Tuesday 09th of March 2010 03:09:46 PM
| News |
| HARDINSBURG CITY COUNCIL MEETS 03/08/2010 The Hardinsburg City Council voted unanimously to pass a curfew ordinance on second reading at Monday night’s regular council meeting. The curfew states that juveniles under 15 years old cannot be in a public place after 11PM, and juveniles between 15 and 17 cannot be in a public place between 1am and 6am on weekends, and between 11pm and 6am on weekdays. Exceptions are granted if the juvenile is working, or attending a school or church event, or in an emergency situation, or accompanied by a guardian. Violators will be subject to a fine from $50 to $500. In other business, the council heard a status report on waterline extension and sewer improvement projects from Bob Taylor of Kentucky Engineering Group. Taylor said all the waterlines have been installed in the Stephensport area project. He said the contractor is in the process of installing the pump station on Highway 144 and cleanup operations have begun. The council approved two change orders—one that added $21,500 in engineering expenses, and one that added just over $4000 for a larger size back-up generator at the pumping station. The revised construction budget for the total project stands at $2.42 million. 202 new customers have signed on for water service. Taylor said the design work on the Highways 261 and 1385 and Freedom Church Road extensions has been completed and submitted to the Kentucky Department of Water for approval. The $600,000 project is being paid for with contingency funds from the Stephensport project. Taylor told the council the US60/Webb Road project is 94% complete with cleanup progressing. 77 new customers have signed on. A change order of $28,700 was approved by the council for the installation of a secondary connection with the City of Cloverport water system. Cost estimate for the total project is now $1.43 million. Taylor also told council members the McQuady Phase III/KY 259 project design has been submitted to the state for approval. The $5.5 million project covers over 64 miles of water main, a pumping station, and a 250,000 gallon storage tank that will be located in Balltown. Of a potential 800 new customers, the project needs 360 sign-ups before it can be let for bids. The City will send letters to potential customers and a series of public meetings for sign-ups will be announced soon. The first phase of the sanitary sewer rehabilitation project will be submitted to the state for approval in April. It will begin with cleaning and remote television inspection of the system at a cost of about $150,000. The City has been approved for a $550,000 state grant for rehabilitation after the cleaning and inspection of the 60-year old system. In other business, the council announced a heavy trash pick-up will be run on April 28th. City residents can pay a $30 fee, in advance, to have a pick-up truck load of large trash items collected. There are some restrictions on what will be accepted. The list of restricted items is available at city hall. In his departmental report, Police Chief Mike Robinson told the council police are now issuing citations for failure to display a proper city vehicle sticker, and enforcement of the ordinance will intensify. About 1800 city stickers have been sold to date. Fire Chief Jerry Martin told the council an ISO fire inspection has been completed—the first since 2000. Chief Martin said results should be returned in May and he’s hopeful the city's rating will improve enough to lower property owner insurance rates. Violia Water Project Manager David Wakefield, in his report to the council, said crews have been locating and repairing leaks throughout the Hardinsburg water system. He said about a half dozen leaks have been found, and one major leak—175 gallons per minute—on Main Street between 4th and 5th streets, has been repaired. |
| BRECK FISCAL COURT MEETS 03/08/2010 At Monday’s meeting of Breckinridge Fiscal Court several county residents addressed magistrates with their complaints about roads in the county. Catherine Barnes, of Cloverport, inquired as to how many roads are currently on the county’s list for consideration of becoming an official county road. She also wanted to know the last time the court actually accepted a road into the system. Barns was told by Judge-Executive Ray Powers that there are numerous roads on the county’s list and that it’s “been a while” since a road was incorporated into the county system. The Judge mentioned that the road viewing committee is still one member short, and even with a full viewing committee, it’s a lengthy process. Barns suggested that the county place a moratorium on accepting new roads and repair the roads that need it, first. Judge Powers and several Magistrates said there’s no moratorium needed since it already takes so long to add a road to the system. Barnes also voiced her dissatisfaction with Magistrates Gedling, Hay, Moore, and O’Donoghue, who voted, in 2007, to reduce the insurance premium tax and in so doing, reduce the amount of money the county has to spend on road repair. Another county resident, Ricky Hawkins, of the Holt’s Bottom area, voiced his complaint that the insurance premium tax hasn’t been completely removed. He told the court he’s “tired of paying for private driveways,” referring to county roads that have only one or two homes on them. Judge Powers told Hawkins the private roads he referred to were brought into the county system “years ago” and that doesn’t happen any more. And, he said, it’s nearly impossible to remove a road from the system once it has been accepted. Hawkins also voiced his displeasure at the size of cost of living increases that have been granted to county employees annually. Judge Powers said the amounts of COL increases were recommended by the state. Another county resident, Tommy Patton, of Cook Ridge Road, asked the court to lower the speed limit on his road. Patton said the 55 mph limit is unsafe. Judge Powers said the request would be placed on the court’s agenda at a future meeting and magistrates will consider the request. Patty Dunaway, of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, presented the court with the recommended list of state roads in Breckinridge County that would receive maintenance in fiscal 2010-2011. 2.8 miles of Highway 992, 5.1 miles of Highway 1740, and 1.5 miles of Highway 2781 are targeted for asphalt resurfacing. The Transportation Cabinet estimates about 1.4 million dollars will be expended for the road work. In other business before the court, magistrates voted to accept excess fees from County Clerk Jill Irwin in the amount of $105,000 and almost $5500 from County Sheriff Todd Pate. The sheriff’s excess fees will be returned to his department’s budget. The court also voted to declare a Sheriff’s Department vehicle as surplus property. The 1994 Ford Crown Vic will be sold to the highest bidder. The court also voted to grant a drain easement, at three different locations, on Sewsbury Lane, for field drainage. Preliminary drawings and renderings for the proposed Breckinridge County Senior Center were presented to the court by Jill Smith, of Brandstetter-Carrol Inc., the designers of the center. Smith presented two different proposals for the court to study. The county has received a state grant to cover the costs of the $200,000 center that, probably, will be built on county property on Fairgrounds Road. The court also met in executive session to discuss an employee grievance, but took no action. |
| 3-CAR CRASH IN HARDINSBURG 03/06/2010 Two people were taken to the hospital following a three-vehicle accident in Hardinsburg on Saturday. Officer Justin Magness told WXBC news 16-year old Megan Schneider, of Tell City, was driving a 1996 Mercury west on the US60 Bypass, preparing to turn onto Old US60. 44-year old Lynn Sweatt, of McQuady, driving a 2008 Nissan, was headed east on the Bypass and turned on to Old US60, into the path of Schneider’s car, causing a collision. Sweatt’s car then spun into a 2004 Toyota, driven by 58-year old John Newton of Cannelton that was turning onto the Bypass from Old US60. Schneider, who suffered a neck injury, and a 5-year old girl who was riding in Sweatt’s car, who suffered a head injury, were both taken to Breckinridge Memorial by Breck Central Ambulance Service. Officer Magness said Hardinsburg Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene of the mishap around 2:30PM. Traffic around the accident was diverted for about 30 minutes. |
| FIRES EVERYWHERE ON SATURDAY 03/06/2010 Nearly every fire department in Breckinridge County was called to extinguish several different fires on Saturday. McDaniels and Harned firefighters were called to a field fire on Lake Forrest Lane, off Roff-McCoy Road just after 1PM. What started as a trash fire spread to about 3 acres before it was brought under control. Webster, Irvington, and Custer volunteers were called to Harley Morgan Lane, off Dents Bridge Road, around 3:30 where a tractor caught fire inside a barn. The barn was fully involved by the time the first firefighters arrived. Fire personnel were on the scene until around 7:30, then, Webster firefighters were called back to the scene around 10:15PM to extinguish some hot spots that rekindled. Around 3:40, Saturday afternoon, McQuady volunteers were called to another field fire—this one on W.R. Owen Road, off Highway 108 and Jim Bob Mattingly Road. 15 acres were burning when firefighters arrived and McDaniels, Harned, Hardinsburg, Falls of Rough, and Kentucky Forestry personnel were also called out when the fire spread to about 40 acres. Firefighters remained on the scene until about 9PM. Hardinsburg, Stephensport, and Cloverport were paged out around 4:30 to a fire reported on New Bethel Road, off Highway 261 North. That fire was quickly extinguished, and the calls to Stephensport and Cloverport were canceled. |
| SCAM ALERT 03/04/2010 Breckinridge County Deputy Sheriff Virgil Phillips says to look out for another scam…this one will come to you through the mail. You may receive a letter that says you’ve won the “super Seven Contest,” and the letter is to notify you of your “unclaimed winnings” of $250,000 in one lump sum. Most likely, the letter will be from a company in Canada. With the letter is what appears to be a valid check in the amount of $4885 which was “deducted from your winnings.” The money is to pay the applicable “government taxes” on your winnings. The letter instructs you to tell no one about winning and to call a phone number where you will receive further instructions. You will be told to cash the check and send nearly $3000 by Moneygram or Western Union to an address in Canada. Something for nothing? Not quite. You’ll be out the $4885 when the check bounces, and you’ll be out the $3000 that you sent to Canada. Deputy Phillips says, again, if it sounds too good to be true---it probably is. Never send money to anyone that you don’t know—and never give out your personal information—social security number, bank account information, or your address—to anyone that calls you. You should also be aware of possible bogus schemes to get you to donate money to the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti and Chile. Only give money to an organization that is legitimate—like the Red Cross. |
