The Stephen Foster Drama Association has announced the date for in-person auditions for several 2023 performances. Auditions for “The Stephen Foster Story,” “Songs of Stephen Foster,” and “Cinderella” are scheduled for February 18 at Nelson County High School. Executive Artistic Director Johnny Warren says they encourage performers of all levels of singing experience to audition. Local and regional singers, actors and dancers are included in the productions each year and often come from the local auditions. Details about auditions and how to secure a spot can be found at stephenfoster.com/auditions.
WQXE NEWS
The Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation has partnered with the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Foundation to support the region’s future workforce training needs. An endowment was funded with $140,000 from the dissolution of the Elizabethtown Industrial Foundation Training Consortium to create a permanent source of funding for high-demand programs to develop the local workforce. The endowment will be eligible for dollar-for-dollar matching funds through the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. More information is available ectcforbetterlives.com.
A Hardin County woman was arrested for child abuse early Tuesday morning. “Shortly before 1:00 AM on Tuesday morning, we arrested 22 year old Danielle Bryant for Criminal Abuse in the First Degree. This arrest stemmed from an incident where Bryant assaulted her two-year old child while in the Towne Drive Kroger Monday evening. She was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center,” Elizabethtown Police Spokesperson Chris Denham. Bryant was arrested after witnesses called Police to report the woman had struck her child in the face, yelled at her and grabbed her hair while shopping at the Kroger at Towne Center. Bryant exited the store before Officers arrived and had put the child in her vehicle. Bryant admitted striking the child multiple times while placing the child in the car seat. The child had visible injuries to the face consistent with witness accounts. The child has been placed in the custody of a family member. The investigation is ongoing.
Four Kentucky Community Mental Health Centers have announced that they will be consolidating to be able to improve, create and protect services in rural Kentucky communities. Communicare, Inc. in Elizabethtown will partner with Four Rivers Behavioral Health in Paducah, LifeSkills, Inc. in Bowling Green and Pennyroyal Center in Hopkinsville to form one of largest community mental health centers in the Commonwealth. The new organization will support more than 47,000 individuals annually and offer over 70 programs and services in 129 different locations across the state. The agencies will announce the new name of the organization at a later date but expect the consolidation to be finalized as of July 1. A video that explains more about the merger can be viewed on the LifeSkills, Inc YouTube channel.
Last week the US Department of Transportation announced that Kentucky would receive $25 million as part of the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. The City of Elizabethtown will be receiving $200,000 of that money to conduct a study to assess the needs of the community. “Melissa Nepi writes our grants for the city. She applied for a Federal Grant and it’s called Safer Streets. Currently we have been awarded $200,000 and that $200,000 is to take a look at the city and look around different locations at things that we may need – like sidewalks in certain places, bike lanes or street widening. Anything that could make our streets safer. So we’ve been granted $200,000 to do the study. The hope and the plan is as we do our study and show how we will utilize the money, that we will be awarded money every year to implement the plan,” says City Spokesperson Amy Inman. The Safe Streets and Roads Grant funds initiatives at the local and regional levels to prevent roadway injuries and deaths.