WQXE NEWS

You can help support the 1 in 5 children (55,710)  within the Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland service area that are facing food insecurity while enjoying great food from two area eateries as the organization participates in the second annual Pasta Bowl campaign.

“We surveyed our kids that are in some of our programs, and two of the favorite foods that rose to the top were macaroni and ravioli,” said FAKH Marketing and Communications Manager Kaitlyn Jackson. “Both are pastas, and so we decided to have some fun with our campaign and to call it the Pasta Bowl to pit these two teams of kid-friendly choices against each other, to raise funds to feed kids in our service area.”

You can participate in the Pasta Bowl by visiting Impellizzeri’s Pizza or J.R. Neighbors in Downtown Elizabethtown.

“Impellizzeri’s has a wonderful ravioli that they are doing for this summer,” Jackson said. “J.R. Neighbors has a fantastic four-cheese macaroni that they are also having this summer, and by ordering those two dishes, part of the proceeds from those dishes are coming back to support our Feeding Kids campaign.”

Jackson says the data shows additional efforts like the Pasta Bowl are needed throughout the region.

“Last year we had four counties that had childhood food insecurity rates above 20 percent,” Jackson said. “This year we have 36 counties above 20 percent, and so we are seeing a massive surge in food insecurity for children in our region, and so it’s all the more important this year for the Pasta Bowl to do well so that we can feed kids in our region.”

Visit Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland on Facebook or their website for more information.

An officer with the Elizabethtown Police Department is being recognized for her efforts.

“Lieutenant Madison Kuklinski recently graduated from the FBI National Academy,” said EPD Public Information Officer Chris Denham. “This is a renowned training environment for law enforcement leaders from all over the world. We are proud of her and excited to have her back within our ranks.”

Kuklinski graduated from the 290th session of the FBI National Academy, which included officers from 46 states and the District of Columbia and members of law enforcement representing 24 countries, five military organizations, and six federal civilian organizations.

According to the FBI Louisville field office, the academy offers ten weeks of advanced communication, leadership and fitness training, with participating officers having proven records as professionals within their agencies. The academy is held at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, which is where the FBI trains new agents and intelligence analysts.

The FBI says 55,186 graduates have completed the National Academy since its founding in 1935.

Nolin RECC officials recapped the electric co-ops activities and business figures from 2023 during their annual membership meeting Thursday afternoon.

Nolin District 3 Director Rick Thomas said the co-op ended 2023 with 36,814 active accounts.

“If you’ve kept up with that the last few years, that number’s been going up and it’s pretty obvious,” Thomas said. “Part of it, you’ll see new houses and things going up, but right now the biggest surge is in apartments, and you’re probably seeing them go up in a lot of places too, so we expect that to continue. I don’t know where we have a guess on when we’re going to get to 40,000, but we’re getting pretty close to it.”

Operating revenue was reported at about $85.3 million while operating expenses were reported at about $84.8 million. Thomas said the operating margin of about $497,000 is down from years past in part because inflation has increased the cost of materials and impacted supply chains, but the co-op’s staff has worked hard to limit the impact.

“We’re very fortunate that we have the staff that we have that have taken it in their hands to keep an eye on that, trying to keep those costs down, and also there’s an issue with just getting materials now and they’ve had to work through that, so I hope you appreciate their efforts on that,” Thomas said.

Nolin RECC President and CEO Greg Lee said the focus of operations continues to be what is best for the co-op’s members.

“In 2023, we found ourselves in the fortunate position to be able to retire just over $2.7 million in capital credits,” Lee said. “That was the fifth straight year we had been able to make a general retirement and the cumulative total over those five years is now over $20 million.”

The annual meeting can be viewed on Nolin RECC’s YouTube channel. The annual report was included in the items distributed in the buckets members received during meeting registration.