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KSP investigating after KYTC worker struck and killed

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The Kentucky State Police is investigating after a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet contract worker was struck and killed in a vehicle collision Tuesday.

The KSP says at around 9 a.m. on April 23 troopers were requested by LaRue County Dispatch to investigate a collision involving a van and a highway worker. The KSP says the preliminary investigation shows that Henry T. James of Louisville was driving a van east on KY-210/Old Elizabethtown Road when he entered a portion of the roadway reduced to one lane for maintenance operations. James failed to observe 22-year-old Blake Barnes of Elizabethtown, who was flagging eastbound traffic. 

The van struck Barnes near the 3100 block of KY-210. Barnes was pronounced dead at the scene by the LaRue County Coroner’s Office.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet released a statement following Barnes’s death which states: “Our hearts ache for the loss of a transportation team member today. We extend our sincere condolences to all those impacted by this tragedy. Please join us in lifting up the families, friends and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers. The safety and well-being of all employees is a top priority, and we are working with authorities as they review the incident.”

The road was closed for nearly 5 hours for accident reconstruction. The investigation is ongoing.

Hardin County Fiscal Court meets

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

Hardin County Attorney Jenny Oldham introduced Hayley Hoover with Volunteers of America, which will be helping to run the Hardin County Family Recovery Court. Hoover said Family Recovery Court is a collaborative process meant to help support families struggling with parental substance use disorder.

“The hope of FRC, as we call it, is to help reunite families faster, get the cases through court quicker, and help really sustain long-term sobriety for our parents who are struggling with substance use disorder that have children,” Hoover said.

The fiscal court approved a resolution that will allott $60,000 a year for five years to VOA to run the Family Recovery Court, with those funds coming from the county’s Phase One Opioid Settlement funds.

In other meeting news, Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore reported on his office’s first quarter, with 301 cases responded to including two homicides. Hardin County Sheriff John Ward said in February and March his office made 199 arrests, issued 251 citations, and opened 75 criminal cases. Ward discussed some of the more high-profile incidents including the string of bomb threats made at the BlueOval SK construction site.

“We work with those in charge on scene there and give them some advice on how to handle security a little differently, and they’re not paying their workers,” Ward said. “If there’s a bomb threat and they send the workers home, they don’t continue to get paid, and for some strange reason, the bomb threats have slowed down. So go figure.”

The county’s next town hall forum will be held at 5:30 p.m. on April 30 in the fiscal courtroom. The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet for a regular meeting on May 14.

More than 6,000 lose power in E-Town Tuesday

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Elizabethtown saw traffic delays and other disruptions Tuesday during a widespread power outage. 

The outage area covered Dixie Avenue from around Mulberry Street to around Veterans Way, Mulberry Street from downtown E-Town to Ring Road, and neighborhoods west of the Elizabethtown Bypass. At one point, more than 6,000 Kentucky Utilities customers were without power. The outage began at around 10:30 a.m. and power was restored to affected customers by around 2 p.m.

Several area businesses and organizations had services disrupted by the outage, including Quicksie and The Wolf which were both briefly off the air. Elizabethtown Community and Technical College closed campus for the afternoon.

Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer John Thomas said EPD officers manned intersections that were without power as available, and Thomas took to Facebook with a friendly reminder for drivers.

“We’re getting lots of complaints about intersections without power and people just running through them willy-nilly,” Thomas said. “Look, when you come to an intersection that has no power, the traffic lights are out, treat it as a four-way stop, an all-way stop. Everyone has to come to a stop. That is not optional, people. No power at the intersection, everyone stops.”

Kentucky Utilities has not yet responded to a request for information on the cause of the outage.

City of Elizabethtown giving away free trees for Arbor Day

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Arbor Day will be observed this Friday, April 26, and the City of Elizabethtown is ready to help you celebrate.

“The city’s Park and Recreation team is celebrating all week long,” said E-Town Public Relations Officer Amy Inman. “A tree can be picked up at Pritchard Community Center between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.”

All available trees are bare-root trees and are free to the public.

“Varieties include swamp chestnut, black walnut, and pecan,” Inman said. “We really love big trees here in our community, so stop by today to pick up yours.”

Contact the city’s Parks and Recreation Department for more information.