WQXE NEWS

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College and Family Scholar House will begin collecting food for their annual Thanksgiving Meal Drive Monday.

“Everyone deserves to have a great Thanksgiving, and that includes the students at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College who may be working hard in their classes, maybe they are already in the early stages of their career and also trying to raise families, and sometimes folks just need a little assistance to get that Thanksgiving meal on the table,” said ECTC Director of Marketing and Public Affairs Sarah Berkshire. 

Berkshire said community members looking to support the college’s students have a great opportunity to do so.

“We know there are so many people out there who want to help students in that situation, and so we’ve got a lot of great partners lined up to serve as drop off sites for the Thanksgiving Meal Drive, and our goal this year is to make sure that we can serve at least 100 students,” Berkshire said.

The drive runs from October 14 through November 15.

“They can purchase and drop off a whole or partial meal,” Berkshire said. “There are two locations on our campus in Elizabethtown, and then there are about seven or eight other locations throughout the community. All of those, as well as all of the items that are needed, are listed on our website, and for those who maybe don’t have time to shop and drop off, they can make a monetary donation.”

Visit ECTC’s website or contact Chrissie Angell to learn more about ways to support the college’s students.

The Elizabethtown Police Department responded to a serious traffic accident in E-Town Wednesday.

“Shortly before five o’clock Wednesday evening, we responded to a motor vehicle collision in the area of the U.S. 31W bypass and U.S. 62,” said EPD Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “Our investigation revealed that a red Chevy truck driven by an adult female was traveling eastbound on U.S. 62 in an attempt to turn under the ramp to the southbound bypass. The truck crossed into the path of a westbound Chevy passenger car, resulting in a collision.”

Both of the occupants of the passenger car sustained serious injuries and were transported from the scene. The driver of the truck was also transported for medical care.

The EPD says no criminal charges are expected as a result of the crash.

Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel says collaboration and strong leadership has helped Kentucky become a leader in the automotive industry, and the commonwealth needs to fight to stay at the top.

“Whichever way the world goes on in automotive, we have to win, and I’m not politically espoused on whether it’s EV, hydrogen, electric, it doesn’t matter to me,” Noel said. “All I know is if there’s going to be a different composite of what it takes to propel automotive, we have got to make sure that we are winning in that space.”

Noel was the featured speaker during the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s October luncheon Wednesday, the theme for which was Manufacturing Month. Noel said about 12.6 percent of Kentucky jobs are tied to manufacturing, so Kentucky must be ready to handle challenges.

“The private sector will find solutions,” Noel said. “Those solutions can be closings. Those solutions can be changing the whole floor mixture. We have to make sure as a state we’re leading in the whole manufacturing renaissance, because we have way too much to lose if we don’t.”

Noel had high praise for the leadership, education opportunities, and collaboration in Hardin County that has made the area not only a hub for growth but an example for the rest of the state to follow.

“You all are a regional hub that when we went to Europe, went to Asia, people want to know about Elizabethtown and Hardin County, Kentucky,” Noel said. “Not only are you on the map, people are talking about ‘why there?,’ ‘what’s going on there?,’ and it allows us to actually talk about other parts of the state, and we can talk about the amazing things that are happening in Hardin County.”

Noel said more information on the state’s economic plans can be found on the Cabinet for Economic Development’s website.