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Health officials remind residents to stay up to date on vaccinations a respiratory virus season arrives

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The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services says respiratory illness activity is currently very low in the commonwealth, with activity for COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and RSV all seeing decreases.

As respiratory virus season typically ramps up in October, the Kentucky Department for Public Health reminds residents to stay home if sick, wash your hands often, cover coughs and sneezes, and stay up to date on vaccinations.

The Lincoln Trail District Health Department has about 15 vaccinations available through their adult vaccination program, including the main culprits of respiratory virus season.

“Flu, COVID, pneumonia, RSV, but even things like shingles, which some folks have a hard time finding that vaccine,” said LTDHD Public Relations Officer Melissa Phillips. “Tdap, which has that whooping cough in it, that pertussis, if you’re around babies this time of year.”

Appointments to the health department can be made by phone call only.

“We want you to talk to an adult, especially our senior adults that sometimes have a hard time making those appointments online, and maybe you need more than one service, so we want you to talk to a live person, so you’ll just call the health department in the county that you’re closest to,” Phillips said. “You don’t have to live in that county to receive services from us, but we do cover Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington.”

Contact the health department or your doctor for more information on vaccinations.

Law enforcement hosting free child car seat inspection event Thursday

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If you have questions regarding your child’s car seat, the Elizabethtown Police Department has answers.

“The Elizabethtown Police Department is hosting a child seat inspection event where nationally-certified technicians will be on hand to help you install your child’s car seat or booster seat the right way, and find out if it’s time for a change,” said EPD Public Information Officer John Thomas.

The inspection event will be held Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Pritchard Community Center.

“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as many as half of all child safety seats are installed incorrectly,” Thomas said. “This is a free event. No appointment is necessary, so take this opportunity to protect what matters most. Make sure your child rides safe.”

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office will also be on hand for the event as some of their deputies work towards their car seat technician certification. Check the EPD and sheriff’s office Facebook pages for more information.

New app available to help Kentucky deer and elk hunters

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Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has a new resource for the state’s deer and elk hunters.

The KFW, in collaboration with the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation, has launched the new KY Deer & Elk app. The KFW says this mobile tool “provides real-time hunting tools, planning support, and essential field information to enhance hunting experiences both in the field and during preparation at home.”

Among the app’s features are interactive maps, which provide hunters with detailed public property lines. The maps will be available even when cell service is unavailable. App users will also be able to build and save custom hunt plans that are tailored to specific counties.

The app provides a consolidated resource for information on local services including chronic wasting disease testing sites, processors, and taxidermists. Information on hunting licenses and telecheck information will also be available to reduce administrative hassles when hunters are in the field.

The KY Deer & Elk app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play store. More information is available at fw.ky.gov.

Rineyville senior’s Battle of Midway essay wins national contest

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High school senior Karsten Ingalls of Rineyville says at the end of last school year his homeschool group came upon the American Battle Monuments Foundation’s Past is Prologue Essay Contest.

“It was a World War II essay either about the Battle of Midway or the attack on Pearl Harbor,” Ingalls said. “It was around 1800 words, I believe, and I looked into entering it and it worked out, so I entered for the Battle of Midway.”

The ABMF, which is a “non-profit that supports the federal agency responsible for all 26 American military cemeteries and 31 monuments overseas”, says more than 800 students submitted for the contest, so when he got the phone call telling him he had won the 16 to 18 year-old age group and the $10,000 prize that comes with it, Ingalls says it was a good day.

“When I first heard about the essay, it was $10,000, and I was kind of like ‘ooh, that’s a crazy amount of money,’” Ingalls said. “So I was like ‘I can’t be expecting anything. I’ll just submit it. It’s just school, so I’ll submit it and then forget about it because I don’t want to get my expectations up.’ So I did, and about two and a half months later, they called me up and caught me completely off guard, and it was just a really, really fun surprise.”

Ingalls has previously received recognition for his writing. Hardin County Clerk Brian D. Smith in April named Ingalls a Hardin County Election Ambassador after he won the Kentucky Secretary of State’s Statewide Essay Contest for the third time.

Ingalls says history and government are important topics, and writing on and researching the Battle of Midway gave him a deeper appreciation for what is considered a turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

“The torpedo squadrons, there were about three torpedo squadrons who were almost completely destroyed, and because of their sacrifices, we won that battle, and because of that battle, we won the war, and it was just really cool, just researching that and learning about it, and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had in writing an essay,” Ingalls said.

Ingalls says he hopes to study political economy in college and hopefully go onto law school.

You can find Ingalls’s essay, along with more information on the American Battle Monuments Foundation, by visiting www.abmf.org.

Catch spooky movies and search for pumpkins in E-Town

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The Historic State Theater will kick off their annual Spooky Season movie series this Friday.

“We kick off this Friday with Frankenweenie at 7 p.m., and then Saturday we have Haunted Mansion,” said City of Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “The following weekend, on the 17th we’ll have Monster House and Saturday, October 18th is the beloved The Ghost and Mr. Chicken which is probably our most popular movie that we show here at The State Theater every year. The last weekend, Friday, October 24th we’ll have Little Shop of Horrors and then Saturday, October 25th we’ll have Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

Tickets are $3 for each movie and are available at www.thestate270.org.

Meanwhile, today is the first day of the City of Elizabethtown’s Pumpkins in the Park scavenger hunt at Freeman Lake Park.

“Folks can stop by the park office and pick up the clue sheet and walk through the park,” Pyles said. “It is a self-guided tour and hunt for our pumpkins. There are 10 pumpkins that are strategically placed throughout the park. I won’t say they’re hidden, but they’re really cute. You will notice them right away.”

Once you complete your pumpkin guide, return it to the park office for a goody bag and to be entered in a drawing for a Freeman Lake Park fall fun basket. Find more information and a printable guide at www.etownevents.com.