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The Elizabethtown City Council met for their second meeting of the month Monday.
The council approved two ordinances on their second readings. The first approves a zoning change for 475 Hodgenville Road from Regional Commercial (C-3) to High-Density Residential (R-6) to accommodate the construction of an apartment complex. The second approves amendments to the city’s sewer use ordinance, primarily concerning grease trap installation requirements.
“The defined structure for failure to comply with the regulations has been changed from $200 per monthly occurrence to $300 per monthly occurrence,” city Attorney Ken Howard read from the ordinance summary. “That is per a 500-gallon capacity size of interceptor.”
The council approved several municipal orders, including a $69,900 bid from Five Star Commercial Roofing Inc. for work on the Historic State Theater’s roof and a $5,975,000 bid from Dirt Works Unlimited for the Commerce Drive roadway project. Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said the city was pleased as both of those bids came in well below engineering estimates.
Palmer Engineering was awarded a $50,000 contract to conduct an environmental assessment and archaeological evaluation for the extension of Commerce Drive through the outdoor music venue site, and to evaluate potential connections to Mulberry Street and Springfield Road, and the council approved a grant agreement with the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority that provides $756,400 for Leitchfield Road sewer line upgrades.
Council Member Tim Isaacs made a special announcement regarding an area school resource officer.
“We found out today that the Kentucky Center for School Safety, which is an organization that all public schools work with very closely for obvious reasons with its title, helping us all stay as safe as possible, they named EPD Officer Larry Robinson as the School Resource Officer of the Year for the state of Kentucky,” Isaacs said.
Gregory said Robinson has been a model for area SROs, and Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson said Robinson was one of two SROs when he became chief, and he is now one of 10.
The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet April 28.
With spring in full swing, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife reminds Kentuckians that you should help keep wild animals wild.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says you should never interfere with young wildlife, as even if they appear to be alone and vulnerable their mother is likely nearby. Wildlife will often leave their young in a safe space, even in a more developed area, when they go searching for food.
KFW says you can help young wildlife thrive by observing them from a distance, securing trash cans, avoiding leaving food or other attractants outside, keeping children and pets away, and checking property sites for young animals before mowing or other outdoor projects.
KFW says possessing wildlife is only permitted in very limited and strictly regulated cases. In Kentucky it is illegal to keep animals that are at a high risk for carrying rabies such as raccoons, skunks, bats, coyotes, and foxes.
It is also illegal under state law to remove young wildlife from the wild. Only state-permitted wildlife rehabilitators can care for orphaned or injured wildlife. You can find contact information for approved rehabilitators, including Nolin River Wildlife, along with more information on wild animal safety, on the KFW website.
A student was taken into custody after they allegedly brought a firearm into North Hardin High School.
Hardin County Schools said in a statement Monday that at approximately 2:30 p.m. on April 21 North Hardin was placed on a hard lockdown, meaning “that no students were permitted to leave their classrooms and all students and staff were secured.” The lockdown was lifted at around 3 p.m.
The statement from HCS says: “This lockdown occurred as a result of a report of a student having a weapon. Our SRO responded immediately and additional law enforcement was requested from the Radcliff Police Department.”
The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday that a 16-year-old tenth grade student at North Hardin “reported to school staff that he observed another student pull a gun out his backpack while in the school restroom.” The school resource officer immediately located the student, also a 16-year-old, who was found to have a loaded 9 mm handgun in their backpack.
The student was taken into custody by the Radcliff Police Department without incident. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and HCS said: “That student and any students involved will face criminal charges and will be dealt with in accordance with the law and the Hardin County Schools Code of Acceptable Behavior and Discipline.”
The sheriff’s office commended the student who reported the incident to school staff, and HCS thanked area law enforcement for their quick response.