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A detective with the Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office will be honored for his work on a homicide investigation.

Chris Hill will be one of seven investigators that will be presented with the International Homicide Investigators Association’s Award for Excellence in Homicide Investigations.

Bullitt County Sheriff Walt Sholar says the award is a testament to a dedicated and experienced law enforcement professional.

“Chris is always ready to step up and help in any and many fashions that we’ve needed him,” Sholar said. “He serves as a firearms and tactics instructor for our office. He’s one of our drone pilots and is teaching other people here at our sheriff’s office how to operate drones.”

Hill is being recognized for leading the investigation into the disappearance and murder of a Bullitt County resident in 2020, ultimately resulting in two guilty pleas and 30-year sentences for the perpetrators. Hill constructed the case despite the victim’s body never being found. Sholar said Hill had participated in training for such cases.

“He brought those tools back with him, put that together, made a presentation, an outstanding presentation to the Commonwealth Attorney, and then ultimately to the grand jury,” Sholar said. “I’ve been around here for 40 years and it’s the first homicide case that I can recall in Bullitt County ever being presented where we were not able to find the body.”

Sholar said Hill’s award is well-deserved, and is also a tribute to the hard work the rest of the staff at the sheriff’s office puts in each day.

“It shows the professionalism that is going on,” Sholar said. “Chris just epitomizes it, but he is only one cog in the wheel of a very professional organization that all the people that I am blessed to have around me have put together.”

Hill will receive the award at a ceremony in Washington D.C. on August 15.

Whitney Ballou says her former co-worker and teammate Jessica Mills, who was killed in a crash on Lincoln Parkway in June, had deep connections to the local soccer community.

“She’s been very involved from a personal training aspect all the way up to assistant coach and head coaching of some of the compete teams here in town,” Ballou said. “She has been a lot more involved as her daughter has gotten older. She’s kind of followed her through her leagues as she’s grown up, but she has affected a lot of their lives from a very young age all the way up to these girls that are teenagers in high school.”

In honor of Mills, Central Hardin soccer alumni will be hosting an alumni soccer game at the Central Hardin soccer field on Friday, August 2.

“It may not be the best game to watch, but we’re hoping to all get together and just have some fun and kind of tell some stories about Jessica, and the good thing is just spending some time together too,” Ballou said. “A lot of our team that was playing when she was in high school should be coming back to the alumni game, so that’ll be good.”

Ballou says organizers are looking for as many Central Hardin women’s soccer alums as possible to participate.

“You can go to the CHHS Lady Bruin Soccer Facebook page,” Ballou said. “There is actually a Google document that you can fill out. You don’t have to fill it out in order to kind of play in a game. We’ll take walk-ins all the way up until the start time, which is 6 o’clock.”

All are welcome to attend the game on August 2.

The Heart of Kentucky Chorus invites all singers high school age and up who are interested in learning more about the acapella chorus to come out to their Guest Night, which will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the G.C. Burkhead Elementary cafeteria on Thursday, July 25.

Chorus member Bob Swope said he first became familiar with the chorus after attending a Guest Night event, and he has found the experience to be a rewarding one.

“It’s something that I have enjoyed doing now for a long time and I wish I had learned about it even earlier,” Swope said. “It’s a lot of fun and I encourage people to come out and just to check us out and see if they might want to become a member.”

Under the direction of Aaron Dale, the chorus is a mixed community chorus that sings a variety of songs at two main performances each year along with several community events.

“We sing barbershop, we sing a little pop, popular music, and some gospel, country, a little bit of everything,” Swope said.

No obligation or commitment is expected, and no personal invitation is required. Learn more by contacting Dee Corkran at 270-312-9403, or visit the Heart of Kentucky Chorus Facebook page.