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Law enforcement agencies reminding Kentuckians to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day responsibly

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Area law enforcement agencies are reminding Kentuckians to celebrate responsibly as they don their green and head out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

The Kentucky State Police is participating in Operation CARE now through March 17. Short for Crash Awareness Reduction Effort, this national enforcement initiative from the International Association of Chiefs will feature increased patrols and a focus on traffic violations such as impaired or distracted driving, speeding, and failure to wear a seatbelt.

The most important thing drivers can do if alcohol is involved is plan ahead.

“If you’re planning to drink, also have a plan to get home safely,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “Never get behind the wheel of a car after you’ve been drinking. It’s not just about getting arrested, getting a DUI, or spending the night in jail. It could cost you or someone else their lives. Please make responsible choices and get home safely.”

Drivers should also remember to buckle up, drive distraction free, and watch for pedestrians. If you see someone driving recklessly or appearing impaired, report it to local law enforcement or the KSP.

City of Elizabethtown seeking public input on historic preservation and downtown area

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The City of Elizabethtown is inviting members of the public to a public engagement session regarding historic preservation and the downtown area, to be held at the WesBanco Gallery at the Historic State Theater on Wednesday, March 19 at 6 p.m.

“We started this discussion last month and I had mentioned at that time that the council had directed us to look into potentially expanding the Historic Preservation District downtown due to a zoning change request that was over on College Street, and there was a discussion by citizens over there about historic preservation in general, not necessarily about the preservation district,” said City of Elizabethtown Director of Planning Joe Reverman during a meeting of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. 

Reverman said it is a good time to have these discussions as they line up with work on implementing goals and objectives in the city’s comprehensive plan, and the first step in the process is engaging public discussion.

“This is something that would affect property owners, and so we want to make sure that we’re engaging property owners, providing an educational component to this, getting feedback from property owners, things like that,” Reverman said.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday with a short presentation at 6:15, with time for questions and informal discussion after.

“There are some benefits to property owners, but definitely to the community as a whole to having preservation in our community and expanding the districts and expanding the role that preservation plays with development of our community, so we really want to have that discussion first and make sure that people understand what preservation is and how that can benefit the development of the city and the community,” Reverman said.

Direct comments and questions may be made to Reverman’s office at 270-982-2238 or joe.reverman@elizabethtownky.gov.

Kentucky annual unemployment up in 2024

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Kentucky’s annual unemployment rate saw an increase in 2024. 

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state’s annual unemployment rate for 2024 was 5.1 percent. That is up from the 4.3 percent annual rate for 2023, and trends higher than the national annual unemployment rate of 4 percent.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the Kentucky civilian labor force saw an increase in 2024 of about 37,000 people. The estimated number of Kentuckians in the labor force is 2,093,848, with an estimated 106,205 of them unemployed.

Kentucky’s annual unemployment rate for 2024 ranked 48th in the country. Nevada posted the highest annual unemployment rate for 2024 at 5.6 percent while South Dakota posted the lowest at 1.8 percent. 21 states experienced significant increases in annual unemployment rates from 2023 to 2024.

Kentucky’s Education and Health Services, Government, Construction, Manufacturing, Leisure and Hospitality, and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sectors saw increases in 2024. The Mining and Logging, Financial Activities, Information, and Professional and Business Services sectors saw decreases.

Find more unemployment and labor market information at kystats.ky.gov.

Deadline to provide input on design of Grayson County skatepark Friday

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Friday is the deadline for area residents to provide their input to the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project as they work with Hunger Skateparks on the design of the planned skatepark in Grayson County.

“We want to know ‘what do you want to see?’” said Twin Lakes Skatepark Project Chairman Casey Keown. “We don’t want to just put together a park based off of what we think it should be, right? ‘Unity through community’ is our motto, so we really want to incorporate everybody’s input in this new skate park.”

Keown says the organization wants to hear from Grayson County residents as well as residents of surrounding counties that would utilize the skatepark. A link to the survey can be found on the Twin Lakes Skatepark Project’s Facebook page and website.

Keown says the project team has continued to make progress, including official recognition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

“Right now our focus is on community engagement and fundraising,” Keown said. “We’re all really excited to see where this is going and you know I think for the most part we’ve kind of got everybody on our side, and our cards are just falling in the right place at the right time.”

Visit twinlakesskatepark.org for more information on the project.

Water districts make annual reports to Hardin County Fiscal Court

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

Hardin County Water District No. 1 General Manager Jeff Metz and Hardin County Water District No. 2 General Manager Shaun Youravich gave the court their respective companies’ annual presentations.

Metz said despite lower than anticipated revenues, District 1 was able to keep expenses under control and finished 2024 with a positive margin. Metz noted several projects which expanded the district’s water efficiency by 18 percent and connected unserved roads in the county to water service, and many projects benefited from county ARPA funding and other grant opportunities.

“That would basically be impossible without grant funding to help make that happen, so all those citizens I can assure you are greatly appreciative of being awarded those grant dollars, and we appreciate giving opportunities to expand that and get that water service to them,” Metz said.

Youravich said District 2 was anticipating a loss for sewer operations in 2024, but the BlueOval SK plant getting online in 2024 had not been anticipated in projections and instead sewer operations had more than $400,000 in revenue. Water revenue saw an increase in 2024 partially due to an extended dry season, and Youravich noted the efficiency of the district’s operations.

“We had 10 breaks per 100 miles, because we had about 1,100 miles of water main, so we were well within the excellent performance category, and when you compare that to other utilities across the U.S. the national average is 25 to 30 breaks per 100 miles,” Youravich said.

Metz said District 1 was awarded the Best Tasting Water award from the Kentucky Rural Water Association, and Youravich said Kentucky as a whole ranked third in best drinking water rankings nationwide.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet March 25.