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Icy road conditions result in delays for Hardin County trash collection

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The snow and ice from the weekend winter storms have had many impacts, including on trash collection in Hardin County.

Hardin County Government Communications Officer Brian Walker says there were two different incidents involving trash trucks Wednesday.

“One of them slipped off of a pretty steep roadway into a ditch on a county road in an unincorporated area and had to be towed out,” Walker said. “Another situation, it was two different trash companies, one of them being UDP that just bought Platform Waste and services county government roads, and it crashed into another truck. No injuries in any of these instances, but the road to the landfill is just pretty treacherous.”

Due to the incident and conditions, UDP was unable to complete any further trash collection for unincorporated Hardin County Wednesday, and the company will evaluate conditions ahead of further collections.

“If you normally get your trash serviced in unincorporated Hardin County and your trash was not picked up Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, it will not be serviced this week,” Walker said. “If we miss any other days this week, if that happens, we will not service that until next week.”

Due to the severity of the ice event, a one-time exception is being made for county trash customers impacted by the delays.

“Next week, if your bagged trash is outside of the can, it will be picked up,” Walker said. “Please note, it must be bagged, and we will pick that up one time only, next week.”

Walker says the county is not responsible for service disruptions caused by inclement weather, with those decisions made to protect residents, sanitation crews, and equipment.

Reminder for pet owners: ‘If you’re cold, they’re cold’

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Cold temperatures can quickly turn dangerous for area residents, but Hardin County Animal Care and Control Director Mike McNutt wants to make sure people remember the same is true for four-legged friends.

“During these code spells that we’re having where our wind chills are minus 10, minus 20, whatever they may be, please bring your animals in,” McNutt said. “If you’re cold, they’re cold. With the exception of a few breeds like your huskies, malamutes, dogs that work out in the code, that’s a little bit different, but for the most part, your everyday dogs need to be inside somehow, some way.”

McNutt says the best option is inside the home with you, but if that’s not feasible, find a way to get them into a garage, shed, or other permanent structure.

“A lot of times, I’ll give a warning,” McNutt said. “This is me officially telling you: bring your animals in. Figure out a way to get your animals out of this inclement weather.”

Normal measures taken to keep outdoor pets warm do not work when conditions get this cold.

“In this weather, straw inside of a dog house is not enough,” McNutt said. “They need more. Heated dog houses maybe, but if at all possible, bring them in with you, just for the time being, until the temperature rises a little bit.”

The American Veterinary Medical Association also reminds residents to try to remember to have their car make noise before starting the engine or pulling away in case feral cats have taken shelter underneath it.

Deadline to apply for Nolin RECC Washington trip February 2

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The deadline for students to apply for the Nolin RECC and Kentucky Electric Cooperatives 2026 Washington Youth Tour.

According to the co-op, five high school juniors whose parents or guardians receive electric service from Nolin RECC will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. From June 15 through 20, participating students will tour sites such as the Smithsonian Institution, Arlington National Cemetery, and the U.S. Capitol. Students will also visit with Kentucky’s congressional delegation.

Nolin RECC Communications Manager Sarah Fellows says the co-op is proud to have provided generations of local students with the opportunity to learn more about their government.

“We’re excited to offer this opportunity to local students and feel this is one way we can support future leaders within our own community,” Fellows said.

The deadline to apply is February 2. Find the application and more information at www.nolinrecc.com.

LTADD seeking public input on housing study

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The Lincoln Trail Area Development District is seeking community input on their comprehensive study of affordable housing and homelessness in the region.

“As we’ve heard throughout the community now for several years, we have a lot of market-based housing, but we don’t really know where we stand as far as affordable, workforce, and transitional housing, aka homelessness,” said LTADD Executive Director Daniel London.

The study is designed to give LTADD quantifiable data to show if the district is over-built in market-based housing and under-built in affordable housing.

London says community input is critical to the study.

“It gives us feedback on what the cost of housing is, and how that is impacting you, because all of this nests together in terms of what varieties and buckets of housing we need within the community to make sure that everyone has appropriate housing, because that ensures that we prevent a cracked socio-economic situation here in the community that we have to guard against,” London said.

Participation in the survey, which should take 10 to 15 minutes to complete, is voluntary. Responses are confidential and no personal identifying information will be collected.

The deadline to submit responses is February 16. A link to the survey can be found on the LTADD website and Facebook page.

Frost quakes are harmless, but startling, products of winter weather

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As the area continues to see freezing temperatures, you might occasionally hear a loud boom outside.

“We’ve had reports from across south-central Kentucky, especially, of these loud booms that folks have heard, and those are frost quakes, or cryoseism,” said Meteorologist Evan Webb with the National Weather Service in Louisville. 

The weekend winter storm brought high amounts of precipitation that saturated the ground quickly.

“That freezing rain saturated the ground with soils somewhat above freezing still, but then all that moisture in the soil was able to freeze and expand,” Webb said. “Of course, water expands when it freezes into ice, and it expands and cracks, and so that’s that sound that you’re hearing is the freezing of all that moisture in the soil.”

While startling, frost quakes are no cause for alarm,

“They’re generally harmless,” Webb said. “Really, the bigger safety concern is just from the cold itself.”

While the NWS has lifted advisories related to the temperature, very cold temperatures are expected for the rest of the week.