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North Hardin High School goes on brief lockdown after alleged threat

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An alleged threat put North Hardin High School under a hard lockdown at around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“That means that no students were permitted to leave their classrooms and all students and staff were secured where they were,” said Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright. “No one could leave or exit a secure area, but that lockdown, at approximately 10:15 a.m., was lifted.”

The lockdown resulted from a student who was reported to have a weapon.

“We had reason to believe that there was a threat to the building,” Wright said. “Law enforcement officers detained an individual who pretended to have a weapon. They did not have a weapon. This person thought that they were playing a joke; however, that student, it was a student, and they will face severe charges which will be dealt with in accordance with the law and the Hardin County Schools Code of Acceptable Behavior and Discipline.”

Wright says the usual One Call that goes out to parents in situations like this did not go out because the school was in and out of the lockdown so quickly. HCS commended the student that reported the incident to an adult who contacted school administration, and thanked area law enforcement for their quick response to the situation.

Greenspace and City of Elizabethtown hosting public meeting on master trails plan Thursday

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Greenspace and the City of Elizabethtown are partnering to host a public meeting at the Pritchard Community Center Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. to gather public input on the bicycle and pedestrian master plan Greenspace began developing about two years ago, with the organization contracting engineering firm Gresham Smith.

Greenspace President David Haines told the Elizabethtown City Council earlier this month the public meeting will be preceded by a series of stakeholder meetings.

“It’s going to be the first day for public engagement here at Pritchard Community Center and there’s going to be a series of meetings,” Haines said. “One for the project advisory committee, one for a stakeholder group that was identified and includes city leaders, business leaders, tourism, and user groups to kind of start getting ramped up on the bike pedestrian plan, where it’s at, giving input.”

Those meetings will be followed by the public engagement session from 5 to 7 p.m. and the launch of a website for the collection of feedback. Haines said the goal is to identify what the city has and what it needs going forward.

“What I told Gresham Smith is what I would like is a top three or five high-priority, high-payoff street projects that the city can look at and budget for in the next five to ten years,” Haines said. “That makes sense, and then beyond that a best practices manual that incorporates what they did with Complete Streets, but tailors it a little bit more towards Elizabethtown.”

More information and a list of contacts can be found on the City of Elizabethtown Government Facebook page.

Hardin County man serving prison sentence gets federal prison time for mailing threats

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A Hardin County man serving time for the murder of his brother has been sentenced in federal court for sending threats from jail.

Kyle Miller of Vine Grove was sentenced to four years in federal prison following three years of supervised release after he was convicted for Mailing Threatening Communications with Threats to Kill and Extort.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, Miller mailed letters to victims containing threats to kill in July, August, and October of 2023, and in January 2024 mailed letters to a victim containing threats to kill and extort. The case was investigated by the FBI, Kentucky State Police, and the Elizabethtown Police Department.

Miller was arrested in June of 2019 for the murder of his seven-year-old brother. Miller was 15 at the time, but in October of 2021 he was retried as an Adult and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He has been serving his sentence at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex in West Liberty.

Veteran organizations sponsoring local screening of documentary

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Area veterans organizations are partnering to sponsor a special screening at Crowne Pointe Theatre on Friday. 

The Elizabethtown Elks Lodge No. 2891, the Kentucky Elks Association, VFW Posts 10281 and 12237, and American Legion Post 113 are offering the community the chance to be among the first in the country to see Brothers After War, the follow-up to the award-winning documentary Brothers at War. The film will be screened at Crowne Pointe Theatre at 3 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Friday. 

According to a release from the Elizabethtown Elks Lodge, Brothers After War “takes viewers on an emotional journey, exploring the challenges veterans face as they transition from the battlefield to civilian life.” The film combines footage filmed during the Iraq War with present-day reunions, and focuses on the struggles of PTSD, depression, and the search for meaning.

The film is produced by actor Gary Sinise, and directed by Jake Rademacher, who also directed Brothers at War. Tickets are available on Crowne Pointe Theatre’s website and more information is available by contacting the Elizabethtown Elks Lodge.

Hardin County Fiscal Court approves budget amendment

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

The court approved an ordinance on second reading that amends the 2024-2025 budget. Hardin County Judge/Executive Keith Taul said the amendment facilitates a $1 million Federal Community Development Block Grant for Family Scholar House.

District Four Magistrate Fred Clem attempted to motion to reintroduce a resolution drafted by the Hardin County Finance Committee to form “a steering committee to study land use evaluation of properties at the current and old landfill” after it was removed from Tuesday’s agenda ahead of the meeting. Taul said Clem’s motion was out of order as “only the judge/executive can establish or appoint committees of fiscal court per the administrative code.” Clem and Taul disagreed on Taul’s authority to refuse action on Clem’s motion.

In other meeting news, Hardin County Coroner Pat Elmore said during his report to the court that the coroner’s office handled 1,178 cases in 2024. That included 5 homicides and 78 accidents, of which just under half were overdoses.

Hardin County Sheriff John Ward told the court that in December and January the sheriff’s office made 215 arrests, issued 180 citations, and served 103 warrants. Ward encouraged drivers to remember to use caution and said in 2024 Hardin County was third in total fatal traffic accidents in Kentucky, and Ward noted a fatal accident Monday involving two commercial vehicles.

“We had a fatal accident on I-65 last night, one which was basically driver inattention, not speed related,” Ward said. “If anything, it was low-speed related, but it was driver inattention.”

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet March 11.