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Hardin County PAC taps Taylor as new director

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Aaron Taylor came on board as the Hardin County Schools Performing Arts Center’s technical director in 2005, but he will be moving into a different office soon as HCS has announced Taylor as the PAC’s new director.

Taylor said getting selected was “extremely humbling.”

“I’ve been here for 20 years, and I knew from the second that I walked in here, before I even worked here when I used to come here with the Blue Apple Players on their tour, I knew this was a place I wanted to spend my life,” Taylor said. “I absolutely love this theater. I love what we do. I love what is possible here, what we can do in the future, and I can’t wait to tap into that.”

Taylor steps into the role as Bart Lovins, the PAC’s director since 2001, retires at the end of the month. Taylor says it is special to follow the person who hired him on.

“I am extremely indebted and grateful to Bart,” Taylor said. “One, for that opportunity, and to be lucky enough to work beside him for 20 years has been unbelievable, and to just try and soak up a little bit of his energy and work ethic. We say around here, ‘if you play the game of trying to keep up with Bart, you’re going to lose.’”

Taylor says he is looking forward to making sure everybody knows about the PAC.

“I feel I owe it to this theatre to make sure that people understand how beautiful and important she is, and to make sure that we create all kinds of arts opportunities for especially our kids and everyone through our community,” Taylor said.

The PAC will present The Nutcracker December 19, 20, and 21. Visit www.thepac.net for ticket information.

North Hardin Team wins $10,000 prize at Altec Innovation Challenge

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Fifteen teams from area schools put their creativity and critical thinking to the test Thursday during the sixth annual Altec Innovation Challenge, held at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.

According to Altec, participants in the challenge are tasked with “developing innovative solutions to real-world problems that positively impact their communities.”

“The idea for the Innovation Challenge was really to just continue to spur the idea around technology and STEM in our younger generations,” said Altec Elizabethtown General Manager Daniel Flory. “We’ve been in our communities for a long time. We’ve been in E-Town since 1997. We want to continue to invest in our communities so that we can have a great place to work for our families and see our communities grow.”

North Hardin High School’s team which consisted of students Michael Logan, Josiah Smith, Gabriel Roche-Melendez, Ryan Johnson, and Amber Kirksey claimed first place for their project titled “Under 10 Seconds”. With their teacher Clyde Grant, the team “designed a mechanical device that secures a classroom door in less than 10 seconds, and remains dependable even during high stress, power failures, or situations where technology may not respond as expected.”

“When we had lockdowns last year at North Hardin High School, that was a real life scenario, and the students that were in Mr. Grant’s classroom, they used this device and they said ‘can I go back to working? I feel secure, I feel safe,’” said North Hardin student Michael Logan. “So you take that and you multiply that throughout the district, and now every student in our school has that security to know they are protected in the worst-case scenario.”

The winning team received $10,000 to implement their project in the spring of 2026. Educators interested in learning more may email etowninnovationchallenge@altec.com.

Nominations open for Kentucky Governor’s Service Awards

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The Kentucky Governor’s Office is recognizing the contributions of community volunteers across the commonwealth. 

Nominations are now being accepted for the Governor’s Service Awards, which honor Kentuckians whose dedicated service is improving the lives of others. Now in its 30th year, a special ceremony is held to publicly honor the recipients and others who have served their communities “through volunteering and service without expectation of reward or commendation.”

According to the governor’s office, nominators should provide detailed examples of service activities, impact, leadership, and community outcomes. The nominations will be reviewed by a statewide panel, with selected honorees recognized at a ceremony in Frankfort in April.

The governor’s office says nominations may highlight service in areas such as education, public health, food security, disaster response, social supports, community revitalization, nonprofit leadership, and more. Previous honorees have been individuals, youth, AmeriCorps members, nonprofits, veterans, and faith-based organizations.

Nominations are due by January 6. More information on the awards and volunteer efforts in the commonwealth, along with the required nomination form, can be found at serve.ky.gov.

Delayed September employment report shows small decrease in Kentucky unemployment

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After a delay due to the government shutdown, the Kentucky Center for Statistics has released the state’s September employment report.

The center says the state unemployment average for September was 4.7 percent. That is unchanged from the month of August, and is down .6 percent from the September 2024 average of 5.3 percent.

Kentucky’s unemployment average for September came in higher than the national unemployment rate, which the U.S. Department of Labor reported at 4.4 percent.

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 a decrease of 20 people from August to September, bringing the total civilian labor force to 2,114,917 people.

The Education and Labor Cabinet says the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, Educational and Health Services, Government, Other Services, Professional and Business Services, and Construction sectors saw increases from August to September. Numbers in the Mining and Logging Sector were unchanged, while decreases were seen in the Manufacturing, Information Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Financial Activities sectors.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will not publish an October unemployment report. Visit the Kentucky Center for Statistics website for more about unemployment figures and labor market information.

HCS launches transportation app for parents and guardians

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Parents and guardians of Hardin County Schools middle and high school students have a new tool at their disposal.

HCS on Thursday launched the Stopfinder app, which allows users to accurately track their child’s school bus in real time. The district got the app up and running for preschool parents at the beginning of the school year and has now expanded it to other schools.

“We are grateful to offer this service,” said HCS Community Relations Specialist John Wright. “Parents can see their child’s bus location in real time, so this tool helps our student transportation team become even more efficient and responsive because Stopfinder will answer the question,’ where is my child’s bus?’.”

The app is free and allows users to customize when they receive alerts about their child’s bus location. The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play, but it requires an invite and registration through the district before users can access the transportation schedule. The district’s transportation department sent emails regarding the app to parents and guardians Thursday morning.