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ECTC celebrates renovations for Occupational Technical Building

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Elizabethtown Community and Technical College celebrated the beginning of phase one of the $60.5 million renovation of the college’s Occupational Technical Building with a beam signing ceremony Monday afternoon.

“The original buildings built for the Occupational Technical Building were constructed in three separate time periods (1966, 1975, and 1985), so even the newest facility is 40 years old, so this two-phase project is really about providing an updated, relevant simulation environment for what students expect in a modern and industrial setting such as we have here in Elizabethtown/Hardin County,” said ECTC President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate. 

Pate said the construction project is a milestone for the college as well as workforce development across the region, and students walking into the updated OTB will get “an updated 21st century training environment.”

“We’ve got the best instructors in America,” Pate said. “We have great equipment, but to have a facility that mirrors and mimics what they will see in the workforce and in the workplace here, I think, provides them a more relevant and timely education.”

Pate said the project is a testament to the dedicated staff at the college as well as partners in the community looking to support students and area industry.

“I’m most thankful not just for this project, but I think I’m most thankful that our college and our region work together so well,” Pate said. “This truly is a community project, and so many people from so many facets of our world and life came together to make this happen, and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.”

The completion of phase one is expected as early as December of 2026. Students attending classes in the OTB receive education and training for a wide range of careers involving specialty degrees and licenses. Visit ECTC’s website for more information.

PinkDot Project aims to address ‘period poverty’

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Baptist Health Hardin Obstetrician and Gynecologist Dr. Shannon Holt says one of her motivations to pitch the PinkDot Project to the Central Kentucky Community Foundation’s Heels Together initiative was when one of her patients asked her to stop her periods because she couldn’t afford the cost of menstrual supplies. After finding other patients were dealing with similar issues, she did more research on how deep the struggle really was.

“Of the 71 million women currently in the United States actively menstruating, 17 million live below the poverty line, and they are decimated by period poverty,” Holt said. “It affects one in four students who don’t have the ability to go to school or they use their products for so much longer than they’re intended to, risking infection and other problems.”

The PinkDot Project will allow area residents to donate period products for women and girls who cannot afford them. Period products can be dropped off at the first two donation locations, Gathering Bakery in Radcliff and HubHaus in Elizabethtown.

During a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday morning, Gathering Bakery owner Deb Suratt said when the project was first brought to her attention she was reminded of her own experiences growing up, and it was the first time she heard the phrase “period poverty” and learned she wasn’t the only one who struggled.

“I would steal,” Suratt said. “I stole feminine products, and I had a boyfriend and he stole contact lens solution, and that was a Friday night. It’s embarrassing, and until this happened, nobody knew. My daughters didn’t know.”

In addition to donating products, area residents looking to support the PinkDot project can make a donation via the Community Foundation’s website www.ckcf4people.org. Schools and non-profits who serve women and girls in need of products can also sign up for support on the website.

Man in custody after Hardin County robbery

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A Jefferson County man is in custody after a robbery investigation in Hardin County.

Charles Austin of Louisville faces multiple charges including Receiving Stolen Property, Robbery, and Fleeing or Evading Police, among other charges, following his arrest Friday.

According to the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, at around 2:29 p.m. on October 24 deputies were dispatched to the 700 block of Star Mills Road after a report came in of a robbery and stolen vehicle. Deputies made contact with the victim, who told officers he had been robbed by an individual he knew. The victim said the suspect had been armed with a handgun and the victim’s vehicle, which had a firearm in it, was stolen in the incident.

A BOLO was issued and the stolen vehicle was detected on an Elizabethtown FLOCK camera. Officers with the Elizabethtown Police Department located the vehicle and initiated a pursuit on Interstate 65 South. The vehicle crashed just north of the Sonora exit and the suspect, identified as Austin, fled on foot but was apprehended a short time later. 

Austin was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center. He is set to appear for a video arraignment in Hardin District Court Monday morning.