WQXE NEWS

Local officials are asking area residents to contact their legislators in response to a bill they say would undo local efforts to stop puppy mills.

State Bill 157 is due to be discussed by the Kentucky State Senate’s Agriculture Committee Tuesday, and in a post on their Facebook page the Hardin County Animal Shelter said the bill “would force communities to allow the sale of puppy mill puppies and kitten mill kittens in pet stores.” The animal shelter also says the bill would prevent the enforcement of previously approved ordinances in Elizabethtown and Radcliff that ban such sales.

Elizabethtown City Council Member Julia Springsteen said during Monday’s city council meeting that she would be going to Frankfort to speak against the bill. She said there’s still time for residents to voice their opposition.

“If you have a minute (Tuesday) to call your state senator, please tell them you oppose SB 157,” Springsteen said. “It’s about preemption of our ordinance. It’s about consumer protection, and it’s also about the humane treatment of animals, and we do not want that bill to pass.”

A request for comment from the bill’s sponsor Jason Howell was made to the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission but has not yet been answered.

Crystal Rogers investigation suspect Joseph Lawson has been granted a bond reduction, but not to the extent requested by his attorney.

Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III entered an order Monday reducing Lawson’s bond from $500,000 to $250,000. Lawson’s attorney had requested a bond reduction to $50,000 and for Lawson to be released on home incarceration to attend an inpatient treatment facility.

Simms said the court considered the gravity of the charges Lawson faces, which carry a potential sentence of up to 25 years in prison. Simms’s order states that pretrial assessment described Lawson as a moderate flight risk and a moderate risk to reoffend. Simms also considered Lawson’s criminal history, which includes at least two felony convictions, and noted that Lawson is currently incarcerated at the Kentucky State Reformatory while serving a one-year sentence for a first degree Criminal Mischief charge.

Simms previously granted a $250,000 bond reduction for Lawson’s father Stephen Lawson, who faces the same charges as Joseph Lawson. Simms previously denied a bond reduction for Brooks Houck, who faces charges of Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence in the case.

Houck, Joseph Lawson, and Stephen Lawson are all due back in Nelson Circuit Court for a status conference on March 21.

The Lincoln Trail District Health Department says Hardin County has received certification from the state as a Recovery Ready Community.

“It gives us a framework to look at what is going on in the community around youth prevention initiatives, substance use prevention initiatives, harm reduction, treatment, recovery support for individuals that are in recovery,” said LTDHD Harm Reduction Manager Jennifer Osborne. “It gives us an idea of what is already in place in the community and what we might see as opportunities for improvement in a community.”

Hardin County received a score of 252 points in the state’s review of the county’s application, needing 225 points for the certification.

Osborne said one of the county’s strengths is it already has a strong agency for substance abuse policy board in place to discuss recovery and prevention issues, as well as the availability of several organizations to offer services. Another strength is the partnership of several organizations and entities coming together to address the issues.

“For instance, the partnership between the health department and the Communicare regional prevention center, our partnership with the Drug Court there in Hardin County, our EMS and coroner’s office, as well as Baptist Health Hardin,” Osborne said.

One area of improvement identified was the need for a quick response team which would reach out to victims and families after a non-fatal overdose, which Osborne said is already in development in Hardin County. 

Osborne said Hardin County is fortunate to have the coordination it does, something that helped the health department as they prepared their application for certification.

“Having somebody who can kind of case manage or help coordinate care for an individual, a lot of times that is a solution to some of that problem of having all of these fantastic resources but how do we get people to utilize them effectively, and that care management a lot of times helps with that problem,” Osborne said.

Learn more about the Recovery Ready Certification at rrcky.org.