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Radcliff City Council approves zoning for subdivision, tourism funding request

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The Radcliff City Council met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

The council approved a request from the Radcliff/Fort Knox Convention and Tourism Commission to amend their budget request from the city.

“After we had passed our budget and presented it to you, Ricky Skaggs became the headliner for the Bluegrass Festival,” said Tourism Commission Treasurer Bob Moore. “They asked us for additional funding, and so we’ve accommodated that, so that necessitates a little adjustment to our budget that you guys passed.”

The city approved a community contribution of $68,875 as part of the commission’s $438,000 budget.

The council approved the rezoning of about 35 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection of Joe Prather Highway and Patriot Parkway from Urban Agriculture to Planned Unit Development.

“This is the property that we had the industrial issue, but I think everybody was good and I think we can proceed feeling confident that we satisfied the residents of Hardin County and of course the developers,” said Radcliff Mayor J.J. Duvall.

The council then approved the preliminary plat and the preliminary site plan for the North Haven Subdivision which will be built at that site, with developers planning to construct 82 single-family units.

The first reading was held for ordinances that would see the city annex a property on the east side of Bullion Boulevard between Safari Trail and Oakwood Circle and an adjoining property at 691 Safari Trail. First readings were also held on ordinances that would change the zoning of both properties from Hardin County R-1 to Residential-3.

Duvall said the council will review possible options for a requested golf cart ordinance at a work session on August 7. The Radcliff City Council will next meet for a regular meeting on August 15.

Hardin County Animal Shelter running Dog Days of Summer special as shelter is over capacity

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The situation at the Hardin County Animal Shelter is getting hairy.

“A lot of other shelters refer to it as Code Red,” said Animal Shelter Director Mike McNutt. “What that means is they are going to have to make decisions that involve their current ‘No Kill’ or ‘Pro Life’ status.”

McNutt says the shelter is well over capacity.

“We currently have 124 pets in the shelter, and 86 of those are dogs,” said McNutt. “We have completely run out of kennel space and are having to house strays in our recovery areas because there is nowhere else to put them.”

In order to alleviate the strain, the shelter is running a Dog Days of Summer Special, where adoption fees are being waived for all dogs five months and older. The dogs will still be spayed or neutered, will be microchipped, and will receive their first round of shots.

McNutt says the special, however, is complicated by competition from other shelters facing similar issues.

“All shelters in the state of Kentucky, and most shelters across the nation right now, are running specials because we know that the first quarter of this year we took in 14 percent more stray dogs than we did the past three to five years,” McNutt said. “If that trend continues we’re looking at a horrible, horrible year for us.”

While shelter staff work to take care of the dogs, Animal Control officers are working hard to help found dogs find their way home instead of coming to the shelter.

“A lot of people think they’re being helpful by stopping and picking up a stray,” McNutt said. “If you want to be helpful, call us and give us an exact address of where the stray or roaming dog is and let us do our job.”

The shelter is located at 220 Peterson Drive in Elizabethtown, and is open from 12 to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. You can call the shelter at 270-765-3428.

Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health System marks one-year anniversary of 988

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This week marks the one-year anniversary of the national transition to 988, the nationwide mental health crisis helpline.

According to the Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health System, 988 connects callers with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

988 is confidential, free, and available 24/7 to connect those experiencing a mental health, substance use, or suicidal crisis with trained counselors.

Access to 988 is available through every landline, cell phone, and voice-over internet device in the United States. Call/text services are available in Spanish, with interpretation service in more than 150 languages available.

Lincoln trail says that if someone is experiencing an emotional crisis or thoughts of suicide, call 988. 24/7 assessments are also available by contacting Lincoln Trail directly at 270-351-9444.

Work Ready Kentucky scholarship provides big boost for ECTC students

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More than 500 students at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College benefited last school year from a state program designed to get students started on the path towards high-demand careers.

According to a release from the college, ECTC students received $1,504,959 from the Work Ready Kentucky scholarship, which is available to Kentucky residents who do not have an associate’s degree or higher and enroll in an eligible high-demand program.

“The scholarship is about five or six years old, and each year we are seeing more and more students take advantage of the funding,” said ECTC Financial Aid Director Michael Barlow.

Barlow says the school has many available options that qualify for the scholarship.

“Currently advanced manufacturing, business information technology, construction, healthcare, transportation, and logistics, so a lot of our programs fit into those categories,” Barlow said.

With new development such as Blue Oval SK on its way to the area, Barlow says students have a chance to get a head start.

“This is such a wonderful time for students to get prepared for all of the industry that’s moving into the Hardin County area, and with the Work Ready Kentucky scholarship they can do it tuition free,” said Barlow.

Students who want to learn more about the scholarship can visit www.workreadyky.com, or students can visit the financial aid office at ECTC for more assistance.

Col. O’Bryan transfers command of Fort Knox to Col. Ricci

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Fort Knox is under new management.

Colonel Lance O’Bryan ended his two-year term as garrison commander of the Army post when he passed the unit’s colors on to the new commander, Colonel Christopher Ricci, during a ceremony at the Waybur Theater Friday.

O’Bryan became emotional as he talked about his time at Fort Knox, and said saying “thank you” was not enough to show his appreciation for his garrison team.

“There will always be challenges, there will always be friction, and not everyone will always be happy, but I can say with the utmost confidence that this team day in and day out puts their best foot forward and makes this installation run,” O’Bryan said. “The garrison team is the foundation of greatness, and make no doubt about it.”

O’Bryan, who is retiring after a 25-year military career, said the support shown by the surrounding community makes the post a special place.

“Fort Knox was my primary choice of installations to command back in 2019,” O’Bryan said. “It was my first choice for a variety of reasons, but front and center was the overwhelming level of support I felt when I was stationed at Fort Knox from 2012 to 2015. I was welcomed from day one, and that has never changed.”

Ricci, who comes to Fort Knox after serving as a battalion commander at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, said he is looking forward to getting to work.

“I look forward to rolling my sleeves up and helping Fort Knox in the wide array of missions taking place on this installation in any way I can,” Ricci said. “Fort Knox is, and always will be, the gold standard.”

Prior to the ceremony, O’Bryan’s wife Angie was presented with a certificate of appreciation for her support of the Fort Knox community. O’Bryan was presented with the Legion of Merit in recognition of his leadership of the post.