WQXE NEWS

The Radcliff City Council met for their second meeting of the month Tuesday.

Susan Mouser with Clauson Mouser and Company PSC/CPAs reported to the council on the city’s annual audit. Mouser said the audit is mandated by state law in order to show that the city’s finances are fairly stated. Mouser said the city’s revenues exceed the expenditures and the city has little long-term debt. Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall said the city keeps a close eye on the finances.

“Just about every purchase order that’s done in the city, (Radcliff CFO) Chance Fox and I both, or (City Clerk) Ashley Russo will sign, and it’s sometimes to the point where Chance is calling me, asking me if a $164 pair of boots is justified,” Duvall said. “I mean, that’s how tight we run our budget.”

The council approved the rezoning of 155 Morgan Street from R-7 to Planned Unit Development Zone, which makes way for the construction of 19 single-family units on the property. The council also approved one new and five amended policies and procedures for the Radcliff Police Department.

The first reading was held on an ordinance approving the operation of medical cannabis facilities in the city. Duvall again stressed that the ordinance does not ban the use of medical marijuana, but it would make a Radcliff-based operation eligible to apply for a facility license.

“This is just regulating whether or not we’re going to have the sale or the cultivation here in our community,” Duvall said. “If you have a medical card, you can still go into E-Town and get it, or you can go into the county and get it, and still bring it back to our community.”

John Hardin High School sophomore Kenneth Richie addressed the council on concerns he sees with the Radcliff community that he said he thinks begin with a lack of civil discourse.

“I’ve seen the people become more negative over this time and stop looking inwards,” Richie said. “I’ve seen human decency begin to fade, and I’ve seen other people attack each other without knowledge or patience for a civil confrontation, and that’s built a negative reputation in towns outside of here.”

Richie said he hopes to see more communication between the government and the community, and more civic engagement. Duvall said he had spoken with Richie about his ideas and hoped to speak with him further.

The Radcliff City Council will next meet for a work session on August 12.

Helping Hand of Hope rolled out a new way of helping neighbors in need this week as they launched their new Thrift Store.

“The Thrift Store is actually an addition to Helping Hand of Hope that we have created in one of the extra areas that we have here,” said Helping Hand of Hope Executive Director Hope Burke. “We really wanted something for when our neighbors come in that really need an extra hand when it comes to clothing or accessories for their home that they were able to come in and actually afford the things that they were coming to get.”

Burke says the Thrift Store was designed to offer a unique experience.

“In our hearts when we did this, we wanted it to be a more of a boutique feel versus just everything thrown together because that was one thing that some of our neighbors had expressed when they go secondhand shopping, they just feel like everything’s everywhere and they don’t ever feel like they get to go and do things like that, like a boutique experience, so that was something very important for us,” Burke said.

All are welcome to enjoy the Thrift Store, and a voucher program is available by meeting with a case manager. Donations to support the Thrift Store will be accepted, however Burke said they are not asking for clothing at this time.

Burke says the Thrift Store is part of some exciting developments at Helping Hand of Hope.

“We’re just really excited about this, and we just want the community to come together, whether they are wanting to donate, whether they’re wanting to buy, come out and just check it out,” Burke said. “Come and see what we really, truly put our heart and soul into and just see the direction that Helping Hand of Hope is doing.”

The Thrift Store is open at Helping Hand of Hope, located at 6796 South Wilson Road in Elizabethtown, from 9 to 11:45 a.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 9 a.m. to noon the second Saturday of each month.

Hardin County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Billy Edwards is being remembered for his kindness and commitment.

“As a young cop, Billy took me and so many others under his wing,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “At face value, he often seemed unreasonable and unnecessarily gruff, but in reality he had the heart of a teddy bear. He had a fierce passion for being an investigator, and he was distinguished and bigger than life.”

Edwards and his wife Kathy were killed Sunday evening in a collision at the intersection of the U.S. 31W Bypass and the westbound ramp of the Western Kentucky Parkway. Billy Edwards was 67 and Kathy Edwards was 58.

“Kathy complimented him in so many ways, but she was kind and loyal and made him better,” Denham said. “Following some pretty challenging times that I faced a couple years ago, Kathy checked in on me often and did so genuinely because she cared.”

Edwards was a 24-year veteran of the Elizabethtown Police Department. Hardin County Schools Community Relations Specialist John Wright says Edwards began serving as Creekside Elementary School’s school resource officer at the beginning of this year after serving as SRO at Woodland Elementary.

“He was well loved by the students and staff at most schools,” Wright said. “He was passionate about their safety and was dedicated to ensuring that students learned in a safe and compassionate environment. We offer deepest condolences to the Edwards family, their friends, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office family and the steadfast group of Hardin County Schools school resource officers and our community of devoted law enforcement officers.”

Creekside Elementary students wishing to speak with somebody about Edwards may contact the Creekside office. Funeral arrangements are pending.