Sunday.”

The tropical storm is the second to impact the area this year after the remnants of Hurricane Beryl in july.

“We had one earlier this year that moved through and gave us a good amount of rain, but this time around we’re going to see between 2.5 to 3.5 inches of rain,” Michlowitz said.

Michlowitz says remember to be safe as the storm works its way through.

“If you have anything outside like outdoor decorations or pillows on outdoor furniture, it would probably be best to bring that inside just so that it doesn’t get picked up and thrown,” Michlowitz said. “With rain, just watch out for any ponding. Never drive through any flooded roadways. You never know how deep it is.”

Follow the National Weather Service for more updates on Hurricane Helene’s path.

Organizers watching weather forecast ahead of Saturday’s Heartland Harvest Festival

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Event organizers have an eye on the forecast for Saturday, but they are excited to put on the second annual Heartland Harvest Festival in Downtown Elizabethtown.

“The downtown event begins at 10 a.m. and it will feature craft and commercial vendors,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “We will have over 100. There’s a free petting zoo and kids zone, a pumpkin decorating contest, the Great Pumpkin Battle, of course sponsored by WQXE. We’re excited about that. There will be food vendors, and lots more.”

That’s Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. Music for the festival will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the Hardin County Justice Center parking lot.

“The lineup this year includes Big Black Cadillac, which is a funk and soul six-piece cover band based in Bardstown, and then at 5 o’clock, Taylorsville native and country artist J.D. Shelburne will take the stage, and ending out the night as our headliner is chart-topping country singer-songwriter Craig Morgan, and we are super excited to have him,” Pyles said. “That should be at 7.30 p.m.”

Find more information on the City of Elizabethtown Event’s website, and follow their Facebook page and stay tuned to Quicksie and The Wolf for weather-related updates.

Woman killed, two injured in crash at Ring Road and Dixie Avenue intersection

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The Elizabethtown Police Department is investigating a fatal accident that occurred Wednesday evening.

“Shortly before 7:30 Wednesday evening, we responded to a serious motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Ring Road and Dixie Highway,” said EPD Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “A preliminary investigation indicates that a Hyundai passenger car, traveling eastbound on Ring Road, collided with the rear of a Chevrolet pickup truck, which was also eastbound on Ring Road but stopped at the intersection of Dixie Highway.” 

Denham said the driver of the Hyundai, an adult female, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup, an adult male, along with his juvenile passenger, were transported from the scene to Baptist Health Hardin with non-life-threatening injuries.

The EPD’s collision reconstruction team’s investigation is ongoing.

Hardin County Fiscal Court approves cemetery transfer, medical cannabis zoning

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

A public hearing was held for a cemetery relocation. Nell Johnson requested permission to relocate graves of her family members in the Niceley Cemetery on Gaither Station Road to the Elizabethtown City Cemetery, per family wishes.

“Prior to my father’s death in 2005, he bought the burial plots and was in the process of getting everyone to be moved,” Johnson said. “There’s two graves, my mother and my grandmother, and then he passed, so it just never happened, so I think this will be the best way and then all of the family members are going to be up in the Elizabethtown Cemetery.”

County Attorney Jenny Oldham noted the relocation is of no cost to the county. A resolution approving the relocation was approved.

The court approved the first reading of an ordinance for a zoning text amendment that adds medical cannabis operations to the permitted uses in Light Industrial (I-1) or Heavy Industrial (I-2) zones in unincorporated Hardin County. The amendment was recommended by the Hardin County Planning Commission following their public hearing on the matter. Some of the magistrates objected to including dispensaries in the amendment. District One Magistrate Chris Yates said the amendment undermines the decision to put the medical cannabis decision on the ballot, and Second District Magistrate Kenny Saltsman said in addition to safety concerns the requirement puts an undue burden on law-abiding patients.

“Placing these facilities in industrial zones reinforces the outdated stigma associating them with unsavory or undesirable parts of town,” Saltsman said. “This can hinder the normalization of cannabis as a legitimate medical treatment and perpetuate negative stereotypes.”

Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul issued a proclamation recognizing EMTs Shawn Thomas, Kelly Gibson, and Riley Black for going above the call of service. 

“They made a run on an elderly female in the Radcliff area who couldn’t take her medication because her water had been turned off, and they made arrangements to work with the water district to get her water turned back on so that she could take her medicine,” said Hardin County EMS Director Mark Peterson.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet October 8.