Circuit court office in Corbin will close in two days

(Editor’s note: While the Whitley Circuit Court Clerk’s Office in Corbin, which is where you get driver’s license, will be closing later this month, the Whitley County Clerk’s Office in Corbin, which is where you pay your car taxes, will remain open.)

Last week I read in this newspaper that the Circuit Court has issued approximately 10,000 driver’s licenses annually at its Corbin office. Let’s add the probable thousands that they issue at the courthouse in Williamsburg and you can easily see the inconveniences the lawmakers in Frankfort have placed on the thousands of people by changing the way we get our driver’s licenses.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

In the future you can get your driver’s license at a regional office or go online and get the same result.

There is one good thing about the new law, in that you can extend the license up to eight years.

I don’t think the new law concerns the younger generation very much, but what about those of us with added years?

Fortunately I know my way around the computer a little bit, but many of my age don’t. At first they said we would have to go to Somerset and now it’s London. Why London? Why not leave it here! Again that’s 10,000 people in the Corbin office.

I will attempt the computer way of getting mine when it comes due. I’ll go for the eight year license. That means that I won’t have to get another one until I am 91 years of age. With that I have two hopes. One is that I live that long and the other is that I will still be able to drive.

Those lawmakers in Frankfort have their reason for the change, it is that I just don’t buy it. Think about it again, 10,000 affected in just one office.

Don’t blame Whitley County Circuit Court Clerk Gary Barton for having to close the Corbin office. He told us that he had “fought to keep it open for several years.” It was the only office in the state that renewed licenses for people in three different counties. So now, in two days, June 10th, the office will be closed for good.

Not only will you not be able to get your driver’s license at this location, you will have to go to Williamsburg to pay a fine, probate a will or file a small claim’s lawsuit.

Don’t get me wrong I like to go to Williamsburg and I go there often. I like to eat at the restaurants, visit the University of the Cumberlands, go to the events they have and I really like their mayor.

It upset me and my boss when I made the decision that we had no other choice but to close our Williamsburg office when Covid hit. The loss in advertising revenue hit us hard and we had to cut expenses.

And speaking of advertising, local businesses please advertise in our newspaper. About 15,000 people read it every week. And I ask our readers to please shop locally.

Now and then I will see a local business advertising only on a Lexington TV station, in a mailer or on a Billboard that is owned and operated by out of town firms. That’s ok as long as you recognize that we have local media that can do the job. You want them to buy locally? Then advertise locally!

Now,back to the driver’s licenses. The state has run numerous commercials on TV to inform you of the changes. I probably would have a better attitude if they had spent some of that money in this newspaper, but still those affected the most will be senior citizens.

Gov. Andy Beshear said, “Circuit Court Clerks will be able to focus solely on court business” now that they don’t have to issue licenses. Really, all these years was it that much of a problem?

Finally, the state painted some white lines over the patches on Highway 312 in Corbin. I know, it is not new blacktop, but it told me they know there is a road there!!