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Food drive competition at EHS and Central Hardin collects food for area families

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Students at Elizabethtown and Central Hardin high schools have been engaged in a friendly competition between schools and grades this week.

“Whichever grade brings in the most food gets popsicles, so that obviously gets a lot of kids to bring in stuff,” said EHS senior Rachel Bell. “I know a lot of freshmen have brought it in, and it’s become overall a competition that was cool to see who can bring in the most food.”

That’s EHS Senior Rachel Bell. Bell said she got the idea for the food drive while participating in the Morehead State University Governor’s Scholars Program this past summer.

“We did a food drive for my focus area in the last week of GSP, and everyone donated their snacks and stuff, so it kind of got me thinking that I wanted to do the same thing in my community because it really bonded us all as a community at GSP,” Bell said.

The winners will be announced during halftime of Friday’s Central versus E-Town football game.

Benefit planned for Hart County toddler fighting cancer

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Layna Adcock says Candace and Clinton Martin are dedicated parents, but their world was turned upside down when their one-year-old daughter Olivia was diagnosed with leukemia in July.

“You know, they’re trying to work off and on when they can, but it’s hard when you have to take your daughter to the oncologist,” Adcock said. “She’s at Norton Cancer Center, and then she’s got to go in for strong chemo in September, and they have to have a hospital stay, which means again they’ll be out of work.”

Adcock and Beverly Stone, who are Olivia’s grandmothers, and other community members have stepped up to support the family. That includes organizing a benefit for Olivia, to be held at the Hart County Veteran’s Committee Building on Saturday, September 27.

“The bike ride and the car show registration is at 9 a.m., and we’re having trophies given away, and the band Country Strong will be there,” Adcock said. “Two food trucks will be there, just a part of the community coming together to help Olivia on that day the best we can.”

The event will also include a silent auction, for which items are currently being accepted.

“Any donations are very much appreciated and needed to help this family with, you know how the bills add up with hospital stays, spinal taps, chemotherapy,” Adcock said. “She’s 19 months old. We mostly need your prayers.”

Contact Adcock at 270-501-0697 for more information or to donate an item to the silent auction.

Feeding America study shows 1 in 6 families struggle with food insecurity

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Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland recently put out the data from the latest Map the Meal Gap study, and FAKH Marketing and Communications Manager Manda Barger says the numbers show the need for support.

“Throughout our 42-county service area, 17 percent of our neighbors are facing food insecurity,” Barger said. “That means that there’s one in six of our neighbors, they could be your friends or your family, that are struggling to make ends meet to get food on the table or are facing certain challenges that get in the way of them getting the necessary food that they need.”

Barger says 21.1 percent of children in the region struggle with food insecurity, with numbers for the region and Hardin County both trending higher than national averages.

Barger says food insecurity is a problem you may not immediately recognize.

“We had a lot of this conversation when we were talking with our SNAP advocacy during the summer in that you don’t know what kind of challenges or hardships that someone can face, and I think all of us can understand that we might be a family emergency or a natural disaster away from needing support,” Barger said.

Feeding America encourages Kentuckians to support their neighbors in need during Hunger Action Month in September, with opportunities to donate or volunteer.

“A lot of people can also just advocate, get this information out there,” Barger said. “We don’t want this to be a hidden issue in our community. We want to make sure that people who need help are getting it, but also that we are aware of the problems that members of our community are facing.”

Visit www.feedingamericaky.org for more information.

Bridge work in Louisville will close I-65 for two months next summer

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An $150 million construction project will result in traffic impacts on Interstate 65 in Louisville.

Governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday announced that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet awarded a contract to Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. for the replacement of three bridges on I-65, the first phase of the I-65 Central Corridor Project.

According to a release from KYTC District Five, the project is “a bridge replacement and rehabilitation initiative to ensure safe and sound bridges along one of Kentucky’s busiest transportation arteries.” Under the contract, bridges over Kentucky and Brook streets, Hill Street, a CSK rail line, and Burnett Avenue, along with Bradley Avenue will be fully replaced. The KYTC says all three bridges are more than 60 years old and are rated in poor condition.

The work will be completed in phases, with the first phase consisting of work underneath the interstate with minimal traffic impacts between now and June 2026. The second phase will result in a full closure of I-65 between Jefferson Street and the Watterson Expressway for two months, with traffic detoured via Interstates 264 West and 64 West.

More information on the project can be found at www.iI65centralcorridor.com.

Hardin County Fiscal Court approves property tax rates

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

The fiscal court approved property tax rates for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

“The real estate tax rate of 10.8 cents per each $100 of assessed value, the personal property, business inventory, non-Kentucky-registered watercraft and aircraft rate of 12.3 cents per $100 of assessed value, and then the motor vehicle and watercraft tax rate of 11.5 cents on each $100,” said County Attorney Jenny Oldham during a public hearing on the tax rate held during the meeting.

Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul said during his presentation on the tax rate that the county was going with the four percent revenue increase.

“The four percent increase from the previous year brought us very close to what we looked at and what we were able to predict,” Taul said. “It came in within a total of about $60,000, so very close to what the budget that we are currently in shows.”

Taul said the county budget is being balanced with about $2.5 million from the BlueOval SK Pilot Agreement, while not using annual funds from the Baptist Health Hardin hospital sale. The business personal property rate increased while the real estate property rate decreased.

“The reason that we could do this, to actually have an increase in revenue with a tax rate that went down 0.3 cents, is because it’s due to our growing county, really, and with an almost $1 billion increase in real estate property valuations,” Taul said.

In other meeting news, Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore said his office responded to 72 cases in June and 129 in July, noting an increased number of autopsies performed. Hardin County Sheriff John Ward said in June and July his office made 189 arrests and issued 254 citations.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet September 9.