WQXE NEWS

Elizabethtown Independent Schools is celebrating four Elizabethtown High School seniors for their recent achievement.

EHS Beta Club members Mason Baldwin, Jessica Chen, Olivia Paulsen, and Kate Shirts were each named winners of 2024 National Beta Scholarships, with each student receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the National Beta Club.

“It’s a student group that obviously academics is a huge part of it, but it’s also based on your character, leadership, and your service,” said EIS Director of Communications Chuck Jones.

EHS was the only school in the country to have four national winners.

“I think it speaks volumes for the school district that there’s four Elizabethtown High School seniors that won scholarships through National Beta, so it’s just such a strong program and they always do well, but this year they did exceptionally well,” Jones said.

Jones said watching these four students succeed is not a surprise.

“All four of them have worked extremely hard and they already know what their goals are ahead of them, and they just continue to drive towards those goals,” Jones said. “They have a desire and work ethic that is pretty unmatched.”

Baldwin plans to attend the University of Kentucky to study biology, Paulsen plans to attend the University of Louisville to study bioengineering, Shirts plans to attend Brigham Young University to study elementary education, and Chen is undecided but hopes to attend a New York-area school to study computer science.

William J. Litteral of Big Clifty was charged with Menacing, second degree Disorderly Conduct, first degree Fleeing or Evading Police, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon following his arrest Monday.

The Grayson County Sheriff’s Office says a resident called the sheriff’s office at approximately 1 p.m. on February 19 in order to have officers trespass someone from their property. Deputies were also alerted about a man reportedly standing on Morrison Road in Big Clifty holding a gun and threatening people.

After arriving on scene, deputies were informed by a passing motorist that a man was walking down the road carrying a gun. Deputies located the suspect, later identified as Litteral, and activated their vehicle’s lights and siren. Litteral then reportedly drew the weapon to his side and continued walking away from the deputies.

The sheriff’s office says Litteral was given multiple commands to drop the weapon, but he continued walking. After continued negotiations, Litteral eventually put the gun on the ground, but refused to move away from it. After more commands went unanswered, a deputy deployed his TASER, and Litteral was taken into custody. He was lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center.

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office says this November’s election could have the highest voter turnout in decades as January marked the tenth consecutive month of increased voter registration.

The Secretary of State’s Office says 6,700 new voter registrations were made in January, while 6,156 were removed. Of those removed, about 5,000 were for deceased voters, 578 were for voters convicted of felonies, and 325 moved out of state.

The Secretary of State’s Office says Republican registration rose by 2,111 in January, bringing total Republican registration in the state to about 46 percent of the electorate. Democratic registration in January decreased by 2,751, with Democratic registration representing about 44 percent of the electorate. Other party registration went up 1,184 in January.

The deadline to register for the May 21 primary election is April 22. Ahead of that, voters in three Hardin County precincts will cast ballots in a special election on March 19 to fill the vacated Kentucky House of Representatives District 26 seat. Today is the deadline for write-in candidates to register for that race.

Visit the state election website, govote.ky.gov, or contact your county clerk’s office for more election information.