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Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright says the district takes any possible threat to school safety seriously.

“You never obviously want to have to go through anything like a threat to a building or, you know, God forbid a shooter or anything of the sort, but you have plans for those,” Wright said. “We have plans for every event, every tragedy or emergency that could happen.”

Those plans were put into effect Thursday morning when a reported threat forced the evacuation of Rineyville Elementary School. Students were evacuated and officers with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and the Kentucky State Police searched the building while officials reviewed security camera footage.

Wright says the execution of the safety plan Thursday shows why planning is important.

“It’s never good for those things to happen, but when they do, it’s nice to know that the plan works,” Wright said. “Our buses came and evacuated students. We did what we needed to do today to keep our students safe. We feel good about our plans and everything worked today like we wanted it to.”

The threat at Rineyville is similar to recent threats that have been investigated at other schools around Kentucky. Wright thanked law enforcement and the Rineyville community for their support.

“We are super thankful for our friends in law enforcement,” Wright said. “They came to our aid immediately and did what they needed to do to ensure students have safety, so we’re grateful for our community, our parents, and everyone that helped take care of our students.”

More information on school safety plans can be found on the Hardin County Schools website.

The deadline to register for the winter Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is approaching.

Registration for winter LIHEAP subsidies runs from now through March 31 or until funds are depleted.

“It covers heating, so it will cover electric, gas, propane, kerosene, and wood, however you heat,” LaRue County Community Action Coordinator Renna Miller said. “It’s income based, so depending on their income and how many people they have in their household.” 

Applicants have to bring proof of income, a license, and a Social Security card, along with their bills that they want help with.

Each county has dedicated offices for Central Kentucky Community Action, locations for which can be found at ckcac.org. Residents who want to learn more about the program should contact their local office.

“They can call their local office and talk to the coordinators at the local offices, and then we can tell them what they need,” Miller said. “They can also give us their income and we can tell them if they qualify or not before they even come into the office.”

Assistance is available on a first come, first served basis.

Students have returned to class and school activities at Rineyville Elementary School after a threat was made against the building this morning.

“We received a threat somewhere before 10 a.m., just a threat to the building, and so we immediately contacted law enforcement,” said Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright. “The Kentucky State Police and the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office have looked through the building, they have looked in every nook and cranny, and they have deemed the threat non-credible. We’ve also reviewed cameras in and out of the building and we have seen no one or no thing that is suspicious, and so after a thorough investigation and with the blessing of law enforcement we are bringing students back to the building.”

Wright says the threat at Rineyville Elementary is similar to other threats seen recently at Kentucky schools.

“We have learned from our friends in law enforcement that this is a trend,” Wright said. “I believe this happened to Jefferson County yesterday where someone called and made a threat to a building and they evacuated that building, but that is sick, just to be honest with you. It’s a waste of resources and a waste of time, but we have to take all threats seriously.”

Wright thanked area law enforcement for their efforts and Rineyville parents for their patience.

“If you’re a Rineyville Elementary School parent, we ask that you not come to school to pick up your child because of anything that’s happened today,” Wright said. “The learning process will go on. They’re going to eat lunch just like normal and the process, the learning process, is going to go on as normal today, with a normal release time.

Contact Hardin County Schools for more information.