WQXE NEWS

Committee leadership has been updated for the Hardin County magistrates for 2024.

District 1 Magistrate Chris Yates will serve as chair of the Emergency Services Committee, with District 5 Magistrate Aaron Pennington serving as vice chair.

District 3 Magistrate Patsy Whitehead will serve as chair of the Resources and Community Support Committee, with District 2 Magistrate Kenny Saltsman serving as vice chair.

District 4 Magistrate Fred Clem will serve as chair of the Finance Committee, with District 6 Magistrate E.G. Thompson serving as vice chair.

District 8 Magistrate Kenny Muse will serve as chair of the Public Works Committee, with District 7 Magistrate Larry Hicks serving as vice chair.

The Hardin County Fiscal Court also announced that this month’s Finance Committee meeting will now be held Wednesday, January 24 at 3:30 p.m., while the open house for the county’s new Comprehensive Plan will be held Tuesday, January 30 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the second floor meeting room at the county building.

Also happening on January 30 is the county’s next town hall forum.

“It’s January 30 at 5:30 p.m. on the third floor of the Hardin County Government Building in the Fiscal Courtroom,” said Hardin County Public Relations Officer Megan McDougal. “That’s your opportunity to come, hear everything that’s going on, and ask tons of questions. Most or all of the department heads will be there for you to ask questions for. It’s an open mic kind of forum, and it was a really good one last time we had it. It was really informative and helpful, and it was great to hear from all of the citizens.

More information on county meetings can be found at HCKY.org.

The Radcliff City Council reviewed several ordinances concerning annexations and zoning during their meeting Tuesday.

The council approved on second readings ordinances annexing the property located on the west side of North Dixie Highway between its intersections with W.A. Jenkins Road and Les Dawson Road as well as 5571 and 5511 North Dixie Highway. Ordinances were also approved that rezoned those properties to either High-Density Multi-Family Residential or Planned Use Development.

First readings were held on ordinances approving the annexation of a property located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Ernest R. Kouma Boulevard and Patriot Parkway, as well as ordinances rezoning the property as well as 1276 and 1278 Hill Street and 3491 South Wilson Road to either Multi-Family Residential or Commercial zones.

All of the zoning ordinances were approved by the city’s Planning Commission.

The council approved a proposal from Radcliff Police Chief Jeff Cross to remove the department’s evidence custodian position and replace it with two contract officers hired as detectives that would be in charge of the department’s evidence room. Cross said hiring detectives for the positions would keep the evidence room in check while also making additional personnel available for investigations.

Radcliff Mayor J.J. Duvall thanked the city’s road crews and first responders for their hard work during the recent winter weather. Council Member Toshie Murrell reminded residents with pets that the city has laws on the book concerning leaving pets outside in the cold.

“As far as shelter goes, you have to have four sides, you have to have a floor, you have to have bedding which is straw, not hay, not blankets,” Murrell said. “Please be aware of the temperatures for your outside animals and your pets. This is a penalty type of a violation.”

The Radcliff City Council will next meet for a work session on February 12.

Highway crews continue to address roadway conditions after another round of snowfall and below-freezing temperatures Monday.

Kentucky Transportation District Four says many routes in the district showed improvement with treatment and sunlight, but the loss of sunlight and another round of frigid temperatures means packing and refreezing of covered roadways.

KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie says crews try to stay ahead of conditions with treatment, but conditions sometimes take options away from them.

“It’s not the biggest snowfall we’ve ever had, but it’s cold,” Jessie said. “It’s really, really cold, and that puts a whole new element to everything when it comes to snow fighting because salt doesn’t work. Calcium does work, but it’s something that we just can’t put down everywhere so you use it in the places you have to use it and that kind of thing.”

The lighter accumulation in most parts of the district also means that plowing the roads is not an effective option.

“You see some snow where you are maybe, but that may not be enough to really plow,” Jessie said. “If it’s just a big glaze on top of the roads the plows don’t get any ‘bite’ onto the road. They end up just kind of sealing it over like icing on a cake, so that really doesn’t help a lot either and again the salt’s not effective, that kind of thing.”

Tuesday’s forecast calls for no additional accumulation, so crews will begin application of salt and calcium early to maximize the effectiveness of sunlight. Motorists should anticipate changing pavement conditions over short distances as the amount of sunlight a roadway is getting will impact efforts to clear snow and ice.

Jessie says use caution when driving, or if you can stay off the roads altogether.

“Folks need to be patient,” Jessie said. “They certainly don’t have to get out, the typical winter driving messaging applies here. It’s just really, really cold so it adds that other element. If you go out and you get stuck somewhere it becomes even more dangerous just sitting in your car trying to wait for help because it is so cold.”

Options remain available for people in need of shelter from the winter weather.

“Due to the exceptionally cold temperatures our region is expected to experience between Sunday, January 14 and Tuesday, January 16, the City of Elizabethtown, City of Radcliff, and City of Vine Grove have collectively established a fundamentally consistent procedure to assist those without adequate shelter,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. 

Any citizen who is displaced and in need of assistance should contact one of the following phone numbers:

-City of Elizabethtown residents may call 270-765-4125

-City of Radcliff residents may call 270-351-4477

-City of Vine Grove residents may call 270-877-2252

Any Hardin County resident who resides outside of a municipality’s city limits may contact the police department for the city closest to them.