Although it may feel like 2024 is still well underway, Wednesday is officially 2025 and time for the Year in Review, a recap of the changes, challenges and growth that occurred last year.
Snow, freezing rain and icy temperatures swept across much of Kentucky leading to Governor Andy Beshear issuing a disaster declaration in early 2024. Unfortunately, we would not escape 2024 without severe weather rolling through the region, including a large, destructive tornado on May 26 that killed five people in Kentucky. The National Weather Service in Paducah concluded that it was a high-end EF-3 tornado that brought destruction to Caldwell and Hopkins Counties.
Christian County was not unscathed from that event, with homes damaged, trees uprooted and power poles snapped across the county—at the time, Christian County Emergency Management Director Randy Graham detailed some of the damage and rescue efforts.
Efforts to construct at least 13 tornado shelters in the county remains underway, with the goal to have a tornado shelter within a quick driving distance of most citizens. The remnants of Hurricane Helene rolled through the region in September—impacts locally weren’t severe, but areas in Tennessee and North Carolina sustained catastrophic damage from flooding.
In April, another solar eclipse traveled through western Kentucky and surrounding areas, though Carbondale, Illinois claimed the point of greatest eclipse this time around. But Christian County and surrounding counties still had a great view, with a 95% partial eclipse.Â
2024 was a year of big milestones and anniversaries. Jennie Stuart Medical Center opened the doors on its newly renovated and expanded Emergency Department, Hopkinsville Electric System’s Energynet celebrated 25 years of providing broadband internet services and the City of Oak Grove celebrated 50 years as a recognized city. Mayor Jackie Oliver spoke with WHOP News and said she was so excited to be the mayor during such a milestone, and they celebrated big.
Hopkinsville Community College has been celebrating 60 years in the community all year long, but at a ceremony in September, local historian and retired professor William Turner reflected on his time at HCC and the unbelievable impact it has had on the community.
It was announced that Christian County set a tourism record, bringing in $239.1 million in 2023, the Joy Closet broke ground on the Hope House, paving the way for a safe, comfortable place for children in the custody of Department for Child Services to be while awaiting a permanent home. The Boys and Girls Club of Hopkinsville also celebrated the expansion of their Teen Center.
Several city streets got a new name in 2024, including a portion of East 8th Street by the Carnegie Library that became bell hooks Way in March—which is also when bell hooks, also known as Gloria Jean Watkins, was inducted into the Kentucky Women Remember Exhibit. Quarry Street was renamed Pastor C.E. Timberlake Way in April, honoring Pastor C.E. Timberlake and his wife Kimberly Timberlake for their service, and a portion of East 21st Street became Bill Flynn Boulevard.
One local figure was honored by being inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in November. Louis P. McHenry practiced law in Hopkinsville and went on to be a driving force behind the creation of the Hopkinsville-Christian County Human Rights Commission in 1963.
It was a big year for economic development announcements and events. Folks in Oak Grove and Christian County were thrilled to finally announce that Buc-ee’s will have a location in Oak Grove near Exit 89 along Interstate 24. This was a development long sought by local officials and South Western Kentucky Economic Development Council Director Carter Hendricks says it was group effort between numerous local and state agencies.
In December, as a nice gift for the end of the year, Kitchen Food Company and Cinis Fertilizer announced they would be calling Christian County home, bringing nearly 1,000 jobs between the two to the community. After several years of renovations and work, Rural King officially opened its doors in Hopkinsville in November.
The Hopkinsville Fire Department was busy beyond their usual calls for service, with ground broken for the future Fire Station Five in southern Christian County in November and the installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box at the HFD headquarters in February.
We also can’t forget about the changes to the Christian County Public Schools system. Some schools transitioned to new locations and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School closed its doors. Its campus is still in use however, as it’s now the home of Hopkinsville Middle School—Indian Hills Elementary School moved into the former Hopkinsville Middle School campus and the old Indian Hills campus is now home to the Martin Luther King Jr. Early Learning Center.Â
Work continues at the future consolidated Christian County High School off of Lover’s Lane and Fort Campbell Boulevard, with requests for bids going out as recently as December for the construction of athletic fields on the campus.
Work also continues at Ascend Elements, after experiencing a few hiccups in 2024—they were awarded a fair amount of grant money through the federal government, and there were layoffs in the latter half of the year, but local officials remain confident that that giant project is continuing as planned.
That’s not the only local entity that’s come under some scrutiny in 2024, as Jennie Stuart Health and Deaconess Health in Evansville signed a Letter of Intent in September, expressing their plan to merge the two healthcare systems, causing a flurry of reactions from the community. It also sparked the creation of the Save Jennie Stuart group, which has argued passionately against the move, saying it would take local control of the hospital away and hurt the community in the long run.
The Jennie Stuart Health Board of Trustees has maintained that the merger would only benefit local healthcare, as it would pave the way for Jennie Stuart to have access to the EPIC electronic records system along with granting greater longevity for the hospital in the region.
The two sides argued their way into Christian County Civil Court, where Judge Andrew Self has since ruled that the final vote on the merger be delayed for three months. In essence, the agreement between the two means no vote will be held before March 31, 2025, extending the ‘due diligence’ period between Jennie Stuart Health and Deaconess.
Speaking of court, there was a lot of action in relation to crime and court cases in 2024. In February, Bobby Spikes was newly indicted in the death of Candance Marcel and Stanley Bussell, charging him with double-murder—his son, Kendall Spikes, would later be indicted in connection with the death of Marcel, charged with complicity to murder. Kamron Snyder was charged with murder in May in the shooting death of Khalil Buckner, while Robert Torian was sentenced on a manslaughter charge in July in the death of Terrill Moore.
Meanwhile, Joshua Cotton was sentenced to 45 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of murder in the death of Alijah Watts—two co-defendants, Jonathan Weston and Christian McKeel are also serving time after entering guilty pleas to their roles in that case. Then in October, Cortez Hairston Jr. was found guilty of the murder of Adrian Acree.
Hopkinsville and Christian County maintained its spirit of giving and generosity, with the Hopkinsville Rotary Club raising $560,074 during their annual WHOP Rotary Radio Auction in April, the Brice Long Back-2-Back Foundation Concert raised $107,750 during their summer concert, the Dancing with Our Stars fundraiser brought in $91,000 and the United Way of the Pennyrile announced in February that they raised $735,012 in their 2023 campaign.
The community also experienced its fair share of loss in 2024, as we said goodbye to Jimmy Hightower, a longtime Kiwanian and community advocate, who passed away in October, along with former Elkton Police Chief Bruce Marklin, Lindsay Freeman, and WHOP legends Roger Jeffers and Jerry Stegall in October and September respectively.Â
WHOP itself experienced changes in 2024, with longtime Early Bird Show host Mark Lovely retiring in June after many years on the radio, saying the Early Bird Show wouldn’t be what it is today without the many listeners who tune in every day.
Former Sports Director Jahmar Perkins followed not too long after him, and as he left for a new venture in Clarksville, Perkins says his time at WHOP taught him a lot and let him get to know a lot of great folks. Their departure, however, did pave the way for Joe Wilson to step in as both Sports Director and captain of the Early Bird Show ship—bringing back a WHOP veteran and local sports journalism legend.
And, longtime sales and WHOP sports associate Ted Jatczak retired from WHOP after a lengthy career in newspaper and broadcast sales and programming.
There is undoubtedly something and someone we missed in our 2024 wrap up, but we in the WHOP News Department can promise that we will continue to do our best to cover the happenings of Christian and surrounding counties in the year to come, as we have for the last, coming up on, 85 years in 2025.