A News Journal Year in Review

Politics, money, and controversy are perhaps the three words that best sum up 2006.
Repercussions over the 2005 payroll tax, and closure of the Whitley County Jail for nearly three months could still be felt in 2006.
None of the individuals, who were on the fiscal court when the payroll tax was enacted, still held public office at the start of 2007.
The 2006 elections resulted in a changing of the guard as several other long time political figures opted not to seek re-election, and generated heated controversy both prior to and after the May primary.
The closure of the jail meant nearly a $400,000 budget deficit at the start of 2006 that resulted in layoffs, and cutbacks that were still being felt at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31.
Here’s a look at the top 10 stories of 2006 as voted on by the editorial staff of the News Journal.

1) 2006 elections
The 2006 election season started off with a record number 114 potential office holders filing for office by the close of the filing deadline Jan. 31.
The close of the filing deadline also ensured that local government would be seeing plenty of new faces in 2007 as the judge-executive, three magistrates, the county clerk, the Corbin mayor, a Corbin city commissioner, and two Williamsburg City Council members all opted not to seek re-election.
The election quickly heated up with questions about the residency of some candidates being questioned
In mid-February, Oline Carmical, a college professor and candidate for state senate, openly questioned whether incumbent Senate President David Williams lived within the district, and thus could hold office.
In April, lawsuits questioning the residency of Corbin mayoral candidates Randy Smith and Truman Perry are filed. In addition, a lawsuit was filed questioning whether fourth-district magistrate candidate T.O. Elliott lived in that district, or in the first district.
Prior to the May 16 primary, the lawsuit against Perry was dropped, Smith withdrew from the race, and a special judge ruled that Elliott lived in the fourth district and could thus run for fourth-district magistrate.
Elliott finished second in the Republican primary, and Perry lost to Willard McBurney in the November General Election.
Following the May Primary, several losing candidates complained of voting machine problems, and some claimed that the election was rigged.
Seven losing candidates would go on to file a lawsuit asking that the primary election results be thrown out, and that a new election be held.
In July, a special judge threw out the election lawsuit, and in September a state appeals court upheld that decision.
When the dust settled after the Nov. 7 General Election, Whitley County saw the closest judge-executive race in 13 years with Republican Pat White Jr. holding off Democrat Bob Terrell by 537 votes to win his first term in office.

2) $50 million in state funding
Christmas came early for Whitley County in 2006 in the form of nearly $50 million in state projects funded by the General Assembly.
On April 10, Senate President David Williams, who represents Whitley County in the state legislature, announced that $18.9 million had been approved for construction of a new judicial center, $9.7 million for construction of a Cumberland Falls State Park golf course and another $5 million for construction of a new campground.
$10 million in state funding to help build a pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands, and another $1 million scholarship fund allocation for pharmacy school students drew much controversy.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced on April 25 that he would keep the $11 million for the University of the Cumberlands in the state budget, but that he would leave it up to the courts to decide the issue of whether state funds could be allocated to a private college.

3) University of Cumberlands controversy
The $11 million the state legislature budgeted for the University of the Cumberlands to construct a pharmacy school wasn’t the only source of controversy surrounding the conservative school.
In early April, the school dismissed student Jason Johnson after he posted that he was gay on his MySpace.com web site in violation of university policy.
The decision made headlines across the state, cyberspace, and even on MTV.
On April 19, nearly 60 people turned out at Briar Creek Park in Williamsburg for a rally in support of Johnson.
The “Students for Students: A Rally Against Discrimination” was attended largely by students from various state universities, such as Northern Kentucky University, Western Kentucky University, and Eastern Kentucky University.
Johnson and the university also announced that day that an agreement had been reached where Johnson agreed not to sue the university, and the school allowed him to complete course work to get his grades for that semester.

4) Budget crisis/layoffs
When Burley Foley took office in early January, he inherited a nearly $400,000 budget deficit for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
The deficit prompted Foley to make severe cutbacks in several areas, including cutting funding to several departments, and postponing equipment purchases.
In late January, Foley announced that 15 county workers under the jurisdiction of the fiscal court would be laid off, and that another position would not be replaced.
Due to $124,930 in cutbacks to his budget by the fiscal court in an effort to offset the budget deficit, on July 1, Sheriff Lawrence Hodge laid off seven duties and one office worker.
Since that time, the fiscal court has restored about half the funding they had cut to the sheriff’s department, but several deputies remained laid off at the end of the year.

5) Williamsburg alcohol vote
In late January, local residents confirm that petitions are circulating to put a referendum on the May ballot that would allow legal alcohol sales for the first time ever in Williamsburg.
The referendum was identical to ones approved by Corbin residents by a vote of 1,152 to 941 in May 2003 to allow the sale of alcohol in large restaurants.
Nearly 1,400 Williamsburg residents went to the polls on May 16, and the measure was defeated by a vote of 790 to 577.
The May vote was much closer than the previous wet/dry election held in Williamsburg in September 1976 when dry forces trumped the wet forces by a vote of 1,315 to 180.

6) Williamsburg police officer resigns
An April 12 an on-duty accident involving Williamsburg Police Officer Brad Nighbert would have repercussions throughout the rest of year and into 2007.
The accident resulted in Nighbert having to be extricated from his police cruiser, and being airlifted from the scene to the University of Kentucky Medical Center for surgery..
In early July, a state police accident reconstructionist investigating the crash appeared before the Whitley County Grand Jury requesting a subpoena for Nighbert and the other driver’s medical records.
About six weeks later, results of Nighbert’s toxicology reports are leaked to the media, which show that three hours after the wreck he had cocaine and Oxycodone in his bloodstream.
On Sept. 8, Nighbert resigned minutes before a scheduled personnel hearing that could have resulted in his termination from the police department,.
Special Prosecutor Thomas Smith confirmed in December that the state police criminal investigation into the accident had been completed.
A Whitley County Grand Jury could hear the case this week.

7) Datatrac opens
On July 21, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced that Datatrac Information Services Inc. planned to open a new facility in Williamsburg.
With 250 employees, Datatrac instantly became one of the largest businesses in Williamsburg.
The company, which does state-of-the-art digital conversion and archiving, renovated the 57,000 square foot former Walmart building in the Cumberland Regional Mall.
During an Oct. 16 grand opening ceremony attended by Gov. Ernie Fletcher and various high ranking federal officials, Datatrac announced plans to hire another 100 employees by the end of the year.

8) SEKRI under the microscope
Southeast Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries (SEKRI) fell under the microscope during 2006 with questions about compensation packages for its top executives and whether it was in compliance with federal regulations on its nearly $80 million in government contracts.
SEKRI is a Corbin-based non-profit company created to help severely disabled workers find employment.
In early March, a series of articles in The Oregonian scrutinized contractors using the Javits-Wagner-O’Day (JWOD) program, which is a federal law that awards contracts to charity organizations who employ a high percentage of disabled workers. SEKRI is the fourth largest contractor receiving federal contracts from JWODS, and company executives received handsome raises in recent years to go along with the rise in profits.
The News Journal also ran an article looking at the executive pay package in early March, and later that month, the company’s executive director announced plans to “restructure” its lucrative bonus for executives.
In early October, federal regulators said SEKRI had misrepresented the number of direct labor hours being worked by several disabled employees during the 2005 fiscal year, and regulars expected the company to again be out of compliance with the rules in the 2006 fiscal year.
In a two-page letter, company officials said SEKRI had made “exceptional progress” toward meeting new federal requirements.
SEKRI was placed on probation, and company officials will have to go to Washington, D.C., in the spring to convince a federal committee that they should not be removed from the JWOD program.

9) Corbin restaurant tax
In late February, the Corbin City Commission approved final passage of the much-anticipated 3 percent restaurant tax.
In order to pass the tax, the city took great efforts in 2005 to drop from a third class city to a fourth class city so they could qualify for the tax.
The tax never received any public opposition during either reading of the ordinance.
By law, 100 percent of the tax has to go to the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission, which has pledged to use 75 percent of the tax to fund operation of the Southeast Kentucky Agriculture and Exposition Center.

10) Phil Warren passes away
Popular Corbin Firefighter Phil Warren was laid to rest Dec. 27 following a battle with cancer.
Warren died Dec. 22 just four days before his 43rd birthday.
Warren, a 15-year veteran of the Corbin Fire Department, was diagnosed with advanced cancer in mid-July. Despite aggressive treatment, the disease quickly spread to his lungs and bones.
In the months after he was first diagnosed with cancer, members of the fire department and community rallied to show their support. A benefit concert was held at the Corbin Civic Center, and firefighters held a car wash, and cookout to raise money to assist him with medical bills as well. One night, members of the department carried serving trays to tables at David’s Steakhouse as a fundraiser.
After Warren’s funeral, members of the fire department visited all three Corbin fire stations in his honor.