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The Kentucky Community and Technical College System says it expects to welcome more than 85,000 students to its campuses this fall, which the system says is an 8.4 percent increase from last year and will set a 10-year record.
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate says ECTC has also seen substantial growth.
“The college has really had a record period of growth since 2017,” Pate said. “Our graduation rate has gone from 31 percent to a little over 57 percent.”
KCTCS says the system has seen growth across all student classifications. New student enrollment is up 11 percent, credential-seeking enrollment is up 11.9 percent, and high school students taking dual credit courses is up 11.6 percent.
Pate says more and more people are recognizing that a community college education can be more than just a cost-saving measure.
“The real value is the quality of the education, and the people who chose to teach at a community college because they wanted to teach,” Pate said. “They didn’t want to do research. They didn’t want to publish papers. They want to be with students. That, to me, is what’s reflected when you start looking at the way ECTC has increased its student success. We’ve got to where now the number of students who are passing all of their classes in the first semester is, I think it’s almost like 80 percent. That’s unheard of.”
KCTCS expects to enroll about 112,000 students by the end of the 2024-2025 school year in either an associate program designed to transfer to a four-year university or one of 104 technical programs.
In addition to expanding programming, KCTCS campuses have focused on assisting students with barriers to education, such as ECTC’s work with Family Scholar House.
“I think all of these things have just really led us to meet students where they are, help them overcome the barriers they’re facing, and getting them the skills and the education, the training they need to go out and get that career that’s going to change their lives and their families’ lives,” Pate said.
Visit the KCTCS website for more information on enrollment numbers, and visit ECTC’s website for more information on classes and program offerings.
Deer hunting season in Kentucky opens this weekend, and hunters should familiarize themselves with state regulations including measures to protect the deer population from disease.
Archery deer hunting season opens on September 7, with crossbow hunting opening on September 21. Both the archery and crossbow seasons then run through January 20.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says they expect the deer harvest for the 2024-2025 season to be around 140,000 deer, which is in line with numbers seen over the last ten years. The 2023-2024 deer harvest was about 141,000, the seventh highest total on record.
Hunters should consult the 2024-2025 Fall Hunting and Trapping Guide, available at fw.ky.gov, for a summary of regulations and license requirements. Kentucky’s statewide deer permit allows for hunters to take up to four deer. Hunters must immediately report their deer harvest to the KFW.
Hunters in Western Kentucky should also familiarize themselves with specific requirements within the Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Zone, which was established after the disease was detected in Ballard County in 2023. Hunters should report sick or dead deer to the KFW, which they can do online or by calling 1-800-858-1549.
The Elizabethtown City Council met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday.
The first reading was held on ordinances that establish city taxes for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The franchise tax rate on all eligible bank deposits will be set at .025 percent. The tax rate for real and personal property will be 11 cents per $100 assessed value. The tax rate on motor vehicles and watercraft will be 11.6 cents per $100 assessed value. Those ordinances will go up for approval on their second readings at the next regular council meeting.
The council approved a municipal order for the purchase of 723 Greenwood Drive for $323,000.
“Whereas the City of Elizabethtown desires to address drainage issues in the community, and whereas in the engineering studies of the community watersheds the need to develop a basin in the Helmwood Heights area was identified,” said City Attorney Ken Howard, reading from the municipal order.
Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory noted that the property is owned by one of his relatives and said he was not part of negotiations.
A bid from Dirt Works Unlimited was approved in an amount not to exceed $418,847 for the Arnett Place construction project. The city agreed to a property contract with the Elizabethtown Lions Club that requires certain improvements by the city. The project will establish a street from Ring Road between the current Lions Club building and the volunteer fire department. City Administrator Ed Poppe said city officials are happy with the bid.
“They’re doing a sewer project for us currently,” Poppe said. “They’ve got a couple other subdivision projects in this general area. Our design engineer reviewed their cost breakdown and felt comfortable with that. Michael Page with our engineering department also looked at the bid numbers and everybody thinks it’s a really good number that we got from it.”
The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet for a work session on September 9.
The alleged driver in a multi-county pursuit is in jail after a short hospital stay.
Joshua E. Arledge of Louisville was booked into the Hardin County Detention Center shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday after being transferred there by the Kentucky State Police from the University of Louisville Hospital.
According to the KSP, the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office contacted KSP Post Four Sunday evening as they were pursuing a stolen vehicle heading west on the Bluegrass Parkway. The KSP took over the pursuit as the driver got on Interstate 65 North near Elizabethtown.
The driver exited I-65 at the Joe Prather Highway and drove towards Radcliff, with the pursuit ending on Patriot Lane when the suspect got out of the vehicle and then fled on foot. As officers set up a perimeter, the suspect was seen driving away in a semi-tractor trailer, heading back onto I-65 North.
Troopers successfully deployed stop sticks near the 117-mile marker, and the semi exited the interstate, pulled into a parking lot, and briefly traveled on East Blue Lick Road in Bullitt County before overturning in a wooded area. The suspect was apprehended with no further incident.
The suspect was transported to the University of Louisville Hospital by EMS after he supposedly ingested “an unknown substance believed to be heroin.” He was held for medical observation until his release and transfer to the detention center Tuesday, at which time the KSP identified the suspect as Joshua Arledge.
Arledge faces multiple charges including First Degree Fleeing and Evading, Receiving Stolen Property, and Theft, among other charges. A video arraignment hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning.