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An Elizabethtown factory was highlighted during Governor Andy Beshear’s Team Kentucky update Thursday.

The governor congratulated LOTTE Aluminum Materials USA for beginning the hiring process to fill 122 full-time jobs at their Elizabethtown facility.

Governor Beshear said LOTTE’s commitment to Elizabethtown is a product of the state’s strong relationship with South Korea. He said LOTTE has connections across the globe that can benefit the state.

“I got to visit the company when I was in Seoul just about a month ago, and the opportunity to have such a sophisticated company open up a facility in Kentucky gives us the opportunity for growth over time,” Beshear said. “This is a big win for us, and we’re going to make sure it’s a big win for this company, and we can’t wait for the decades to come and how this partnership grows and evolves.”

LOTTE announced plans to build a $238.7 million aluminum foil manufacturing facility in Hardin County in 2022. The facility will produce cathode foil, a core material used in EV batteries.

Production Manager Germain Smith spoke during the update and said support from the state and from LOTTE’s Korean headquarters will allow employees to hit the ground running.

“We have been fortunate to have the ability to start investing in our employees from the beginning,” Smith said. “By partnering with the local community college and Kentucky Trains, this opportunity has allowed us to build custom training programs for our employees to participate in.”

Smith said partnerships with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College have also proven beneficial, including training for Korean employees on American culture and for American employees on Korean culture.

A man wanted by the Hodgenville Police Department since late July is in custody after a multi-week search.

Conor Creekmore had warrants out for his arrest for Trafficking a Controlled Substance within 1000 Yards of a School. Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson said their investigation found that a work detail out on work release from the LaRue County Detention Center came to be in possession of nicotine products and methamphetamine, and the investigation found that Creekmore had driven the drugs to a drop-off outside the LaRue County Board of Education building.

“We applied for warrants and received an arrest warrant for Trafficking a Controlled Substance within 1,000 Yards of a School, and when we attempted to serve it we were unable to locate him the first time we tried, and then every subsequent attempt after that he fled prior to the officers actually making contact with him,” Richardson said.

The search for Creekmore resulted in additional arrests, including the arrest of Creekmore’s girlfriend Jessica Seabolt.

“We contacted his family and his girlfriend and explained to them again, ‘don’t be helping him or trying to find him,’” Richardson said. “They said they didn’t know anything about anything, and then we come to find out, a few minutes later, we located a phone that had been abandoned by Mr. Creekmore in the woodline and his girlfriend had contacted him with a message that the police were there and coming back into the woods and that he needed to run, and we were unable to locate him again that night, so she was subsequently arrested for Hindering.”

Creekmore was eventually tracked down with assistance from other area law enforcement Wednesday.

“On a tip, the Elizabethtown Police Department located him at an address on South Dixie Avenue Wednesday evening and took him into custody, and he was promptly brought back to LaRue County and lodged in the LaRue County Jail,” Richardson said.

Another suspect that was wanted for questioning in Creekmore’s disappearance, John C. Arnold, was located Thursday.

Warm Blessings Executive Director Dawn Cash says the community kitchen has seen demand constantly increasing in recent years.

“Back in 2020, during the pandemic, and we never closed during the pandemic, we were open, we served approximately 26,000 meals, and it has continued to steadily rise to the point that by the end of July we are at 114,000 meals,” Cash said.

Cash reported on the status of the organization to the Elizabethtown City Council during their meeting Monday. She said part of the increase does come from Warm Blessings increasing its capacity to serve more, but the main thing they hear from meal recipients is that people cannot afford their groceries. A recent study from Feeding America showed an increase in the number of working families that are struggling with food insecurity.

Cash said the increased demand is straining the organization.

“This is not easily sustainable,” Cash said. “I don’t know how much longer we can do this. I will tell you, we’re investing more in food and services and space and utilities and all those things to the point where recently myself and our program director have gone to part-time because we can’t afford to pay us and pay for the groceries.”

Cash said there are people who have previously donated to Warm Blessings who are now coming to the kitchen for help, and the strain is seen in other services offered by the organization.

“We do community support services with referrals for people who are houseless, offer showers and laundry Monday through Friday,” Cash said. “I will tell you that those services have increased among people who do have homes. We have people coming in actually for laundry services that can’t afford to or don’t have access to laundry services right now.”

Cash said Warm Blessings is reliant on donations from others to sustain its mission, and is working on developing new revenue streams. Upcoming events include a golf scramble on August 30 and a craft fair on September 12. Visit www.warmblessings.org for more information.