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Friends honoring late friend with fundraiser to benefit cat cafe

Sarah Windmuller said her friend Kimmie Albrecht, who was killed in a car accident in October 2023, was loving, giving, and passionate, qualities that shined brightly in her efforts to care for animals in need.

“She did animal rescue on her own, and alongside her husband,” Windmuller said. “She would take care of animals that were vulnerable that most people would be like ‘Ah, that’s kind of too hard of a case for me. I’m not going to do it.’ She gave every animal all the love and every chance and every, every little thing that she could to help them.”

In Albrecht’s memory, Windmuller and the team at Hard Knox Games and Hobbies are organizing a charity event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 13 that will benefit the Lucky Cat Cafe and Lounge in Louisville, the only non-profit cat cafe in Kentucky.

“There’s a couple of tournaments going on. and then there’s going to be a swap meet,” Windmuller said. “So we’re going to be there with our booth, and we’re going to have baked goods that people can just donate some money, whatever they want. I have a team of ladies who make the absolute best baked goods you can imagine.”

The event will also feature raffles and silent auction items.

Windmuller said the event is a way for Albrechts friends and loved ones to celebrate the things that made her who she was.

“Kimmy’s passing was such a huge impact on the whole D&D community, so this is all of us coming together and celebrating her at one of her favorite places,” Windmuller said. “So we’ve also got dragon bracelets and I’ve also got paw print bracelets for, so it’s like combining all of her favorite things.”

Contact Hard Knox Games and Hobbies for more information.

Hardin County Public Library celebrating National Library Week

April 7 through 13 is National Library Week, and the staff at the Hardin County Public Library are excited to participate.

Hardin County Public Library Head of Adult Services Rebecca Akers says visitors to the library during each day of National Library Week will have the chance to come home with a prize by answering the daily question.

“Any patron that comes in and answers the little question, they get entered into a daily raffle, and that’s Money to Friday, and so each day we’re going to have a raffle drawing,” Akers said. “We have gift cards for Barnes and Noble, we have library totes, t-shirts, small reading posters, all kinds of fun prizes for patrons.”

Multiple libraries across Kentucky are hosting job fairs as part of National Library Week. While the Hardin County Public Library is unable to host a job fair due to ongoing construction, the library is partnering with the Kentucky Career Center to still connect with job seekers.

“We are providing take-home job fair packets, and so the Kentucky Career Center has helped us by compiling a very exhaustive list of community resources for job seekers, and we’re putting that in a library bag along with lots of little goodies and giveaways from some area businesses as well some library giveaways,” Akers said.

Career advisers will also be at the library Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Akers says the library has lots to offer, and the best way to find out is to stop by.

“Even though we’re undergoing construction, our stacks are open,” Akers said. “We have lots of stuff for patrons to look at. We have a library of things, and full programming for children and adults.”

Visit the Hardin County Public Library’s website or Facebook page for more information.

Hodgenville Police Department details recent cases

The Hodgenville Police Department has released details on several cases their officers investigated last week.

On April 1, HPD officers conducted several controlled buy attempts of vapes to underage informants. In these investigations, underage informants go into a store and attempt to purchase vapes or vape products. Jennifer Timmer, a clerk at the Hometown Mini Mart on Lincoln Farm Road, was charged with Unlawful Transaction with a Minor.

Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson said it was worth noting that the store in this case has taken actions to prevent underage sales.

“The store went back and put in a fail-safe in the computer where the register will not let you make that purchase without scanning their driver’s license, and something the store did on their own, they were not mandated to do that,” Richardson said. “That’s just what they did, and in this instance the clerk actually scanned her own driver’s license to bypass that fail-safe to sell that product to the child.”

Later, on April 3, the HPD’s search for a fugitive led to two arrests.

Officers had been searching for Jeremy Butler for about a week as he was wanted on warrants for several drug-related charges. The investigation led officers to an address on Joe Brown Road

“We got a tip to where he was at,” Richardson said. “We went to that address, knocked on the door. The young man that rented that residence allowed us in and Mr. Butler was located inside that home, and then there was another female that was on scene and when we checked her she also came back with a child support warrant for a $2,000 warrant out of Hardin County for being behind on her child support, so she was located and arrested as well.”

The woman arrested is Savannah Moreland of Maryland. Both Moreland and Butler were transported to the LaRue County Detention Center at the time of their arrests.

Brandenburg attempting to scare off vultures

The City of Brandenburg is dealing with some unwanted guests.

Brandenburg City Hall is advising residents of their efforts to chase off a flock of vultures that have taken up residence in the city recently, with the city concerned with the potential damage the birds can cause to homes, vehicles, and city facilities.

According to a post on the Brandenburg City Hall Facebook page, the vultures were originally roosting in City Park, but have since moved to Lafayette Street.

In order to scare the vultures off, the city has set up a bird cannon at the city’s water treatment plant. The cannon omits loud noises approximately every 15 minutes meant to sound like shots. The city apologizes for the noise disturbance.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says the state has long dealt with turkey vultures, while black vultures have become more widespread within the last 50 years. Both species are federally protected and cannot be killed without a federal permit. Landowners concerned with potential vulture roosts can contact USDA Wildlife Services for more information on the permit process.

Support ECTC grads at graduation with Gowns for Grads initiative

Graduation for Elizabethtown Community and Technical College’s spring semester is coming up on Monday, May 6, and to support the upcoming grads the college has created the Gowns for Grads initiative.

“To support the grads, you can go to our website, and we have a Day of Giving link where they can pick just the Gowns for Grads,” said ECTC Director of Admissions and Assessment Judy Akers. “$50 gets a gown, cap, and tassel.”

The Gowns for Grads program relies partly on ECTC alumni donating previously used graduation regalia, but members of the public are also able to support future graduates by donating.

“We are trying to make sure that all of our graduates have the opportunity to graduate without worrying about the cost of buying a gown to participate in graduation,” Akers said.

Some of the graduates at ECTC are the first members of their families to receive college degrees, and some are completing lifelong missions of continuing their education, so graduation day is a special occasion that Akers says the college wants to see celebrated properly.

“They’ve already done so much, and we don’t want anything to get in the way of them celebrating that accomplishment,” akers said.

Visit ectc.us/give and select the Gowns for Grads Lending Closet to donate, or contact Akers’s office for more information.