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Beshear highlights LOTTE Aluminum’s E-Town operation during Team Kentucky update

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An Elizabethtown factory was highlighted during Governor Andy Beshear’s Team Kentucky update Thursday.

The governor congratulated LOTTE Aluminum Materials USA for beginning the hiring process to fill 122 full-time jobs at their Elizabethtown facility.

Governor Beshear said LOTTE’s commitment to Elizabethtown is a product of the state’s strong relationship with South Korea. He said LOTTE has connections across the globe that can benefit the state.

“I got to visit the company when I was in Seoul just about a month ago, and the opportunity to have such a sophisticated company open up a facility in Kentucky gives us the opportunity for growth over time,” Beshear said. “This is a big win for us, and we’re going to make sure it’s a big win for this company, and we can’t wait for the decades to come and how this partnership grows and evolves.”

LOTTE announced plans to build a $238.7 million aluminum foil manufacturing facility in Hardin County in 2022. The facility will produce cathode foil, a core material used in EV batteries.

Production Manager Germain Smith spoke during the update and said support from the state and from LOTTE’s Korean headquarters will allow employees to hit the ground running.

“We have been fortunate to have the ability to start investing in our employees from the beginning,” Smith said. “By partnering with the local community college and Kentucky Trains, this opportunity has allowed us to build custom training programs for our employees to participate in.”

Smith said partnerships with Elizabethtown Community and Technical College have also proven beneficial, including training for Korean employees on American culture and for American employees on Korean culture.

Hart County company dinged for environmental violations

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A Hart County company was given probation and a fine for environmental violations.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky says Logsdon Valley Oil Inc., also known as Hart Petroleum, was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $100,000 for violating the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says court documents show that in 2019 Logsdon Valley Oil discharged brine water from oil and gas production into sinkholes without a permit, threatening the quality of groundwater in the area. It was noted that the company was previously convicted of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2013.

A representative from the Environmental Protection Agency said sentencing companies like Logsdon Valley Oil is important in order to demonstrate to companies that the EPA and local law enforcement will take action to protect communities and local water supplies.

Information on the Safe Drinking Water Act can be found on the EPA’s website.

Heartland Homecoming Parade back for 41st year

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A late-summer staple in Elizabethtown will return next weekend.

“The Heartland Homecoming Parade is Saturday, August 24,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “Step off is at 10 a.m. This will be the 41st event for the Heartland Homecoming Parade. We step off on the square and travel north on Dixie Highway, ending at St. John Road.”

The theme for this year’s parade is “Hello Hollywood.”

“We are very excited about that, and some of the floats that you will see will be showing some of the latest and greatest favorite Hollywood stars, so we’re very excited about the entries we have this year,” Pyles said. “We have over 70 entries in the parade this year.”

The entertainment theme fits in well with the selection of this year’s parade Grand Marshal Betty Marsee, the former co-president of Youth Theatre of Hardin County.

“Her name is synonymous with Youth Theatre of Hardin County, and her and her late husband led the board as a team until she retired,” Pyles said. “The impact that they’ve had on our community is immense, and we could not think of someone more fitting to be the grand marshal, especially with the theme of ‘Hello Hollywood.’”

Road closures in the area of the parade began at 7 a.m. on August 24. The parade is set to begin at 10 a.m. Visit the Events page on the City of Elizabethtown website for more information.

Hodgenville man wanted on drug trafficking warrant found after multi-week search

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A man wanted by the Hodgenville Police Department since late July is in custody after a multi-week search.

Conor Creekmore had warrants out for his arrest for Trafficking a Controlled Substance within 1000 Yards of a School. Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson said their investigation found that a work detail out on work release from the LaRue County Detention Center came to be in possession of nicotine products and methamphetamine, and the investigation found that Creekmore had driven the drugs to a drop-off outside the LaRue County Board of Education building.

“We applied for warrants and received an arrest warrant for Trafficking a Controlled Substance within 1,000 Yards of a School, and when we attempted to serve it we were unable to locate him the first time we tried, and then every subsequent attempt after that he fled prior to the officers actually making contact with him,” Richardson said.

The search for Creekmore resulted in additional arrests, including the arrest of Creekmore’s girlfriend Jessica Seabolt.

“We contacted his family and his girlfriend and explained to them again, ‘don’t be helping him or trying to find him,’” Richardson said. “They said they didn’t know anything about anything, and then we come to find out, a few minutes later, we located a phone that had been abandoned by Mr. Creekmore in the woodline and his girlfriend had contacted him with a message that the police were there and coming back into the woods and that he needed to run, and we were unable to locate him again that night, so she was subsequently arrested for Hindering.”

Creekmore was eventually tracked down with assistance from other area law enforcement Wednesday.

“On a tip, the Elizabethtown Police Department located him at an address on South Dixie Avenue Wednesday evening and took him into custody, and he was promptly brought back to LaRue County and lodged in the LaRue County Jail,” Richardson said.

Another suspect that was wanted for questioning in Creekmore’s disappearance, John C. Arnold, was located Thursday.

Kentucky unemployment up slightly as more people join the workforce

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Unemployment in Kentucky saw a slight increase in July.

The Kentucky Center for Statistics says the state unemployment average for July was 4.7 percent. That is an increase from the 4.6 percent rate reported in June as well as from the July 2023 rate which was reported at 4.2 percent.

Kentucky’s unemployment average also came in higher in July than the national unemployment rate, which the U.S. Department of Labor reported at 4.1 percent.

State officials say the increase in the unemployment rate is due to more people entering the labor force in July rather than fewer people working. The Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet says the state’s civilian labor force, which includes people currently employed and people actively searching for work, saw an increase of just under 6,300 people from June into July, bringing the civilian labor force to about 2,054,000.

Employment in the trade, transportation, and utilities sector saw some growth, while the leisure and hospitality sector saw a slight drop. The mining, logging, and transportation sectors were mostly unchanged.

Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics to learn more about labor market information.