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Bullitt County man arrested after online child sexual exploitation investigation

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An online law enforcement operation has landed a Bullitt County man in jail.

23-year-old Blake Nathaniel Hoots of Mount Washington was charged with seven counts of Distribution of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor Under 12 Years Old, a Class C felony, following his arrest Tuesday.

According to the Kentucky State Police, Hoots was arrested as the result of an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation. The KSP says the KSP’s Electronic Crime Branch began investigating after the suspect was found to have shared images of child sexual exploitation.

On June 18, officers with the KSP interviewed Hoots. Equipment used to allegedly facilitate the crime was seized and taken to a KSP forensic laboratory for examination. Hoots was lodged in the Bullitt County Detention Center. The investigation is ongoing.

The Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force consists of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies that assist state and local law enforcement in developing a response to cyber enticement and child sexual abuse material investigations. More than 26 agencies across the commonwealth contribute to the task force.

Open houses every Tuesday in July at ECTC

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If you are attending, or are thinking about attending, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, you can take a look at campus ahead of the school year. 

New and prospective ECTC students are invited to attend Open House Days, which will be held from 12 to 6 p.m. each Tuesday in July.

ECTC says attendees will have the chance to learn about the college’s student support programs, talk to college staff about educational and career pathways, get information on financial aid opportunities and help completing the FAFSA, and complete admissions files and order transcripts.

No registration is required. Guests should start their visit at the Welcome and Admissions Center located in the Regional Postsecondary Center. For more information on open houses or other tours, contact the recruitment office via email at ectcrecruitment@kctcs.edu.

The first day of the fall semester is August 19. Visit the ECTC website for more information.

Ethics commission finds Meade County jailer in violation of ethics ordinance, but issues no fine

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The Meade County Ethics Commission reviewed an ethics complaint filed against Meade County Jailer J.J. Scarborough during a hearing Tuesday night.

Attorney Peter Hill served as legal advisor to the ethics commission during the hearing. He said the complaint alleged three violations of the standards of conduct section of the county’s ethics ordinance.

“The sum, kind of the essence of the complaint, was that there was a conflict of interest by the current jailer, J.J. Scarborough, because of a relationship he had with an employee within the jail, and that led to unwarranted advantages and other things that would violate the ethics ordinance,” Hill said.

Scarborough and the complainant were each represented by legal counsel at the hearing, with both sides submitting evidence and calling witnesses. Hill said after deliberating the ethics commission sustained the complaint on one ground.

“The commission found that there was sufficient evidence that the respondent, the Meade County Jailer, had a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence of judgment,” Hill said.

Hill said the violation is of the reasonable man standard, meaning that there was no finding of an actual conflict of interest or actual seeking of an unwarranted advantage or privilege, but it would look to an outside observer that the actions would impair somebody’s objectivity.

Hill said the ethics commission has the authority to issue a monetary fine, and while Hill said he could not speak to the commission’s reasons they ultimately decided not to issue one.

“In looking at all the circumstances and the relative lack of evidence that in fact this relationship led to something bad for the county, no allegation that the county lost money, and plenty of evidence actually that the county jail is being fairly well run, especially its medical department is being fairly well run, the ethics commission (again, without reading their minds) may well have considered that evidence and concluded, ‘We’ve made a finding of a violation here. We’re not going to assess a civil penalty,’” Hill said.

Kentucky law says the Meade County Circuit Court has the authority to review the complaint. Scarborough was elected Meade County Jailer in 2014.

Meade County Water District asking customers to limit water use

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The Meade County Water District sent out a request to customers to help conserve water this week as increased demand due to the hot and dry weather has put increased stress on the district’s distribution system.

“We have a maximum pumping capacity of about 1.3 million gallons per day, and our demand is at about 1.3 million gallons per day, so we’re kind of teetering a little bit there,” said Meade County Water Conservation District General Manager Brett Pyles. 

Pyles said the water district’s goal is to increase capacity to 4 million gallons, but it will involve significant work and time.

“We have several projects in the queue to correct this issue, because I’ve been there a little over two years and this has been an issue since I got there, so we started planning right then but as with most large construction projects like ours, nothing’s quick, nothing’s easy,” Pyles said. “We have to jump through regulatory hoops. We have to secure funding. We have to do all kinds of things.”

Pyles thanked Hardin County Water District No. One for providing support, and thanked the water district’s customers. He says their efforts are already evident.

“Our tanks are in much better shape,” Pyles said. “We’re able to keep up. Just don’t use water to water the lawn or let the kids play in the backyard or what have you. If they can do that and just keep it to what they need water for to live, we’ll be in great shape.”

The water district hopes to have the first of its upcoming improvement projects, a new upsized transmission line from the Flaherty water tank to the Garrett water tank, out for bid by the end of July.

Follow the Meade County Water District Facebook page for more information.

KY 480 closed Thursday and Friday in Bullitt county

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The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is alerting motorists to a road closing in Bullitt County. 

Kentucky Route 480 or Cedar Grove Road will be closed from near County Road 1634 to near Woodsdale Road. The road will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday as crews work to replace cross drains along the route.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District Three says following the cross drain replacement, crews will place a dense-grade rock layer over the drains until asphalt can be laid. Drivers should use caution when driving over the cross drains.

Meanwhile, KYTC District Four says work has been completed on the westbound lanes of Kentucky Route 218 in downtown Horse Cave, but now the eastbound lanes are closed and eastbound traffic must detour as the work shifts.

Motorists should follow all detours around affected areas and use caution when approaching work zones. Follow KYTC District Three and Four social media for project updates.