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Kentucky Supreme Court declines review of Houck bond appeal

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Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Brooks Houck will remain in custody on a $10 million cash bond.

The Kentucky Supreme Court on Monday denied a request to review the Kentucky Court of Appeals’s decision to uphold Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III’s rejection of a bond reduction filed by Houck’s attorney’s that would have reduced the bond to $500,000. The Supreme Court order states that the decision in the appeal is now final.

Houck is charged with Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence following his arrest in the Rogers investigation. He, along with suspects Steven Lawson and Joseph Lawson, will next appear in court for a pre-trial conference on March 21. During that pre-trial conference, attorneys for Houck will be arguing for a change of venue to move the trial from Nelson County to either Boyd or Daviess counties to avoid pre-trial publicity. The attorney for Steven Lawson will be arguing to dismiss the charges against him based on Lawson’s claims that he was offered immunity in exchange for his cooperation with investigators.

Attorney for Steven Lawson joins change of venue motion filed by attorneys for Brooks Houck

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The attorney for Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Steven Lawson is joining the change of venue motion filed in the case.

Attorney Ted Lavit on Friday filed a motion asking the Nelson Circuit Court to adopt the change of motion filed on behalf of Brooks Houck which asks the court to move the trial to either Boyd County or Daviess County to avoid pretrial publicity. The motion by Houck’s attorneys states that due to extensive media coverage since Rogers’s disappearance the defendants will not be able to get a fair trial in Nelson County, so Boyd and Daviess counties are ideal options as they are not in the Louisville or Lexington TV markets.

The motion will be discussed during a pre-trial conference scheduled for March 21. That is the same day that Lavit plans to also discuss his motion to dismiss the Conspiracy to Commit Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence charges against Steven Lawson due to his claim that the prosecution offered him immunity in exchange for his cooperation.

Special Prosecutor Shane Young stated during a previous hearing that he intended to have a motion ready to file in time for the March 21 pre-trial conference in order to try Houck, Lawson, and third suspect Joseph Lawson in the same trial. Young also said he expected discovery in the case to be completed prior to the March 21 pre-trial conference.

Outdoor Expo opportunity to support Hardinsburg police chief during cancer battle

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Ashley Hayes with Grateful Heart Events worked to organize the first ever Hardinsburg, Kentucky, Outdoors Expo on February 24, and the event was not only an opportunity to spotlight local vendors but to help support Hardinsburg Police Chief Terry Laslie in his battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“We were able to raise quite a bit for Terry,” Hayes said. “It wasn’t extravagant but it was a really decent amount and I’m pretty happy with that. Terry was really happy with it. He’s choked up, so it turned out to be a really great day.”

Hayes said she has primarily worked on “give-back” events in the last year and became acquainted with Laslie’s family through work with McDaniels Fire and Rescue. Laslie is fighting cancer for the second time in ten years after a bout with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2013.

Hayes said the opportunity to support people like Laslie has been rewarding, but her focus has also been helping the community grow.

“Knowing that we are in a small town and not much really takes place, it’s mostly focused around the lake, of course, Rough River Lake, but little, smaller community events,” Hayes said. “There are some that go on like the Breckinridge County Chamber of Commerce, they host some things. There are some local businesses that host things for people. So I just kind of reached out to the public, and I was like ‘what else can we do in our area to bring more to Breck?’”

If you were not able to participate at the expo, there are still ways to support Laslie.

“Anything that he gets from the community will be going towards whatever insurance won’t cover, so open donations are fine,” Hayes said. “Just prayers, because Terry is definitely the praying kind. His family is as well, and so I think prayers will do a lot for him. Just anything really, I mean there’s so many unlimited possibilities that you can do to help. Just lending an ear, asking him, reaching out to him, seeing if there’s anything.”

Hayes said the Outdoor Expo will return to Hardinsburg on February 22, 2025. For more information, search for Grateful Heart Events on Facebook.

ECTC hosting Korean culture and conversation classes

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Elizabethtown Community and Technical College will again offer a Korean culture and a Korean conversation class through the college’s Community Education Program.

“We have designed this class just as an introduction to Korean culture and language, mainly to help people who want to learn a little bit more about the Korean folks that are going to be coming into the area with BlueOval and some of these other entities from South Korea,” said ECTC Chief Workforce Officer Darrin Powell. “Just trying to help people learn a little bit about their customs and a little bit about their language so they can just make basic introductions and just learn to interact with them a little bit easier.”

The goal of the class is to ease the transition for both Korean transplants and local workers who will be working at BlueOval SK and improve communication. Powell says the class is a look at the basics to encourage friendliness and hospitality.

“Basic greetings, you know, ‘hello,’ ‘thank you,’ those kinds of things, just basic informal greetings that people might want to do, basic conversation,” Powell said. “As far as culture, just a little bit about their culture, some of the authentic dress that they might wear, those kinds of things, and a little bit of the differences between our culture and their culture will be pointed out.”

The classes will cost $25 and will be held in Room 112 in the James S. Owen Building on ECTC’s campus. The Korean culture class will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. March 13 and 20 or from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 9 and 11. The Korean conversation class will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on April 14 and 24 or from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 7 and 9.

Contact the ECTC Workforce Solutions Office (270-706-8700) to register or for more information.

Nolin RECC sending five area students to Washington D.C.

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Five area students will be heading to Washington D.C. this June as part of Nolin RECC’s Washington Youth Tour.

Central Hardin High School students Heaven Carpenter and Regan Raifsnider, Elizabethtown High School students Grant Shearer and Anna sumrall, and homeschool student Samuel Teipen will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the nation’s capital that will include visits to sites such as the Smithsonian Institute, Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Capitol, and the National Zzoo, and a visit with Kentucky’s congressional delegation.

“Nolin RECC is proud that these students will be representing our service area,” said Nolin RECC Communications Manager Sarah Fellows. “They join over 1000 other students from cooperatives around the country traveling to Washington for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” 

The selected students are high school juniors whose parents receive services from Nolin RECC and were selected based on review of a submitted essay, an in-person interview, and their knowledge of electric co-ops like Nolin.