WQXE NEWS

National Pollinator Week runs now through June 23, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is doing their part to assist critters and help the environment. 

The KYTC says since 2015 crews have seeded more than 100 habitat sites across the commonwealth, covering about 200 acres along Kentucky interstates, parkways, and other state-owned rights of way.

The multi-year effort to plant nectar-rich flowers and native plants supports pollinators that are key to crop production. The habitats attract birds, bees, butterflies, and other creatures that drink nectar or feed off pollen, which transports grains from plant to plant and helps maintain a stable food supply.

Pollinator sites can be seen along many roadside areas including fields between interstate lanes and exit ramps, alongside multi-lane parkways, and around four-lane highways. Additional pollinator habitats have been added to construction of Interstate 69, and monarch butterfly waystations have been installed at welcome centers and rest areas.

Hardin County has several pollinator habitats located along Interstate 65 and the Western Kentucky Parkway. An interactive map of all locations in the state and more information on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s ecology program can be found on the KYTC’s website.

Hardin County Animal Care and Control Director Mike McNutt says the Hardin County Animal Shelter is in desperate need of adopters as the shelter continues to deal with capacity issues.

“If you’re ready to make a commitment to an animal, please come see us,” McNutt said. “We have zero space on the adoption floor. Animals are coming in at an alarming rate, and it’s this way across the nation.”

McNutt says the Hardin County pet community is a strong one, and he is looking for people potentially looking to join that community.

“It is filled with wonderful people,” McNutt said. “It’s filled with wonderful veterinarians. There are some wonderful vets here that work with people every day, and we can’t do what we do without the vets doing what they do in the community, so if you have room in your home, you have room in your heart, please come out and give us a hand.”

McNutt says while the situation is dire, only people that are ready to make the long-term commitment necessary for raising an animal should apply.

“I don’t want somebody coming in and taking a dog home for the weekend and then bringing it back,” McNutt said. “That does not help us. That does not help any shelter. There is no such thing as a perfect animal. When you take it home, you have to help that animal become acclimated to your home, and that can take six months to 18 months.”

The Hardin County Animal Shelter is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at 220 Peterson Drive in Elizabethtown. Contact the shelter or visit their Facebook page for more information.

The City of Radcliff will celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery, with an event this Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at North Hardin High School.

“We’re celebrating the ability to go in and do things that we never got to do before, and we want our children and our families and others to remember where we came from in order to be able to go into the future and do some great and amazing things and not take it for granted,” said Radcliff City Council Member Michelle Mitchell. 

The event will feature food trucks, live music, vendors, speakers, resources, a kid zone, and giveaways.

Event organizer Kevin Russell says the theme of this year’s event is “Past, Present, and Future,” and three individuals (Carl Brashear, Mary Gathers, and Jathan Brydie) will be honored for their contributions to the community.

The featured speaker is Earle, Arkansas, Mayor Jaylen Smith, the youngest African-American mayor in the United States.

“He’s going to come to talk to us about community involvement and how we all can make our community grow; how we all, everybody, can be a part of the community,” Russell said. “You may think that ‘my little piece is not significant,’ but everybody’s piece is significant to make your community grow.”

The Radcliff Juneteenth celebration is free and open to the public.