![]() She throws everything into her blender’s pitcher, adds a pinch of vanilla protein powder and a splash of almond milk, and whips up a smoothie on pulsate. ![]() Then it’s off to the kitchen.Īmy snatches a handful of fresh spinach and a few chunks of pineapple from the refrigerator and pushes the door shut with a thud. Quickly, though, she’s back in the moment and wrestles them awake and gets them dressed in shorts and Bardstown Tigers –shirts and sweaters. She gazes at Hunter, 8, and Parker, 6, both snuggled in their warm beds. She showers and dresses for the unseasonably cool day – the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. She stumbles onto the cold hardwood floor and walks into the other room, where she notices the large brown cowboy boots sitting where Jason took them off days earlier.Ī substitute teacher at the local elementary school, she has to gear up for the annual field day at school. Jason is sleeping soundly next to her in the queen-sized bed. “Jason told me early in our relationship that his dreams were to have a family and play baseball, or go into law enforcement,’ said his wife, Amy.Įllis’ mother remains in the Clermont County area, as do his sisters, Lacey Young and Kelly Eastmann. He played 186 games for the Patriots, snagging the school’s all-time record for hits with 246, the all-time career leader in doubles with 60, all-time career leader in home runs with 34 and all-time runs batted in with 183. He graduated from the Union Township, Ohio school in 1998, and went on to play baseball at the University of the Cumberlands, a private, liberal-arts school in Williamsburg, Ky. 5 jersey, and eventually as a minor league player for the Cincinnati Reds organization. He would grow to make them proud, first as catcher on the Glen Este High School baseball team, where he wore the No. It’s how he likes to keep things.Įxhausted but not ready for sleep, he plops down on the still warmed-where-his-wife-slept couch, fluffs up the pillows and turns on the TV.ĭenny and Pam Ellis were so proud to welcomed their first and only son, Jason, into their small family in September 1979. “Goodnight Mama,” he calls after her without discussing his day. The petite redhead kisses him goodnight at the door, where two sets of boots are lined up. She unbolts the lock and the two embrace. But the sleep is never deep and she’s on her feet when she hears him at the front door, fumbling for his keys. Inside, she’s asleep – curled up on the wrap-around couch. A quick pat on the dog’s head, and he’s up the steps and through the gate. His ever-faithful Figo, is waiting for him outside, while his wife and two boys sleep inside. Jason pulls into his driveway, cuts off the ignition and slides out of the cruiser. He follows the exit, around a sharp, slow incline, between two steep, rocky cliffs, full of blooming greenery.Ī few more minutes, through winding country roads surrounded by farmland and wooded fields, he arrives to the somewhat secluded town. Just about 10 minutes down the parkway, he turns onto Exit 34 for Route 55 toward Springfield and Bloomfield, which is home to Lincoln Homestead State Park and Taylorsville Lake State Park. He veers into the left turn lane and turns on to the ramp for eastbound Bluegrass Parkway. He drives his normal route: South down Stephen Foster Avenue, passing the city’s Walmart and Cracker Barrel, before pulling onto the moderately lit overpass. Just as he has for the past seven years, Ellis calls off his shift for the night. “Dispatch, 139 off duty,” the operator confirms. “139 Adam off duty,” he says into the dash-mounted radio. He feels a little lost without his German Shepherd partner, Figo. Someone, somewhere knows something about what happened on May 25 as Bardstown Police Officer Jason Ellis, a Batavia native and former Cincinnati Reds minor league player, turned from Bluegrass Parkway onto Exit 34 toward home after signing off for the night.įlat, gray, ominous clouds stretch across the night sky, casting a shadow over the moon as Officer Jason Ellis pulls out of the Bardstown Police Station parking lot-wrapping up another second shift.īefore hitting the road for home, he relaxes inside his cruiser-a loaner since his canine-equipped car is getting painted at the shop. This town of 14,000 in the heart of bourbon country-named the Most Beautiful Small Town in America last year by Rand McNally-is a community that knows its residents, listens to its elders and respects its lawmen. ![]() It’s a town of How y’all doin', friendly handshakes and warm smiles, where American flags line the main street. ![]() Tucked halfway between Louisville and Lexington sits Bardstown - Kentucky’s second oldest city. Exit 34 The Last Watch of Officer Jason Ellis *View the complete interactive version of Exit 34 at
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