Hardin County School Board of Education held two special meetings this week to interview and appoint a candidate to the vacant seat for Division 3. On December 29, Tommy Metcalf, who was elected in November to the seat, notified Hardin County School Superintendent Teresa Morgan he would not be able to fill the seat due to a conflict concerning his employment as the fleet manager for the Elizabethtown Police Department. On February 7, the Board of Education held a special meeting to interview candidates. Last night, the Board met to discuss appointing one of those candidates to the vacant seat. More information is expected today from that meeting.
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A Hardin County man who led Kentucky State Police on a multi-county high-speed chase in December has been indicted for more than a dozen crimes or violations. According to court documents, Qua’Darrius Skillman, 19 of Elizabethtown, was indicted by a Hardin County grand jury. On December 12, 2022, Skillman was at Kentucky State Police Post 4 with another person when Troopers discovered Skillman had active warrants and asked him to exit the vehicle. Instead, Skillman jumped into the driver’s seat and led Troopers on a 45-minute chase through Hardin and LaRue counties at speeds up to 90 mph in a 35 mph zone and 115 mph on Lincoln Parkway. It was documented that Skillman drove on the wrong side of the road, drove on sidewalks and through medians, ran stop signs and red lights, weaved in and out of traffic and ran other motorists off the roadway during the pursuit along with colliding with a KSP cruiser causing more than $1,000 damage. The chase ended near the intersection US 62 and Ring Road in Elizabethtown. Skillman was found with a stolen firearm, drugs and a digital scale which Skillman admitted belonged to him. Skillman is being held in the Hardin County Detention Center.
A tax cut proposal is heading to Governor Beshear’s desk. On Wednesday evening, House Bill 1, sponsored by Representative Brandon Reed of Hodgenville, was approved by the Senate by a 30-5 vote. The state’s individual income tax was lowered to 4.5% in January 2023 and this bill would lower it to 4% in January 2024. House Bill 1 is the next step in the Kentucky General Assembly’s efforts to eliminate the individual income tax entirely. During the 2022 General Assembly, House Bill 8 was passed which laid out steps to get rid of the individual income tax entirely but had milestones to be met before decreasing the tax in a half of a percentage increments.
Kentucky’s First Lady Britainy Beshear and the Kentucky Coalition Against Domestic Violence are hosting an event to benefit survivors of domestic violence. The 14th Annual Shop & Share event will take place at participating grocery stores across the state on Saturday in hopes that people stocking up on game day snacks will purchase items for their local domestic violence program. In-store shoppers can visit the volunteer table at their store or scan a QR code at the store entrance to get a list of items needed at their local shelter program. The statewide goods drive helps families in programs throughout the Commonwealth.
An Elizabethtown man was arrested for having sexual relations with a juvenile. According to documents, in November 2022, a warrant for Jonathan Scales, age 24 at the time, was issued after it was reported he had been carrying on a relationship with a minor. The girl, who was 15 at the time, exchanged messages with Scales over SnapChat, including pornographic material. Scales and the minor planned for him to sneak into her basement at her house to have sex in April 2022. Scales currently resides in Mississippi but was back in the Hardin County area over the weekend when he was arrested. Scales is currently lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.