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Elizabethtown Community and Technical College celebrated the accomplishments of its students Monday with their spring graduation ceremony, held at Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown.

ECTC says the college expects to award 725 degrees and diplomas along with around 1,200 certificates to students that completed coursework this spring.

ECTC President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate said Tuesday that graduation is a celebration for the students and the community.

“When a student comes to Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, they’re going to get relevant education for being here,” Pate said. “They’re probably going to stay here, which means they are going to be a vibrant, contributing part of our community. That’s where we want to be as a college, and to get to see that last night, that’s what makes graduation so special.”

Pate said the investment these students make in themselves by continuing their education pays dividends in multiple ways.

“Roughly half of our students do go on to transfer for a four year degree and that kind of thing, but because they’ve spent those first two to three years here after high school making connections in the community, probably getting that first job here in the community, the data shows that they are more likely to get that degree and stay here,” Pate said.

Whether a student stays in the area or ventures elsewhere, the college is still doing what it set out to do.

“The mission of the college is to add value to the lives of our students and then return that value back out into the community, and that value is represented in those lives that have bettered themselves by getting skills and knowledge that they didn’t have,” Pate said.

Enrollment for summer classes and the fall semester is currently open. Visit ECTC on the web or contact the college for more information.

The Kentucky State Police is investigating a fatal accident that occurred in LaRue County Sunday evening.

At approximately 6:30 p.m. on May 5, KSP Post Four troopers were requested by LaRue County Dispatch to assist in investigating a single-vehicle collision at the 6000 block of KY 61/Greensburg Road.

The KSP says the preliminary investigation indicates that 59-year-old Bobby D. Sexton of Magnolia was driving south on KY 61 in a pickup truck when for unknown reasons he drove onto the shoulder of the roadway before overcorrecting. The vehicle overturned several times.

Sexton was pronounced dead at the scene by the LaRue County Coroner’s Office. Two passengers in the vehicle, one an adult and one a child, sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash. The adult passenger was flown to the University of Louisville Hospital, and the child was flown to Norton Children’s Hospital.

The KSP’s investigation into the crash is ongoing.

The Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet says Kentucky is the first state in the country to capture side and angle view photography of its entire geography from the sky.

Pilots working for contractor NV5 flew 2,600 flight lines over 117,000 miles to capture images of more than 40,000 square miles of Kentucky’s cities, towns, farms, and natural areas to create the KY From Above program.

The program was established in 2010 by the Kentucky Geographic Information Advisory Council with the mission of creating access to geographic information in the state by providing detailed elevation data and aerial photography at no cost to Kentuckians. The accuracy and clarity of the images captured provides context for hundreds of map layers used by state and local government agencies. 

The state also says the program will improve public safety as first responders will be able to use it to help on accident responses and search and rescue missions, and emergency management leaders will be able to use the program when assessing damage after a disaster.

You can access the program by visiting www.kyfromabove.ky.gov.