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 Darren Doyle, story: Edmonson County's positive cases for COVID-19 increased again today as Genesis Health, Edmonson Center reported 30 total cases from residents and three total cases from staff members Monday, May 11, 2020. While numbers for residents stayed the same as last reported, the number of staff cases increased by two. The facility also reported two more deaths from residents as a result of COVID-19. "To date, Edmonson Center has had 30 residents and 3 staff members test positive for COVID-19," the center said in a statement to the Edmonson Voice. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by COVID-19, especially the families of the eight residents that passed away. All residents in the building have been tested for COVID-19 at least twice and the staff have all been tested once." The Barren River District Health Department reported a total of 45 positive cases in Edmonson County, with 8 total deaths (all from Edmonson Center) and 10 recoveries. That brings the district totals up to 925 cases with 285 recoveries and 20 deaths from COVID-19. Statewide, KY currently has had 6,677 confirmed positive cases, 311 deaths, and 2,335 recoveries from COVID-19. Governor Andy Beshear has outlined the reopening of businesses and gatherings, according to the following schedule:
On Friday, May 8th, a federal judge overruled all the Governor's restrictions of houses of worship with regards to a mass gathering. The judge's ruling removed houses of worship from the Governor's mass gathering orders. While most local churches are still refraining from standard services, the ruling now allows any house to worship to proceed with in-person services effective immediately, as long as they follow the CDC guidelines for social distancing and hygiene. On Saturday, May 9th Governor Beshear released new guidelines for the the reopening of churches for in-person services and they are attached to an executive order. *5/12/20: This article was edited to reflect a clearer explanation of the recent court ruling as well as the requirements for churches to follow when proceeding with in-person services. 
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Tourism Commission Behind On More Than $20K In Bill To County  Darren Doyle, story: Edmonson County Fiscal Court met by video and audio conference for the third consecutive meeting on Monday, May 11, 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. A short list was discussed on the agenda with the most discussion aimed at $22,000 unpaid bill owed by the Edmonson County Tourism Commission to the fiscal court. An agenda item stated, "Approve to hold previously approved payment of $3,645.28 and future payments until $22,000 is paid in full by Tourism Board as recommended by the County Attorney." The amount of $3,645.28 has been collected by the county in room taxes. Judge Executive Wil Cannon explained the current situation with further guidance from County Treasurer Tammi Willhite. Cannon said local room and rec taxes are collected by the Judge Executive's office with all room taxes being turned over to the tourism commission. All in-county businesses that provide lodging are required to pay this quarterly tax. The tourism commission is directed by Rhonda Clemmons, under the authority of the tourism commission board, with Shaska Hines currently serving as president. Clemmons is a full time county employee with salary and benefits but the tourism board pays the county $8,000 per quarter for their portion of her salary. The Edmonson County Planning Commission also contributes to Clemmons' salary and benefits package for her role as secretary there. Judge Cannon said that the Tourism Commission did not pay their second quarter fees, which was discovered at the end of the third quarter. Cannon said when the commission was asked about the past due payments they told him they didn't have any money due to the coronavirus pandemic; however, Cannon also said over that time period, the county turned over more than $50,000 in room taxes over to them, much of which was prior to the pandemic. This raised the question of why the commission would track the room taxes from local businesses, the taxes were then collected by the county, the money then turned over to the commission from the county, then the commission making a payment back to the county for their portion of Clemmons' salary. Treasurer Willhite said that in the beginning of the room taxes, the Judge Executive's office handled all of it but over time, the Tourism Commission was brought in to handle a portion of it. "I'm not placing blame on any certain person or throwing anyone under the bus, but simply put, there are problems and discrepancies and I think it would be simpler in the future in the Judge Executive's office goes back to handling it all again," she said. Magistrate Mark Meeks asked if the county could request a full financial report from the commission in the same manner it does for county fire departments, to which the judge said yes. The county collects fire dues through property taxes and turns those over to fire departments. Sheriff Shane Doyle asked why his office didn't collect those taxes, because tax collection is part of the sheriff's job, and Cannon said he did not know. Judge Cannon also noted that Clemmons was laid off immediately when it was discovered that Tourism couldn't pay their bill. He also said the county provides office space for Clemmons at no cost to Tourism, Planning Commission, or the Chamber of Commerce; three organizations for which Clemmons works. For the county, Clemmons' duties are to track and invoice local businesses for room taxes. Treasurer Willhite said once businesses open up, the county will be able to recover the funds quickly and discussed Mammoth Cave Lodge as an example, who she said normally pays between $11K and $18K in a quarter for room taxes. We contacted Rhonda Clemmons after the meeting and asked her for her comments about the situation. "The entire process is seasonal anyway," she said. "There is more funding available during the summer season months because that's when hotels and lodging are seeing the most business. But besides that, we're simply in a budget shortfall and it's caused problems with our funding." Clemmons also said that the Tourism Commission has had difficulty working around not only the bankruptcy of Park Mammoth, but also what she said was failure of enforcement by the former administration for the resort to pay their taxes to the county. The resort still had about $60K of unpaid room taxes to the county prior to their bankruptcy, all of which goes to Tourism. She also said many local Airbnb properties are not being taxed properly and that also hurts revenue. While magistrates were asked to vote on withholding the small amount of collected taxes from the Tourism Commission until the bill was paid, Cannon said he didn't think it was legal to do it, according to the language in the ordinance that requires the county to turn room taxes collected to the Tourism Commission. There was no vote and the item was tabled until the next meeting.  sponsored ad Backhoe Accident: The court also discussed a recent backhoe accident with the county road department that caused considerable damage to a county backhoe, according to Judge Cannon. He said a county employee suffered minor injuries when a backhoe overturned during some work last week and that the cab of the machine would likely have to be replaced. He also said that while insurance would cover the damages, he estimated that county insurance rates are likely to increase as a result. Update on County Property For Animal Shelter Use: Magistrate Corey VanMeter asked about the property that was purchased from Rollin Rountree in September of 2019 for use of a future animal shelter and county storage. Stipulations in the purchase contract said the seller would be penalized $1000 per week for time spent at the property past the acquisition date, which is June 1, 2020. Personal property of the seller still remains at the site and Judge Cannon said he had spoken to Mr. Rountree about the items, which include several vehicles and other equipment. Cannon said that the seller told him it wouldn't be likely he could move all the equipment by the acquisition date because the ground was too wet. Magistrate Edd Rich said that should have no affect on the contract and that the seller should have made other arrangements prior to now. Mag. VanMeter said he'd received several questions about the status of property since it was in his district. The court also voted to:
Judge Cannon noted that the next meeting will be in-person; however, it was the court's hope to limit the meeting to 10 people or less if possible. He said social distancing would be enforced and masks and hand sanitizer would be requested. The meeting date change from Monday to Tuesday (5/25-5/26) was due to the Memorial Day holiday.  sponsored ad  A young girl has died as a result of a crash in Barren County on Saturday night, according to Kentucky State Police. In a press release, KSP said Troopers responded on behalf of the Barren County Sheriff's Office on May 9, 2020 at approximately 8:00 P.M., who requested assistance with a single vehicle collision near the 2500 block of Coral Hill Road in Barren County. KSP reported that Christopher M. McCoy (32) of Glasgow was traveling east on Coral Hill Road in a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado. McCoy was unable to negotiate a curve and his vehicle briefly exited the right shoulder of the roadway, then over-corrected upon reentering the roadway, which caused his vehicle to cross both lanes of travel and exit off the left shoulder of the road, Troopers said. KSP reported that McCoy's vehicle struck multiple trees before coming to rest. According to the release, Christopher M. McCoy was transported to T.J. Samson Hospital to be treated for injuries sustained in the collision. A 10 year old female passenger was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Barren County Coroner. The passenger was restrained at the time of the collision, KSP said. The investigation is on going and being led by Trooper Michael Waggener. He was assisted on the scene by Barren/Metcalfe EMS, Barren County Coroner, Hiseville Fire Department, Barren County Sheriff's Department and other KSP Personnel.  KSP Pursuit Leads to Confiscation of Estimated 1.2 Million Dollars in Drugs  Approx. $1.2M in confiscated drugs after a bust in an I-65 pursuit. (KSP photo) Edmonson Voice Report: Three individuals were arrested and face multiple felony counts after a high speed chase ended in a crash and the confiscation of more than one million dollars worth of drugs, according to Kentucky State Police. KSP said that on Thursday, May 7 2020, Trooper Jarrod Lewis of Kentucky State Police Post 3 in Bowling Green, observed a 2020 Ford Mustang traveling over 125 mph near the 55 mile marker of Interstate 65. According to a press release from KSP Post 3, Trooper Lewis attempted to stop the vehicle but the operator fled. Trooper Lewis pursued the vehicle for 2 miles before the operator exited at the 58 mile marker, KSP said. The operator reportedly lost control of his vehicle and ran off the roadway near the intersection of I-65 and KY218, in the Horse Cave community. The vehicle became disabled and the operator, 26 year old Robert Ford of Atlanta, Ga, and one passenger, 27 year old Cortez Woodruff of Fairburn, Ga, began to run on foot, as reported by KSP. Both were apprehended and taken into custody along with a second passenger, 27 year old Kristin Summerour of Fairburn, Ga. Following the pursuit, troopers located approximately 18 pounds of suspected MDMA, also known as "ecstasy" or "molly," in the vehicle. KSP said the drugs have an estimated street value of 1.2 million dollars. Ford, Woodruff and Summerour were lodged in the Hart County Jail on the following charges:
 Kristin Summerour, (27) Fairburn, Ga Robert Ford:
All three are being held on a $50,000 cash bond, according to Hart County Jail.   EDMONSON COUNTY FISCAL COURT
NOTICE OF REGULAR AUDIO/VIDEO TELECONFERENCE MEETING In accordance with KRS 61.823, KRS 61.826, Executive Order 2020-243, OAG 20-05, 2020 Senate Bill 150 and the March 31 Attorney General Advisory, the Edmonson County Fiscal Court will meet in session at 9:00 a.m. on May 11, 2020 to consider the following Agenda. The meeting will take place via audio teleconference due to the current public health situation with the fiscal court not meeting in person. The public may attend via audio by dialing: 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID 84699550021, password 010346. or by going to the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84699550021?pwd=LzFQc0V1Q1dxVW15ekE3WHNoZEg0QT09 AGENDA I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of today’s Agenda IV. Approval of April 27, 2020 Fiscal Court Minutes a. Read b. Dispense V. Approval of Bills VI. Approval of Appropriations Budget Transfers VII. Approval of May Cash Transfers VIII. New Business a. Approve Treasurer’s April Monthly Settlement Report. b. Approve Sheriff’s April Monthly Fee Account Report, pending final audit. c. Approve Sheriff’s April Property Tax Report, pending final audit. d. Approve Sheriff’s April Fire Protection Report, pending final audit. e. Approve Sheriff’s April Franchise Tax Report, pending final audit. f. Acknowledge BGWC April Shelter Directors Report. g. Acknowledge Dog Control’s April CAD/Duty Status Report. h. Approve County Clerk’s April MVAV Collection Report, pending final audit. i. Approve County Clerk’s April Deed Transfer Tax Report, pending final audit. j. Approve County Clerk’s April Delinquent Tax Collection Report, pending final audit. k. Approve to accept Road report submitted by Greg Carroll. l. Approve Treasurer’s Bond # 2547987 Renewal. m. Approve to hire Jacob Coulter, full time road department employee, date of hire 5/11/2020, at $11.50 per hour. n. Approve Resolution EC20-13, County Road Aid Cooperative Agreement. o. Approve to reschedule May 25th meeting to May 26th, 9:00 a.m. p. Approve to schedule LGEA/CRA meeting at 8:45 a.m. May 26th. q. Approve to schedule Finance Committee Meeting for FY20/21 Budget. r. Tourism-Room Taxes-Approve to hold previously approved payment of $3,645.28 and future payments until $22,000 is paid in full by Tourism Board. IX. Updates: X. Judge Executive: XI. Adjourn: XII. Next Fiscal Court Meeting will be May 26th, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. at the Courthouse. Wil Cannon, Edmonson County Judge/Executive May 8th, 2020  Darren Doyle, story: Edmonson County's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased once again today with three more cases reported from Edmonson Center. The facility reported to the Edmonson Voice in a statement today that the entire facility was retested on Tuesday, and that most of those results came back today. "Three additional residents came back positive for COVID-19," the statement said. "To date, Edmonson Center has had 30 residents and 1 staff member test positive for COVID-19. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by COVID-19, especially the families of the six residents that passed away." The Barren River District Health Department reported a total number of 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Edmonson County today, nine of which have been reported as recovered and six total deaths. The BRDHD also reported a total number of 764 confirmed coronavirus cases in the district with 18 total deaths. There have also been 210 reported recoveries, (27% of total cases). The Kentucky COVID-19 website reported 6,128 total cases in Kentucky.   Darren Doyle, story: Today, Genesis Healthcare, Edmonson Center reported more deaths to the Edmonson Voice from residents that had tested positive for COVID-19. The total virus death count for Edmonson County residents is six, all reported from the nursing home facility. The center also reported that their total number of cases remained steady today with 27 total confirmed positive residents and one staff member. The Barren River District Health Department reported one more new case of COVID-19 in Edmonson County today for a total of 40 Edmonson County cases; however, their total death numbers had not been updated with Edmonson Center's. The state's long term care facility report still lists numbers different than that reported by Edmonson Center; however, the facility has repeatedly stood by their numbers and have said they do not know why the state's numbers show otherwise. There have been several questions regarding how numbers are reported and they can be confusing. It is unclear why sometimes health department numbers don't always match with state numbers from the Governor's Office, but we have been told by these offices that cutoff times for reporting are sometimes not met, other times numbers are reported but delays occur when verifying. Sometimes the numbers simply get mixed up or human error is made. The Edmonson Voice receives daily numbers from the BRDHD and we list them as a source in all our reports. We also monitor the latest numbers reported from the Governor's Office each day. We are also fortunate to be able to communicate directly with Edmonson Center in Brownsville, which has been extremely transparent in their reporting as of today. Patient information is not public knowledge and we do not publish that information unless requested by the patient or the patient's immediate family. The BRDHD reported 724 cases in the district today, an increase of 66 since yesterday. The Governor's Office reported 5,934 total confirmed cases in Kentucky today, up from 5,822 (112 more than yesterday).   WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, along with fellow committee leaders U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Michael Burgess (R-TX), and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), this week introduced the Ensuring Understanding of COVID-19 to Protect Public Health Act (H.R. 6701). This legislation would direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct a longitudinal study on mild, moderate, and severe cases of COVID-19 to ensure we gain a full understanding of both the short and long-term health impacts of the novel coronavirus. Identical companion legislation was introduced by U.S. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) earlier this week. “Our country is battling an invisible enemy, and we must ensure we examine all aspects of this terrible virus,” said Rep. Guthrie. “Because COVID-19 is so new to us, we have many unanswered questions on how it affects patients long-term. By understanding the short- and long-term health ramifications of COVID-19, we can work to provide better treatment of this virus. As the Republican leader of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, I was proud to join Senators Rosen and Rubio and Reps. Burgess, DeGette, and Eshoo to introduce the Ensuring Understanding of COVID-19 to Protect Public Health.” “As our nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, it is critical that our health care experts at the NIH conduct a comprehensive study to help guide physicians caring for patients with COVID-19,” said Senator Rubio. “There are still numerous unknowns about COVID-19, including its potential long-term health impacts, and this bipartisan bill provides the NIH with important guidelines to study this virus.” The bipartisan Ensuring Understanding of COVID-19 to Protect Public Health Act would direct the NIH to:
Edmonson Has Two More Confirmed COVID-19 Cases as State Sees Largest Single-Day Jump To Date5/5/2020  Darren Doyle, story: Two more cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Edmonson County on Tuesday, according to the Barren River District Health Department. That brings Edmonson's totals up to 39 cases so far with 3 deaths and 8 recoveries. The health department also reported 658 total cases in the district. Other totals are as follow:  The Governor announced the largest single-day jump in confirmed cases so far with 5,822 total, which is 625 more than yesterday, and 309 of which coming from Green River Correctional Facility in Muhlenberg County. There was no report received today from Genesis Healthcare, Edmonson Center. Army Vet Visiting Friend Nearby Helps Free Occupants, Including 11-Month Old  Scene of an overturned vehicle at the bottom of an embankment on Wingfield Church Road. It was a close call for a driver and two passengers, one of which was an 11-month old baby, when a vehicle crashed down a steep embankment and overturned in Edmonson County on Tuesday. The Edmonson County Sheriff's office said the driver, Brittany Vincent (22), of Smiths Grove, was operating a 2015 GMC Terrain on Henry Meredith Road when she missed the stop sign at Wingfield Church Road, crossed the roadway, and tumbled down a 50-foot embankment as her vehicle came to rest on its top. That's when Kirby Grogan, (24) from Bowling Green, who was visiting a friend nearby, said he heard the screech of the tires and took action. "I hopped down there to see if everyone was alright," he said. "I broke out the back glass and helped one of them back up top to make sure they were good and then other people started showing up." Grogan, who said he's currently serving in the U.S. Army, said the scene was obviously a mess when he first looked inside the vehicle. "Everything was flipped over, stuff was everywhere, everything was scattered," he said. "I just tried to make sure I could get them out if they were okay to move. As soon as I got down here, I was yelling at people up top to call 9-1-1."  Scene of an overturned vehicle at the bottom of an embankment on Wingfield Church Road. He helped the driver and her 11-month old daughter to safety, as well as another adult female passenger. All three occupants of the vehicle were okay with what appeared to be minor cuts and bruises. Ms. Vincent discussed the nature of the accident with us. "I wasn't going that fast, I just missed the stop sign and we just went over," she said. Both the driver and passenger were wearing seat belts and the baby was properly fastened in a child restraint seat. No injuries were reported. Responding to the scene were the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office, Edmonson EMS, and the Wingfield Fire Department.  Brian Alexander has been named Superintendent of Edmonson County Schools. Darren Doyle, story and photo: Brian Alexander has been named the next Superintendent of Edmonson County Schools, in an announcement from the Edmonson County Board of Education. In a released statement, the Edmonson County Board of Education said they voted in a special call Board meeting Monday evening to select Mr. Brian Alexander as the next Superintendent of the district. Mr. Alexander is currently the District’s High School Principal. Board Chair Mickey Johnson discussed the decision. "It was a decision that had a lot of responsibility and the Board interviewed five outstanding candidates and felt the Board made the best decision for the Edmonson County School District moving forward by selecting Brian Alexander as the next superintendent." Johnson said. A 25-year education veteran, Alexander began his career at Warren Central High School in 1995. He moved to Edmonson County in 1996 as a business teacher until moving into a position in administration and athletic director of Edmonson County High School in 1998. Alexander left Edmonson County in 2003 to become principal of Caneyville Elementary School but returned to Edmonson County as principal of Edmonson County High School from 2005-2014. He then served as Director of Pupil Personnel at the Central office of Edmonson County Schools from 2014-2019 before returning to Edmonson County High School again as principal for the 2019-2020 school year. Alexander is also a 1988 graduate of ECHS who played football, baseball, and basketball. He was a member of the 1988 District Championship Basketball team and went on to play both baseball and football at Campbellsville University. He later coached various combinations of middle and high school sports, including football at ECMS and head football coach at ECHS. "It has been my honor and privilege to spend almost my entire career as an employee of the Edmonson County School District," said Alexander. "My career working with the children of Edmonson County has been very rewarding, and I look forward to the future of Edmonson County schools in this new role. I appreciate the opportunity to lead the school district, and I am very excited where we will be going forward." Alexander also said the promotion comes as both humbling and staggering at the same time. "Part of this change will be difficult because of the current situation we face with the pandemic, but there's a lot of things I want to do and I look forward to the challenge. Right now, there's no 'normal,' but we have a great school district and and even better community and I know we'll accomplish a lot as the next year starts."  Mr. Alexander greets students on the first day of the 2019-20 school year. Brian resides in the Big Reedy community of Edmonson County with his wife, Lori, and children Jared, Blake, Will and Emma-Claire. Edmonson County High School will have to begin the process of finding a new principal for the second consecutive year as Alexander transitions into his new role. Current Superintendent Waddell is set to retire June 30th of this year. Alexander replaced the departing Tommy Hodges on July 9, 2019 as principal. Mr. Alexander said he will officially tender his resignation as principal sometime next week in order to accept the superintendent role and that he will officially begin the new position sometime mid-summer. The ECHS Site-Based Decision Making Council will then accept and process applications for the next principal of the high school. That hire is also scheduled to be made over the summer.  Darren Doyle, story: The death toll from COVID-19 cases in Edmonson County have risen to three total as Genesis Health, Edmonson Center reported two more over the weekend. The facility said total cases from the center are at 27 with one staff member listed as positive. Kentucky's KY.Covid19.Gov website lists Edmonson Center as having 4 positive staff members but the facility says an error has been made in their data because they have only confirmed the single staff member. Edmonson Center reported no changes in their numbers today. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Edmonson County currently stand at 37, according to the Barren River District Health Department; however, they have not yet reported the additional deaths in Edmonson County from the nursing home, which have been confirmed by the facility. The BRDHD also reported 640 total cases of COVID-19 in the area as of today; 134 of which have been reported as recovered. The Kentucky government website for coronavirus information, KYcovid19.gov, listed 5,245 total confirmed cases statewide today, which is 163 more than yesterday's numbers. The Commonwealth has also seen 261 reported deaths from the virus.  Edmonson Voice Report: The Edmonson County Sheriff's Office arrested two individuals after a traffic stop led to the discovery of drugs and other paraphernalia, according to a press release from their office. Deputies said that while on patrol on Sunday, May 3rd, around 6pm, a traffic stop was conducted on a 1997 Dodge Dakota on Chalybeate Rd. across from Creekside Nursery after it was discovered the registered owner had a suspended driver’s license. While making contact with the driver, identified as operated by Seth Harrod, (19) of Bowling Green and the passenger, Tiffany Glass, (20) of Smiths Grove, deputies said they noticed drug paraphernalia in plain view. According to the press release, a probable cause search of the vehicle was performed and deputies found multiple bags of suspected methamphetamine and marijuana, along with scales, pills, cash, bags, and other paraphernalia.
Both Harrod and Glass were arrested and charged with the following:
They were transported to and lodged in the Hart County Jail.  Edmonson County High School has allowed the Edmonson Voice to publish photos of all seniors from the graduating class of 2020 once again. School officials are still organizing graduation ceremony activities, which have been drastically changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, here are the 118 available photos of the total graduating 125 students in alphabetical order:       sponsored ad      sponsored ad     sponsored ad    sponsored ad  Donations Will Provide Keepsake Giftbags To Wildcat Seniors Darren Doyle, story: Three Edmonson County volunteers have coordinated an effort to try to make up for memories lost by ECHS 2020 seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carol Stice, who is Curriculum Coordinator for Edmonson County Schools, Stacy Raymer, retired ECHS educator and counselor, and Mindy Johnson, Assistant Director of Student Activities at WKU have joined to organize "Adopt the Class of 2020," which will provide keepsake gift bags to all ECHS seniors. In a promo for the community, the group said: "Think back to the weeks before your high school graduation; there were so many events and memories made. With the current state of things, this year’s Seniors have missed out on so many of those memories. Edmonson County has rallied together so many times to show support when it was needed. Let’s come together once more to give our Seniors the sendoff they truly deserve! Join us in Adopting the ECHS Senior Class of 2020. Your minimum donation of $15 will help us give each of our Seniors a gift bag filled with keepsakes that will always remind them how their county and communities came together to show them how truly special they are!"  sponsored ad Carol Stice said she and the other two ladies were reflecting on their own senior experiences and discussed how they were saddened that this year's seniors had missed out on so much. She said they agreed that seniors deserved something to show that the local community supports them wishes them the very best. "We met outside Saturday morning to brainstorm some ideas and ‘Adopt the Class of 2020’ was born," said Stice. "We discussed our plan with Mr. Alexander, Principal at ECHS, to make sure we weren’t ‘stepping on any toes’ and he loved the idea. We worked out a plan to be inclusive and show community support to all of our seniors." The event is completely volunteer coordinated and is not officially a school sponsored event, Stice said. She included a detailed list of frequently asked questions (below) with details for how the program works and directions for all community members to donate and become involved. Frequently Asked Questions CLICK HERE TO BECOME A DONOR AND COMPLETE THE FORM. The campaign begins today, May 4th and will continue through Wednesday, May 13th. All forms and payment must be submitted by the deadline. You can make payments via PayPal, Venmo, or mail/drop off a check at the listed locations in the FAQs. "Now we just need our community to come together one more time and help us raise the funds to give each senior a gift bag filled with hometown keepsakes," Stice said. sponsored ad COVID-19 Response Effort Helps Locals  photo: Feeding America, Kentucky's Heartland Darren Doyle, story: In April 2020, the Feeding America COVID-19 Response Fund received a generous gift from Jeff Bezos, which allowed Feeding America to immediately disperse funds to support Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland (FAKH) and their COVID-19 response work efforts in Edmonson County and other 41 counties in the service area, according to a press release from FAKH. The organization said that the grant allows the 200 network members across the United States to support the front line costs of the regional food banks and its partner agencies, while serving those in need during this time of uncertainty and to address future food insecurity concerns. “FAKH will continue to serve those we were already serving and to those who are coming to us for the first time because of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.” Jamie Sizemore, FAKH Executive Director and Edmonson County native said. “This generous grant will allow us to not only continue our mission, but to make sure our partner agencies, who are serving on the front lines in their local communities, are able to maintain their efforts.” The $624,280 allocation to FAKH allows the regional food bank to credit allocations to 132 partner agencies in the form of $400,000 in food and $75,000 in other costs. The remaining money from the grant will be used for the food bank’s increasing food distribution costs, according to the release. Partner agencies in Edmonson County who are distributing food to those in need in their county during the COVID-19 uncertainty will receive the grant assistance. These partner agencies are The Lighthouse at Nolin Lake, St. John’s Food Pantry, and Edmonson County Community Action. "To many of FAKH’s partner agencies which depend heavily on local community donations, the COVID-19 Response Funds come at a perfect time." the release stated. According to FAKH, food bank and partner agencies have seen a spike in the numbers of people requesting food assistance since the middle of March from 30 to 60 percent. The numbers started to pick up dramatically after many businesses were shut down due to the COVID-19, and requests haven’t slowed yet. “In just one week of April, we distributed 444,597 pounds of food, which is a record for our food bank.” said Sizemore. “While this grant is very generous and a lot of money, unfortunately, it is projected that families and senior citizens will need six months to a year to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and this food will go quickly.” Edmonson Center Confirms Death Was Patient At Facility: Three More Positive Cases Reported  Darren Doyle, story: The first death in Edmonson County from the coronavirus was reported today, which was a patient at Genesis Health, Edmonson Center. The identity, sex, or age of the patient was not released. In addition, three more positive cases were confirmed at the nursing home today, as reported to us by Edmonson Center. Edmonson Center also reported today that four more tests results for residents returned as negative. There was also one more staff member that tested negative for the virus, according to the center. A spokesperson from the center said that the one staff member that tested positive last week was CNA that had volunteered in the COVID area of the facility. No other staff member has been confirmed as positive, according to the facility, which is in contrast to the state's website that still lists Edmonson Center as having two positive staff members. The facility also reported that 19 total staff members have been tested for COVID-19; 14 of which have returned as negative and the aforementioned case as positive. No other local numbers from today were currently available from the Barren River District Health Department. Across Kentucky, there were 4,879 total cases reported as of today (171 more since yesterday) and 248 deaths statewide from the virus (up 8 from yesterday), according to https://govstatus.egov.com/kycovid19. Team Kentucky is working with partners to expand drive-thru testing throughout the commonwealth. Drive-thru testing at these locations now is open to all Kentuckians who want a COVID-19 test. Locally, you can be tested for the virus at South Warren High School, 8140 Nashville Rd., Bowling Green, KY 42101, May 5-May 8 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m., but you must first register by clicking here. The Governor reported today that there are limited spots available.  Edmonson Voice Report: A helicopter is scheduled to make a stop at Genesis Health, Edmonson Center this morning at 10am for the purpose of delivering an air conditioner unit on top of the building. The facility said that the unit is too large for any other means than helicopter delivery and that many might fear an emergency is taking place. They told the Edmonson Voice that the helicopter would not be responding to an emergency, simply a delivery and no one should worry. |
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