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Hardin County Fiscal Court holds second March meeting

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

After a closed session that lasted about two hours, the court approved a resolution concerning the termination of an E-911 employee by a vote of 5 to 4. First District Magistrate Chris Yates said he was concerned with the issue coming back on the agenda after he said it was discussed in a closed session at the previous meeting and the court then decided against termination.

“If there was not sufficient evidence to support termination when the cause was originally heard, I question whether it is appropriate to revisit it now,” Yates said. “Doing so risks setting a precedent that decisions can be revisited until the desired outcome is achieved.”

Hardin County E-911 Director Mike Leo reported that county dispatch answered 3,625 911 calls in February. Hardin County EMS Director Mark Peterson reported county ambulances made 1,291 runs in February. Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul said the county EMS team received some good news Tuesday.

“We had a state inspection that was completed today, and we had no discrepancies with the ambulances or training or administration, so I just wanted to say congratulations, and I appreciate you and your team for working hard to make sure that that happens,” Taul said.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet for a special called meeting on Friday, March 27. The next regular fiscal court meeting will be April 14.

Tickets on sale for Helping Hand of Hope’s 55th anniversary event

Helping Hand of Hope Executive Director Hope Burke said for the organization’s 55th anniversary, the staff and the board wanted to step up their game in celebrating more than half a century of helping neighbors in need.

Burke and Helping Hand of Hope Board Chair Chris Kiger joined the Quicksie Morning Show Tuesday morning to announce the anniversary celebration “Faith, Family, Community, and Camo”, which will feature some special guests.

“So I was like ‘Well, this could work. Let me reach out to some friends that I know,’” Burke said. “And so we are happy to announce that Jase and Missy Robertson from Duck Dynasty are going to be our keynote speakers.”

Burke said more guests can be expected for the event, which will be held August 14 and 15.

“Sponsors will be invited to the Friday night event where they will get to hear Missy’s story and get to meet Jase and Missy,” Burke said. “They’ll get to have a fun camo-type dinner, some fun things at the House on Helm, and then on Saturday people that just purchased the tickets for Saturday will get to come and hear Jase’s story and just how amazing his life is with faith, family, and community because, a lot of people know with A&E’s Duck Dynasty, they have had their own trials and different things.”

Proceeds from the event will support Helping Hand of Hope’s mission to offer neighbors “the opportunity to alleviate personal and financial hardships by providing services that foster self-worth and human dignity.”

“This is just a really good chance to come back and support your neighbors in need because all of this money goes back into our services,” Burke said. “It doesn’t go into payroll. It doesn’t go into any of that. It’s all for the care that goes back to our neighbors.”

Tickets are on sale now and sponsorship opportunities are available. Visit www.helpinghandofhope.org or the Helping Hand of Hope Facebook page to find the ticket link.

Spring turkey hunting season in Kentucky approaching

A strong population of two-year-old birds is anticipated as spring turkey hunting season approaches in Kentucky.

Spring turkey hunting season begins with a youth-only weekend April 4 and 5, followed by the 23-day general session which begins on April 18. Hunters with proper permits during the season may harvest two legal birds, meaning birds that are male or have a beard, but only one bird per day.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says higher-than-usual turkey brood surveys from the past two summers signal healthy populations for hunters to pursue in the commonwealth, with numbers indicating an improvement in turkey survival rates over the past five years. The summer 2024 brood survey showed 70 percent of hens with an average of 2.7 poults. Male poults hatched in 2024 will be two-year-old turkeys this season. The summer 2025 brood survey showed hens with an average of 3.5 poults.

Shooting hours for the spring season are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. An annual hunting license and spring turkey permit, or the all-in-one Sportsman’s License, is required for adults. Hunters ages 12 to 15 require a youth hunting license and turkey permit, and hunters under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

The spring season concludes on May 10. More information on the season can be found on the Spring Turkey Hunting page at fw.ky.gov or in the Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide.

E-Town council approves zoning changes, hears natural gas update

The Elizabethtown City Council met for a special meeting Monday.

The council approved three ordinances on their second readings. The first annexed property on Leitchfield Road, to be zoned Regional Commercial (C-3). The second approved the rezoning of 106 East Memorial Drive from Neighborhood Office (C-1) to Neighborhood Commercial (C-2). The third approved the rezoning of 237 West Poplar Street from Urban Residential (R-4) to Downtown Mixed Use (C-5).

“I do think this will be a good addition to downtown,” said City Council Member Julia Springsteen about the Poplar Street property. “It’s on the outer edge of what we consider to be downtown, and I think it’ll be nice to draw people in and out.”

City Natural Gas Department Director Matthew Hobbs gave a report on his department, which he said employs 12 full-time employees. Hobbs said the number of inspections and the number of new services “is holding pretty steady.” The department completed about 7,600 locates in 2025, down from about 8,000 in 2024. The city natural gas system’s average flow over the last three years is about 93 percent.

“Which is phenomenal, but the bad thing that tells me is that you only got about 7 percent that you can grow before we need to be getting more supply in there,” Hobbs said.

City Public Works Director Don Hill discussed the city’s annual Spring Clean-Up, which will run March 30 through “tentatively” May 1.

“The schedule coincides with brush collection, however, because of the amount of debris that is put out through the month, we will go through the areas, not by the week, but we’ll start in area one on March 30, and we’ll continue to run the route schedule through the four areas throughout the month,” Hill said. “Usually we make three to four passes throughout the city.”

More info on Spring Clean-Up can be found on the City of Elizabethtown Government Facebook page.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet April 13.