Community Thanksgiving dinner draws hundreds
Hundreds of people showed up for Healing the Broken Hearted Ministries’ free community Thanksgiving dinner Saturday afternoon at the JFK Center.
It was the third year that the church has hosted the event at the JFK Center and one that pastor Lawrence Thomas said might end up being the biggest yet. He said organizers prepared enough food for 600 people.
The past two years, Thomas said between 400-450 people attended the event.
The church, located at the corner of Powell and Mill streets, was founded in April 2021, and early on, it gave Thanksgiving baskets to its congregants, Thomas said. But he said God gave his wife, Teresa, a mission to expand that giving and that’s when the church began hosting the community Thanksgiving meal at the JFK Center.
Thomas said the meal was a bit more poignant this year as some families have struggled with or were worried with the possibility of losing SNAP assistance. He said a message, though, was that God still loves them and cares about them and the church wanted to provide families a chance to gather for a “good hot meal.”
The meal has turned into a tradition that Thomas wants to continue.
“We plan to keep it going every year,” he said.
In addition to Healing the Broken Hearted Ministries, employees at the JFK Center and Audubon Kids Zone as well as other local churches assisted with the dinner.
HCC’s new Electrical Technology program starts spring semester
Henderson Community College will begin a new Electrical Technology in the Spring 2026 semester.
This two-year program will allow graduates to join the workforce as an industrial or residential electrician immediately, said a release from HCC.
“After two years of research and listening to our local community partners, we are excited to launch the new Electrical Technology program,” said Dr. Mike Knecht, Chief Academic Affairs Officer, in a prepared statement. “This program will provide graduates with high-demand skills needed to enter the workforce in a field that has seen a 12.7% job growth in the past three years.”
The program will be led by Tony Meade, a master electrician with over 30 years of experience in the construction, industrial and energy sectors.
He currently serves as course coordinator and instructor for the Electrical Technology program at Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, where he develops curriculum, teaches electrical courses and supports the next generation of skilled electricians, said the release.
Meade is a licensed master electrician in Kentucky and holds an AAS from Bluegrass Community and Technical College and a diploma in industrial electricity from Mayo Technical College.
“I’m thrilled to see HCC launching an Electrical Technology Program,” said Zach Swift, owner of T-REX Electric in Henderson. “This is a huge step forward not only for the students who will gain valuable, hands-on skills, but also for local businesses like mine that rely on a well-trained workforce. There’s a growing demand for skilled electricians in our area, and this program will help fill that gap while keeping talent right here in our community. It’s a win-win — creating career opportunities for students and strengthening the backbone of our local economy.”
For more information about the new HCC Electrical Technology program, visit https://bit.ly/4oOm67i
First United Methodist Church’s ‘Tis the Season’ set for right after Christmas parade
First United Methodist Church’sannual ‘Tis the Season celebration will start right after the Henderson Christmas Parade on Dec. 6.
There is a free hot dog and chili lunch for the whole community with free gently used Christmas decorations, cards, paper and kitchen items along with a children’s area featuring books and stuffed animals.
Jewelry and purses are also available to those interested.
Goodfellows donations starting soon
Donations to fund the Goodfellows’ annual Christmas party for children begins soon.
The traditional start date is the day after Thanksgiving. But organizers are accepting donations at:
Henderson City c/o The Goodfellows
PO Box 716
Henderson, KY 42420
The funding goes to pay for the Goodfellows’ annual Christmas party for 500 children of lower-income parents or guardians in Henderson County.
This year’s party will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 at South Middle School, and the preparation sack day will start at 8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 also at SMS. Saturday sack day is totally reliant on volunteers.
The Goodfellows have set a goal of $35,000 to purchase gifts for the children and pay for the party.
Contact Richard Pendergraft at 270-860-7780 for more details.
New eSearch Warrant program is collaboration between AOC and KSP
The rollout of the eSearch Warrant program that lets police request and judges authorize or deny search warrants was completed at the end of October and is now live in all 120 counties, said a release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.
The project is a collaboration between the AOC and Kentucky State Police.
“This is a significant milestone for the justice community,” said AOC Director Zach Ramsey in the release. “The Judicial Branch is proud to be part of bringing more security, efficiency, control and accountability to the search warrant process. Our technology team, in partnership with KSP, has worked diligently to get us to this day. This progress also brings us a step closer to what will be another major achievement – a completely electronic court record.”
As of this writing, 6,681 search warrant applications have been filed since the program began. Of those, 4,589 have been executed, 73 have been denied and 1,771 have been authorized and are awaiting execution, said the release.
The AOC and KSP were already collaborating on an electronic system for search warrants when the Attorney General’s Search Warrant Task Force recommended in 2021 a statewide digital process for requesting and processing warrants.
The AOC and KSP launched the eSearch Warrant pilot program in March 2022 in Harrison County. Nicholas, Pendleton, Robertson and Scott counties joined later that year. After the pilot ended in September 2022, the program expanded by eight to 12 counties each month through this October. The rollout finished with the addition of the final seven counties — Allen, Boyle, Letcher, McLean, Mercer, Muhlenberg and Simpson — completing the multiyear, statewide implementation.
The program works off the eWarrant platform that KSP had been using since 2009. Employing the existing technology, LexisNexis developed the eSearch Warrant program for KSP. The AOC provided the case management system component. The Supreme Court of Kentucky authorized the eSearch Warrant system for the courts with Administrative Order 2023-29, which can be viewed here: https://kcoj.info/SCOrder202329.
Chamber hosts Wicked Weekend Crawl
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce will host a Wicked Weekend Crawl from Thursday through Saturday.
The event will bring together local restaurants and retailers to encourage residents to support small businesses as the holiday season kicks off, said a chamber release.
According to the chamber, eleven restaurants will take part, each offering one green drink, one pink drink and one themed menu item. Guests can visit participating locations at their own pace throughout the weekend and vote for their favorites.
Friday coincides with the release of Wicked for Good and Pink Friday, a nationwide movement encouraging shoppers to support small businesses before Black Friday.
To tie retailers into the celebration, shoppers who spend twenty-five dollars or more will be entered for a chance to win a themed gift basket. The basket will include items such as tickets to the HAAA holiday show A Slightly Wicked Christmas, along with other local goodies for a full Wicked experience.
This year’s crawl is supported by event sponsors The Homeplace of Henderson and Hafer Design. No tickets are required. Participants can stop by any participating location throughout the weekend to enjoy the featured specials.