Bowling Green

A new program called ‘Fresh RX for Moms’ is for pregnant women who are on Medicaid and seeing a doctor or a certified nurse-midwife. 

The Community Farmers Market in Bowling Green  began the program on July 7. The goal is to provide fresh produce for pregnant women so they maintain good nutrition during their pregnancy.

Community Farmers Market spokeswoman Nikki Gray said it’s a quick and simple process for women to join the program.

“All they’ll need to do is come to the market, show us their ID, as well as their Medicaid card, fill out a short informational survey and then from there they get $20 in tokens each week to spend on fresh food at the market.”

The city of Bowling Green is partnering with Habitat for Humanity on a community of affordable homes. 

There are already nine homes in Durbin Estates west of downtown Bowling Green. The community is being developed by Habitat for Humanity.

The city has designated $500,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for infrastructure at Durbin Estates.

Brent Childers is Bowling Green's director of neighborhood and community services. He said affordable housing is a challenge in every market.

A new program in Bowling Green is aimed at increasing the diversity of the city’s legal and law enforcement communities.

The Legal Diversity Pipeline Project involves the Bowling Green Police Department, Warren County Courts, a Bowling Green law firm and two local high schools.

About 60 freshmen from Bowling Green High and Warren Central will meet Friday with Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton, Jr. and U.S. District Judge Robert Stivers, visit the 911 dispatch center at the city’s police department, and tour the Warren County Jail.

An 18-year-old student at Bowling Green High School was arrested Thursday on charges of terroristic threatening.

According to the arrest record from the Bowling Green Police Department, Rosalio Grajeda confessed to being involved in a plan that “would have likely resulted in death or serious injury to students and teachers at the school. He acknowledged that there was a plot to cause harm and confessed to researching past school shootings.”

Police department spokesman Ronnie Ward said no weapons were found and no students or staff were injured.

Grajeda is in the Warren County Reginal Jail.

Bowling Green School Superintendent Gary Fields said in a letter made available to the media Thursday that students reported the potential threat to administrators at the high school.

Friday morning rain has led to flooding in parts of the region, causing some school systems to call off classes, and low-lying areas to be inundated with water. 

A flash flood warning was in effect for Bowling Green and surrounding counties in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee until Friday afternoon. Water crossed over roadways and heavy winds knocked down trees across some streets.

Warren County Road Division removed 15 trees blocking roadways as of early Friday afternoon.

Bowling Green Warren County Regional Airport has recorded more than five and a half inches of rain. The Kentucky Mesonet, based at Western Kentucky University, recorded rainfall amounts of more than seven inches in Todd and Logan counties. 

A Bowling Green clinic that evaluates potential organ transplant patients will not be impacted by the decision to put Jewish Hospital in Louisville up for sale.

The Bowling Green Jewish Hospital Trager Transplant Center outreach clinic opened in June. Jewish Hospital is the second largest organ transplants locations in the state, and is being sold by its parent company--KentuckyOne Health. David Lewis is the director of transplant services at Jewish Hospital.

The Bowling Green City Commission has voted to pursue legal action related to the once-troubled downtown parking garage wrap. 

The city hired a northern Kentucky law firm last month to investigate potential civil claims over the construction and operation of the property formerly known as Hitcents Park Plaza. 

Slim Nash was the only commissioner to vote against pursuing lawsuits.  He says the city has already spent more than $100,000 for investigations that resulted in no charges.

Veterans advocates say the hard part has just begun as Bowling Green seeks to open the state’s fifth veterans nursing home. 

Officials from the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs offered a sobering update Tuesday to area lawmakers and veterans at the American Legion Post in Bowling Green. 

During this year’s General Assembly session, lawmakers authorized $10 million in state funding for a 90-bed skilled nursing facility, but the money hasn’t actually been appropriated.

The stars have aligned for a national organization of Corvette enthusiasts holding its national convention in Bowling Green, Kentucky beginning Aug. 21.

That’s the day of the solar eclipse and Bowling Green is in the prime viewing area.

Bowling Green is the only place the Corvette is made, so car clubs often have conventions in town and the GM Corvette plant is always on the ‘must see’ list.

Bowling Green’s homeless population has increased slightly this year over 2016. However, local support groups believe the increase may be due to homeless individuals coming to the city from other areas.

The Kentucky Housing Corporation’s recently released count shows Warren County has a homeless population of about 150 people. That’s 22 more than were counted last year. Brent Childers, Director of Neighborhood and Community Services in Bowling Green, said some of the homeless people are coming from surrounding states and counties.

An event celebrating refugees in Bowling Green will feature some new faces and voices this year. Up to 10 high school students will take the stage Saturday at World Refugee Day.

The students are from Geo International, a four year high school serving about 180 students from 25 different countries. Most of the students are refugees, or children of refugees. Several of the students will go on stage and share their personal stories.

Zaid Ali graduated from Geo this year, and is native of Iraq. He said he decided to participate for the first time because he has a message he wants to share.

The Bowling Green Independent School District has approved a tax increase for city residents to help renovate its aging high school. 

A nickel tax was passed unanimously at the BGISD Board of Education meeting Monday night.  It will raise property taxes from 78.1 cents per $100 of assessed property value to 83.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

The tax increase is expected to generate more than $11 million toward the $60 million renovation.

A handful of southern Kentucky activists rallied at the Bowling Green office of U.S. Senator Rand Paul in support of a national campaign to urge the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to establish an independent investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Rand Paul is a member of that committee.

Bowling Green resident Peter Zielinski said he used to be more politically conservative, but he attended the March 28 rally because he has concerns about national leaders appointed by President Trump.                          

“The history of many of the appointees is at least suspect,” said Zielinski. “There is a preponderance of people with ties to Russia and foreign governments and that’s just the tip of what we know, at this point. We don’t know the whole truth and we should know the whole truth.”

The Greenways Commission of Bowling Green and Warren County has received an $8,900 grant to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Miranda Clements is the multimodal coordinator for the commission. She says safety begins with making sure everyone takes bicycle riding seriously.           

“A bicycle is considered a vehicle, so when you’re on a bicycle it’s like you’re driving a vehicle, so you have to follow the rules of the road.”

Part of the grant is for the production of short safety videos for bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists.