WQXE NEWS

The month of December gets kicked off with holiday events happening all around the area Friday.

The City of Elizabethtown will host their annual Light Up E-Town Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting event.

“It’s kind of an electric light parade: lots of lights, lots of excitement,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “That will kick off at 7 o’clock Friday night. It is kind of what we call the reverse parade from the Heartland Parade, so it starts out around St. John Road and comes and ends down at that tree.”

Elizabethtown Events Marketing Coordinator Priscilla Scarborough said visitors to the parade will not be disappointed.

“This is the largest parade that E-Town has ever seen for Christmas,” Scarborough said. “I mean, we have literally doubled the entries.” 

After the parade, Mayor Jeff Gregory will read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and light the city Christmas tree. Scarborough said other events will be happening as part of the parade festivities.

“In the State Theater parking lot, there’s going to be a food vendor area with snacks, so you can go and get your coffees, hot cocoas, sweets, popcorn, things like that,” Scarborough said. “There’s also going to be a dance performance before the parade in front of the State Theater.”

Go to the events tab on the Elizabethtown city website for more details.

The City of Vine Grove will host their annual Auction for the Kids and Light Up Vine Grove event starting at 5 p.m. Friday.

“We kind of do an event and then we have a big auction, and all of the money we raise in that auction helps us pay for those 70 kids that we help at Christmas,” said Vine Grove Mayor Pam Ogden. “We give them $300 per child, and then we give them food vouchers, so it costs us quite a bit of money. We need to raise $26,000.”

More details are available on the Vine Grove City Hall Facebook page.

The City of Radcliff will host Light Up Radcliff tonight beginning at 6 p.m. at the Colvin Community Center. Enjoy trees from around the world and wonderful Christmas lights, free photos with Santa, and free cookies and hot chocolate, among other activities.

State and local law enforcement officers from across Kentucky were honored this week for their efforts to protect motorists from impaired drivers.

The Governor’s Impaired Driving Enforcement Awards were presented at the Hyatt Regency in Lexington. Hosted by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Highway Safety, more than 170 officers representing more than 150 law enforcement agencies were recognized.

The KYTC says awards were presented to officers with the most impaired-driving arrests in each agency and in each division from October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.

Area officers that were recognized include:

-Brian Abell from the Bardstown Police Department

-Tyler Mitcham from the Brandenburg Police Department

-Aaron Duncan from the Breckinridge County Sheriff’s Office

-Ethan Jones from the Elizabethtown Police Department

-Terry Riley from the Hodgenville Police Department

-Cameron Right from Kentucky State Police Post Four

-Jamie Ferrie from the LaRue County Sheriff’s Office

-Tycondi Whitaker from the Leitchfield Police Department

-Ryan Boyd from the Radcliff Police Department.

The Office of Highway Safety says last year in Kentucky there were more than 4,100 crashes involving an impaired driver, resulting in 1,990 injuries and 189 deaths.

Hardin County Schools is introducing an online payment platform to give parents convenient payment options.

The district partnered with SchoolCash Online to implement the new system.

“Parents can manage all school fees and items for their students in one location and have the convenience of a secure online payment platform, and the schools improve safety and reduce risk by minimizing cash and check payments at the schools,” said HCS Community Relations Specialist John Wright. 

The system will be available for student activity-related items such as field trips, fundraisers, club dues, and registration fees.

“When those things come due, when parents have signed up to participate in SchoolCash Online, they will get an email that the fee is due, and so they can go into the SchoolCash Online system and pay that fee,” Wright said.

Parents can learn more by visiting the Hardin County Schools website.

Meanwhile, HCS announced this week that District Maintenance Supervisor Jamey Hawkins is now the district’s Director of Buildings and Grounds.

“He’s a true leader, and will do an amazing job in this role,” Wright said. “He has a strong relationship with the current members of the Buildings and Grounds family, and he knows our facilities inside and out. Each schools’ staff knows him and the outstanding work he does.”

Prior to serving as maintenance supervisor, Hawkins worked as a district HVAC specialist.