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Bardstown man killed in crash

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A Nelson County man was killed in a crash in Meade County Sunday. 

The Kentucky State Police says troopers from Post Four were requested by the Meade County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 11:24 a.m. on October 20 to investigate a single-vehicle collision.

The KSP says the crash occurred near the 4,500 block of Garrett Road in Ekron. The preliminary investigation indicates that 30-year-old Dustin C. Gray of Bardstown was traveling east on a motorcycle on Garrett Road when for unknown reasons he lost control of the motorcycle, left the roadway, and struck a utility pole.

Gray was declared dead at the scene by the Meade County Coroner’s Office.

Garrett Road was closed for several hours in the area of the crash as troopers conducted accident reconstruction. The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

Man shot by police after entering Baptist Health Hardin hospitalized

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UPDATE 11/1/24: The Elizabethtown Police Department says George Lee Jr. has been indicted by a Hardin County Grand Jury. Lee faces two charges of Kidnapping, three counts of first degree Wanton Endangerment, one count of Being a Persistent Felony Offender. The EPD says indictment warrants were served upon Lee’s release from the University of Louisville Hospital, and Lee will be lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center.

The Elizabethtown Police Department confronted an armed suspect in a hospital emergency room Saturday morning.

“Shortly after 5:00 a.m. this morning, our officers responded to Baptist Health Hardin, located at 913 North Dixie, on the report of an active shooter,” said EPD Public Information Officer Chris Denham during a press conference Saturday. “Our officers arrived within just a couple of moments of receiving the initial call, encountered the suspect, and an officer did discharge his weapon, striking the suspect. The suspect was not fatally wounded. He was airlifted from the scene to the University of Louisville Hospital where treatment is ongoing.”

The suspect was confronted by unarmed hospital security staff prior to the arrival of officers, and the EPD says the suspect fired shots but nobody else was injured in the incident. Officers with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and the Kentucky State Police also responded.

“The criminal investigation concerning the shooting at the hospital will be conducted by the Elizabethtown Police Department,” Denham said. “Any investigation concerning the officer-involved shooting will be handled by the Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team.”

Per standard EPD protocol, the officer involved will be placed on two weeks paid administrative leave.

The EPD identified the suspect Sunday afternoon as 39-year-old George Lee. Jr. of Radcliff. He remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

In a statement on their Facebook page, Baptist Health Hardin thanked their staff and security team along with the EPD for their response to the incident, and stated that staff, patients, and visitors were not injured.

The investigation into the incident remains ongoing and charges will be filed as the case progresses.

Arguments made in JCPenney-Towne Mall injunction case

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Attorneys for Penney Property Sub Holdings LLC, which owns the Elizabethtown JCPenney, and for Linnick Investments LLC, which owns the Towne Mall, were back in Hardin Circuit Court Thursday afternoon for a hearing on Penney Property’s motion for an injunction to halt renovations at the Towne Mall facility.

Zachary VanVactor with Stites and Harbison PLLC called Bill DeMuth as his first witness. DeMuth retired recently from his position as JCPenney’s real estate director, in which position he oversaw development at shopping mall properties. DeMuth said during testimony that he was not part of the recent lease negotiations between Penney Properties and Linnick Investments but he did respond to communication from Linnick owner Tim Aulbach on a proposal for a loading dock to be shared between JCPenney and Bealls. DeMuth said the company denied the proposal for security reasons, and he said Aulbach did not say anything to him about the installation of the wall that was built over the store’s interior entrance to the mall, which was covered as part of plans to renovate Towne Mall into an outdoor shopping space and to move Bealls into the space next door. 

When asked by Linnick’s attorney Shawn Williamson with Wyatt, Tarrant, and Combs LLP about the floorplan for the renovated mall being sent to DeMuth with the loading dock request, DeMuth said no specific request was made regarding the new layout for the mall.

Aulbach was then called as a witness by the plaintiffs. When VanVactor said Aulbach never sent any official plans on the renovations to the addresses listed in the lease agreement between the companies, Aulbach said nobody from Penney Properties said the information needed to be sent to those addresses when discussing the loading dock. Aulbach later said the renovations only became an issue when JCPenney asked to renegotiate its lease agreement. Aulbach said the company’s lease is due to increase to $4 per square foot beginning in 2026, but the company asked to stay at the current rate of $1.90 per square foot. Aulbach said that rate is well below market value and doesn’t offset the $700,000 he has put into roof and HVAC upgrades along with improvements to the building’s exterior. 

When defense attorney Corky Coryell asked Aulbach what impact an injunction would have on the property, Aulbach said “Staggering. It might even ruin us.” Aulbach said stalling the work jeopardizes the $10 million commitment from Malibu Jacks and a $3.5 million lease extension from Belk’s currently in place, as well as about $10 million in potential tenant commitments.

The hearing was adjourned after about five hours with at least one more witness due to be called. The plaintiffs, defense, and court will set the next court date after consulting schedules.

Radcliff council approves one zoning change and votes down another

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The Radcliff City Council met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday, October 15.

The first reading was held on an ordinance for property tax rates and collection procedures.

“This is just basically housekeeping to clean that up to bring us in line,” said Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall. “Several of what’s in our current ordinances has been repealed over time, and so this is just bringing us up to what the current state regulations are and we just get our ordinance in line with that.”

City Attorney Mike Pike said the ordinance also allows the city to hire a tax collection agent that will be paid using funds collected from delinquent tax bills.

The first reading was held on an ordinance for a zoning change for 408 Shelby Avenue in the Skyview Estates subdivision from R-6 (high-density residential) to R-4 (low-density residential). The city’s planning commission recommended approval for the zoning change. 

The council voted to adopt the planning commission’s recommendation to not approve a zoning change for the west side of the intersection of Bullion Boulevard and North Logsdon Parkway. Pike said the planning commission was not comfortable with the request and the applicant did not appear at the public hearing on the zoning change.

“There were other witnesses who did appear who were against the request, including the deputy garrison commander from the post,who  had concerns about rezoning the property in such close proximity to the boundary of Fort Knox,” Pike said.

The council also approved the purchase of a grapple truck from Best Equipment Company Inc. for $199,505.71 and the purchase of playground equipment for Dawley Park from GameTime for about $38,000. The council also approved the times for the city’s trick or treating, which will be Thursday, October 31, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The Radcliff City Council will next meet for a work session on November 12.

Deer at Breckinridge County farm tests positive for chronic wasting disease

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Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officials are evaluating the next steps after a deer from a Breckinridge County farm tested positive for chronic wasting disease. 

Kentucky Department of Agriculture lab testing confirmed that the dead deer had chronic wasting disease. It’s the second recorded case in Kentucky this year and the first in a captive cervid.

KFW says CWD is caused by prions and affects white-tailed deer, elk, and other animals in the deer family. The disease has no known cure or vaccine, and is always fatal in infected animals.

The disease is not known to be transmissible to people, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not consuming meat from an infected animal or an animal that appears to be sick or in poor condition. The Department of Agriculture has issued a quarantine restricting movement of deer or deer products into and out of the Breckinridge County farm.

Hunters can aid statewide monitoring by reporting sick deer to KFW and by dropping off the head of legally harvested and tele-checked deer for testing and aging at self-serve CWD sample drop-off sites. Location information, instructions, and more information on this free service is available on the KFW website.

More information on efforts to contain CWD can also be found on the KFW website.