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Hardin-Bullitt interlocal agreement reduces ambulance response time for West Point

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West Point Mayor Richard Ciresi said improving ambulance response times to the city was potentially a matter of life and death.

“We had a 20 to 25 minute response time, and that just seemed unacceptable, long story short,” Ciresi said.

That response time has been cut down to six minutes thanks to an interlocal agreement between Hardin and Bullitt counties, under which Bullitt County EMS will take over emergency medical services for West Point.

Ciresi said he reached out to Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul about a year ago about the issue, and he reviewed possibilities with Hardin County EMS.

“They saw that maybe this was an opportunity to not only help West Point get faster ambulance service, but it eliminates one of the ambulances in Radcliff from having to be so far out from the remainder of the population, so it’s kind of a win-win,” Ciresi said.

Ciresi credited the work of Taul, Bullitt County Judge/Executive Jerry Summers, and the respective county EMS operations for getting the interlocal agreement on the books.

“My sincere thanks to all the people involved that made this happen,” Ciresi said. “It wasn’t easy. It seemed like we had to jump through a lot of hoops, but everybody did their share.”

The City of West Point will be hosting a ceremony to celebrate the interlocal agreement Wednesday.

Breckinridge County Schools superintendent excited for district’s trajectory

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Breckinridge County School District Superintendent Dr. Nick Carter says the 2024-2025 school year, which wrapped up with graduation last Saturday, had its challenges, but the students, faculty, staff, and families pushed through.

One such challenge was weather, including storms that resulted in flooding and one of the more chaotic winters in recent years.

“It’s really hard when you have winters like this because you miss some school here and there and it’s really hard to get into the flow and really get that rhythm going, whenever you’re in for a few days and you’re out for a day or two or you’re out for a week, and so I’m just really proud of our students and proud of all of our staff for working really hard through those winter runs to give as much normalcy to our students as possible,” Carter said.

Carter said district students continue to see growth in reading and math, and the district has worked hard to make their schools a place students are excited to be.

“I’m super proud of our school’s efforts to really focus in on that school experience for our students,” Carter said. “We’re really dedicated to making sure that our kids not only have a great academic achievement experience in the district, but we want them to have a terrific school experience, and be involved in clubs and extracurriculars and those types of opportunities.”

Carter said heading into the 2025-2026 school year, the district is focused on continuing to improve curriculum, instruction, and student experiences, and he says he is excited with the district’s trajectory.

“There’s a lot of great things going on in the district,” Carter said. “We are hoping to break ground on a brand new middle school next year., and that’s a multi-year project, but there’s been a lot of work. We’ve been working on a middle school project since 2021, and so next school year we’ll be breaking ground on that.”

Today is the first day of the district’s summer feeding program. Visit the Breckinridge County School District Facebook page to find more information and the link to register.

Stephen Foster Drama Association set to open season with Lights Up! production

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The Stephen Foster Story is set to kick off their 2025 summer season with a special performance.

The Stephen Foster Drama Association will host their Lights Up! production of The Stephen Foster Story on Friday, June 13, with pre-show festivities at 6:30 p.m. and the performance at 8.

The Lights Up! production takes place during the final dress rehearsal for the show and is specifically tailored for children and adults with special needs. Thanks to sponsor support, families will be able to experience The Stephen Foster Story in a safe and accommodating setting free of charge.

This is the seventh season the association has offered the Lights Up! production. Tickets are free but reservations are required. Call 502-348-5971 for details.

This summer’s production of The Stephen Foster Story runs June 14 through August 9, with the production of The Sound of Music running select dates from July 9 through August 6. Visit www.stephenfoster.com for ticket information and a schedule of performances.

West Point City Council affirms decision to not renew school building lease

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The West Point City Council met for a special meeting Monday evening.

West Point Mayor Richard Ciresi made a final pitch to the council for the city to maintain its lease on the former West Point School Building. The council voted during their March meeting to not renew the current lease with Hardin County Schools for the building at the end of May, but Ciresi said he felt it was in the best interest of West Point citizens for the city to maintain control of it.

“Ultimately, my goal here is to figure out a way that we can hold onto this building and use it the way it’s been used for the past three years successfully,” Ciresi said. “If we were not in the building, we wouldn’t have had the Red Cross here, FEMA, all these people that are in the building.”

Ciresi proposed two lease options. The first had the city sign a revised lease on the building, while the second would have the city lease the building and then sublease the building to the West Point Preservation Corp.

“I just don’t want to see us board this thing up again and it become an eyesore when the West Point Preservation Corp is perfectly willing to fund it and pay the city $1,200 a year for the pleasure of doing so,” Ciresi said.

Council Members Amy Bickel and Dwayne Culver said they supported the arrangement with the preservation corp if some liability concerns could be clarified by the city’s attorney, but Council Members Jo Sabol, Vernon Curl, and Kevin Duke did not support pursuing a lease. Duke said he felt the city needs the building “like we need a hole in the head.”

“We’ve had control of it for how long now, and what has gone on it it?” Duke said. “Nothing has been done with it. We have a few little organizations that come in here and use it, and that’s not going to be worth the money that it’s going to cost.”

With the majority of council members not in favor, no further action was taken on the proposal.

In other meeting news, the council held the first reading on the fiscal year 2025-2026 city budget. Council feedback led to several adjustments to the original proposal, including expanded funding for the city’s fire department to address pump repairs. The budget will go up for adoption on its second reading at the West Point City Council’s June 9 meeting.

John Hardin FFA students hosting supply drive for Kentucky storm victims

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John Hardin High School Agriculture Teacher and FFA Adviser Jeremy Hall says his students saw the devastation caused by storms that recently hit Laurel County and other areas of Kentucky last week and immediately wanted to take action.

“I’m very blessed that I’ve got a group of kids that just want to help,” Hall said. “As soon as we started seeing, especially Saturday morning, all the devastation, my kids were like ‘we gotta do something.’”

The students decided the least they could do was organize a donation drive.

“We’re going to take those donations at John Harden up until Wednesday, and then I think Thursday or Friday morning (we’re working on logistics of that), we’re going to take them and deliver them,” Hall said.

The students are accepting a wide range of items.

“Non-perishable food, paper towels, wipes, baby food,” Hall said. “We found out this morning a lot of our FFA members down there were affected, so even livestock feed and things of that nature are needed. Pet food.”

Donations may be brought to the Ag. Ed. Department at John Hardin High School between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. Visit the John Hardin Agricultural Education/FFA Facebook page for more information.