{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Looking back at the year that was 2020 &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"P7bwZwa3iQ\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/looking-back-at-the-year-that-was-2020\/\">Looking back at the year that was 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/looking-back-at-the-year-that-was-2020\/embed\/#?secret=P7bwZwa3iQ\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Looking back at the year that was 2020&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"P7bwZwa3iQ\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Mark-White.jpg","thumbnail_width":240,"thumbnail_height":213,"description":"Let\u2019s face it. 2020 was quite the year from a worldwide pandemic to the third highest flood in Whitley County and Williamsburg history. Just in Whitley County alone, we were pretty much a war and a famine short of having our own Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse\u2026LOL. Maybe 2020 wasn\u2019t quite that bad, but it was a rough year folks. On the front page of last week\u2019s News Journal, we detailed the top 10 COVID-19 related stories of 2020, and this week we are detailing the top 10 non COVID-19 stories of 2020 on our front page. Of course, you just can\u2019t fit all the news from one year into a top 10 list, so here are some other headlines that made news in 2020. \u2022 January \u2013 Williamsburg\u2019s Shannon Barman named Kentucky Mother of the Year; WWE takes over Corbin; Whitley County Fiscal Court passes Second Amendment sanctuary resolution. \u2022 February \u2013 Whitley County Health Department gets $635,000 grant to battle opioid abuse. \u2022 March \u2013 Auction of old Corbin school buildings brings in $525,000; and Kentucky State Police investigating officer involved shooting in Gray. \u2022 April \u2013 Wind damage causes widespread destruction. \u2022 May \u2013 Fire near Corbin claims life of 16-year-old boy; Man accused of trying to kill trooper. \u2022 June \u2013 Search crews save woman at spillway; Missing man\u2019s body found in Laurel River; City of Corbin officials eliminate downtown manager position. \u2022 July \u2013 Woman pistol-whipped in assault case; Corbin man gets 25 years in sodomy, sex abuse case involving young relative; Julie Osborne hired as new Whitley County High School principal. \u2022 August \u2013 Market Place on Main &amp; Third businesses now starting to open. \u2022\u00a0September \u2013 Corbin\u2019s Zack Horvath completes 100-mile ultra-marathon; Keeneland announces new plans for Corbin, Williamsburg facilities. \u2022 October \u2013 Downtown Williamsburg getting new park via grants; Couple accused of robbing Williamsburg bank, fleeing police; Doctor, who led police on 140 mph chase, enters plea deal, but DUI charge dismissed; Williamsburg woman struck, killed by train; 2020 Gateway to the Cumberlands Jeep Jamboree is once again largest in the country; Kentucky Consular Center celebrates 20th anniversary in Williamsburg. \u2022 November \u2013 U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft addresses Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon. \u2022 December \u2013 Crashes kills two over three-day period; COVID-19 mask dispute leads to assault case; Corbin breaks ground for Miller Park project. Before I conclude this column, let me touch one other subject. I know that some have expressed outrage recently over elected officials or former elected officials being at or near the front of the line in terms of getting the COVID-19 vaccine first, and I will concede that in some cases there is deserved anger. In the case of the Whitley County Health Department giving COVID-19 vaccinations to Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. and Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison last week, I think some perspective needs to be considered here. There are several people both locally and nationally, who are concerned about getting COVID-19 vaccinations. While local residents rightfully might not trust most of the politicians in Washington, D.C. any further than they can throw them, local residents overall have quite a bit of confidence in their local leaders, who are in many cases their friends and neighbors. I can attest based on conversations I had with Whitley County Public Health Director Marcy Rein that her motivation in getting these elected officials to publicly get their COVID-19 vaccinations early on was to try and instill confidence in the general public that it is safe to take these vaccines."}