Larry Carte

Larry Carte, aged 73, of Williamsburg, KY, passed away on January 9, 2024, at the V.A. Medical Center in Lexington.
Born on January 27, 1950, in Charleston, West Virginia, to the late Ralph T. and Magdalene Williams Carte.
Larry, a dedicated individual, served as a member and former Pastor of Locust Grove Baptist Church and attended Buffalo Missionary Baptist Church.
In 2017, he served as Master of Williamsburg Masonic Lodge #490 and held the esteemed position of Grand Commander Knights Templar of Kentucky in 2016 & 2017. His commitment extended to various organizations, including Bluegrass #104 York Rite College, where he was a member, and past governor of York Rite College #104. Larry was also associated with the Centurion, a 32nd-degree Scottish Rite Lexington Valley, and a member of Williamsburg Commandry #50.
A proud graduate of Dupont High School Class of 1967 in Belle, West Virginia, Larry continued his education, earning degrees from Cumberland College in 1977 and Southeastern Seminary Wake Forest, NC in 1980. He retired as a special education teacher from Whitley County High School and found joy in officiating ballgames and indulging in his love for sports.
An ordained minister, he served churches in North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Larry, a Vietnam War veteran, served honorably in the U.S. Marines.
Larry is survived by his son, Ralph T. Carte II (Opelia Felipe); daughter, Tory Suter (Clifton); grandchildren, Kara Conley, Channing Carte, and Kason Bortz; as well as step-grandchildren, Annalisa Suter, Emmanuel Suter, and Larriuce Felipe. He is also survived by his sister, Wanda Smith (Joe); brothers, Tom Carte, and Mark Carte (Debbie); along with several nieces, nephews, and a host of relatives and friends.
Funeral service was held on Saturday, January 13, with Bro. Vernon Jones and Bro. Carl Jones officiating. Interment followed at Highland Park Cemetery Ellison Addition.
A memorial service in honor of Larry Carte will take place at Witcher Baptist Church in Belle, West Virginia, on Saturday, January 27. Larry’s legacy lives on in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the Knights Templar Holy Land Pilgrimage Grand Commandery of KY,  P.O. Box 481, Williamsburg, KY 40769.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.ellisonfh.com.
Ellison Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

David Chandler

David Chandler, age 75, of Rockholds, Ky., passed away Friday, January 12, 2024 at Baptist Health Corbin.
He was born November 17, 1948 in Rockholds, Ky. to the late William and Lola McKeehan Chandler. Along with his parents he was preceded in death by four sisters, Mae Pauline Chandler, Mabel Manus, Reba Jane Mounce and Ethel Pennington; three brothers, Robert Chandler, Albert Chandler and Raymond Chandler; three nieces, Regina Manus, Beth Ann Vanderpool and Rebecca King.
David was a Kentucky Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer, a licensed Insurance Agent and Minister. He was Pastor and member of Whetstone Christian Church.
He is survived by his wife, Frances Chandler of Rockholds, Ky.; four children, Karen Askins (Joe) of Rockholds, Ky., Robin Petrey (Mike) of Corbin, Ky., David Chandler (Jennifer) of Corbin, Ky., Susan Grubbs (Martin) of Richmond, Ky.; eight grandchildren, Kimberly Mays (Jared), Joshua Askins, Taylor Petrey, Rylee Petrey, Andrew Chandler (MacKenzie), Alex Chandler, Benjamin Blair and Elliot Blair; five great-grandchildren, two sisters, Dorothy Lee Walden (Doug) of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lena Hill (John) of Rockholds, Ky.; one brother, Lloyd Chandler of Rockholds, Ky.; several nieces, nephews and a host of relatives and friends to mourn his passing.
Funeral service will be at 1:00 pm Thursday, January 18, at Ellison Funeral Home with Rev. Jerry Sester and Bro. Pete Fields officiating.
Interment will be in Marlow Cemetery.
Visitation will be 6:00 pm Wednesday, January 17, at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Whetstone Christian Church, 1851 Whetstone Road Rockholds, Ky. 40759.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.ellisonfh.com.
Ellison Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Corbin PD responds to fewer calls in 2023, but make more arrests

During 2023, the Corbin Police Department answered fewer calls than it did during 2022, but it issued more citations, made more total arrests, and opened more criminal cases than in the prior year, according to a News Journal analysis of the agency’s annual reports for 2022 and 2023.

“The City of Corbin’s Police Department works tirelessly to ensure our community is provided a quality law enforcement service. We utilize all available resources to minimize the risk of the citizens we serve becoming a victim of criminal activity. The statistics reported below are proof of our commitment to this cause,” the Corbin Police Department in its 2023 yearly activity report.

Between Jan 1, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023, the Corbin Police Department answered 11,714 computer aided dispatch calls compared to 12,505 calls between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.

Corbin police issued 2,480 traffic or criminal citations in 2023, which was 335 more than the prior year.

Corbin police arrested 1,352 people during 2023, including 892 warrants served, 402 criminal arrests and 58 juvenile arrests. By comparison, Corbin police made a total of 1,259 arrests in 2022.

In 2023, Corbin police opened 450 cases for crimes, such as thefts and assaults, which was 14 more than the prior year.

Corbin police responded to 636 collisions in 2013, which was 18 more than in 2022.

“We encourage anyone with information about criminal activity to report it to Corbin Police Department at (606) 528-1122. You can also utilize our ‘Text Tip Line’ at (606) 215-6239,” the Corbin Police Department wrote in its 2023 activity report.

Queen of the Road: Sybil Wooten recounts her many years of leading travel groups

Sybil Wooten has always enjoyed working with and being around people. It is one of the main qualities that helped her enjoy success as a manager of customer service at the former First National Bank of Corbin. As it turns out, it also made her a perfect fit to help people realize their dreams of traveling to exciting destinations for nearly 20 years. (more…)

Corbin Fire Department responds to 1,170 calls in 2023

Overall, the Corbin Fire Department responded to nearly the exact same volume of runs in 2023 as it did in 2022, according to a News Journal analysis of the 2022 and 2023 run volume reports for the department.

“At Corbin Fire Department we respond to a wide variety of responses over the course of a year, from house fires to hands stuck in candy machines and everything in between. We are dedicated to serve the citizens of Corbin by training to be prepared for whatever emergency may happen; if it’s at 3 a.m. or 3 p.m. We wish everyone a safe 2024!” the Corbin Fire Department wrote in its report concerning its run volume for 2023.

The Corbin Fire Department responded to a total of 1,170 calls in 2023 compared to 1,164 calls in 2022, according to the reports.

The format of the two reports differs slightly, but some categories remained the remained the same in both reports.

Corbin firefighters responded to 21 structure/building fires in 2023, which was three less than in 2022. They responded to 449 medical calls in 2023 compared to 450 calls in 2022.

In 2023, firefighters responded to 166 vehicle collisions, which was 12 more than in 2022. They responded to 29 public service assistance calls in 2023, which was 11 more than the prior year.

Corbin firefighters responded to nine severe weather calls in both 2022 and 2023.

In 2023, they responded to 23 excessive heat calls, which was 17 fewer such calls than in 2022.

In all during 2023, Corbin firefighters responded to seven vehicle fires, five law enforcement assists, 14 rescue incidents, 43 smoke/alarm activations, 10 gas leaks, 27 “fire other” calls, and 367 “other” calls, according to the report.

The past week has been filled with ups and downs

From a personal standpoint, the last week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me.

Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.

On Jan. 5, I got a call that my aunt, Patsy “Pat” White, had passed away. We buried her Monday afternoon.

Pat was there for pretty much every big event in my life from high school graduation to standing in for my deceased mother and lighting the unity candle at my wedding.

She was there for pretty much every birthday often times baking the cake, as my mother was far from Betty Crocker in the kitchen. It was usually red velvet cake and always with red velvet icing.

Pat loved decorating for Christmas. She would have her color schemes for her Christmas tree planned out years in advance. She always over did it cooking for Christmas. One year she had at least one tub of Cool Whip for everyone there…LOL.

Pat was smart and funny.

She helped teach me how to drive often times taking me on unfamiliar roads so that I would have to think about what I was doing.

Pat was active in her church, Keck Baptist Church, for as long as she could be. She was a proud Christian. She was one of those people, who would drive her older friends to doctor’s appointments or the store, if they couldn’t drive themselves or didn’t have someone to take them.

The last few years of her life, Pat’s mind had started to slip, as sometimes happens to people when they get to be a certain point in their health and their lives.

She had to move into the nursing home during the pandemic.

The last two years or so, her body was still there, but her mind was largely gone. I remember after the death of our cousin, Terry, dad had brought Pat over to his house that Sunday afternoon. Three times over the course of three hours, she found out for the first time that Terry had died.

Over the last six months or so, Pat’s body started slipping like her mind had already done.

While I will miss her, a large part of me is glad that she has gone on to a much happier place where I have no doubt she will be surrounded by dogs and be busy planting flowers and visiting with people.

I know I will see her again there one day.

As I wrote earlier, the last week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me personally. The day before Pat’s death, I celebrated my 53^rd birthday.

I went out and ate at Pizza Hut in Williamsburg that evening with my wonderful wife, Cecelia. (What can I say, Pizza Hut just sounded good that night…LOL.)

Cecelia got me a really nice gift in the form of two tickets to see the University of Kentucky vs. University of Tennessee basketball game in Knoxville in March.

Go Cats!

(John Baker has already volunteered to go with me if my wife decides she doesn’t want to go…LOL.)

I am at the point with birthdays where I largely don’t dread them except for maybe the ones with a nine or zero at the end.

I just approach them with the attitude that getting one year older certainly beats the alternative. It also puts me one year closer to retirement, if that ever comes.

I’m hoping for a more normal rest of January from here on out, but who knows what the rest of the month will bring.

New parks and recreation director speaks to Rotary Club about current, future projects

Corbin Parks and Recreation Director Jacob Roan

Assuming all goes well with the installation of a pair of heaters, the Corbin City Pool should officially be opening back up to the public in the coming days. This was one bit of good news that was given to members of the Corbin Rotary Club last week by Jacob Roan, Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Corbin. (more…)

Exit 29 de-annexation officially underway by London City Council

The official process of the City of London de-annexing at Exit 29 has begun.

Jerry Dene Reynolds

Jerry Dene Reynolds, age 67, of Rutledge, TN went to be with his Lord on Sunday, January 7, 2024, at Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System in Morristown, TN.
Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, Oscar Lee Reynolds and Maude (Pennycuff) Reynolds; sisters, Cloretta Reynolds, Clarice Walden, Julie Reynolds; and brothers, Perry (Bud) Reynolds, Earnest Reynolds and Dink Reynolds.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Janice (Bowlin) Reynolds of Rutledge, TN; daughters, Rachel Young of Rutledge, TN, Leah Brasiel (Chris) of Morristown, TN; grandchildren, Jacob Young, Emma Young, Isaac Clark, Lynnsey Clark, Abbigail Brasiel, Cheyenne Brasiel and Colby Brasiel; spiritual daughter, Brandy Thomas; nephews, David Sean Reynolds (Lisa), Christopher Reynolds (Serena), Joe Reynolds (Stephanie); nieces, Delena Walden, Michelle Wright (Aaron), Lori Kirkland (Jamie), Rebecca Moses (James), Jennifer Reynolds; and several great-nieces and nephews; great-great nephews; and many friends; church family from numerous congregations; and Jerry’s work family at Walmart.
Funeral service will be at 7:00 pm Friday, January 12, at the Llewellyn Funeral Home Chapel in Jellico TN, with visitation 4:00 pm until the funeral hour at 7:00 pm.
Interment will be 11:00 am on Saturday, January 13, in the Douglas Cemetery at Wooldridge, TN.
The Llewellyn Funeral of Jellico in charge of arrangements.

Whitley County incumbents unchallenged in 2024

Incumbent officials running for Williamsburg City Council, Corbin City Commission, Whitley Circuit Court Clerk, 82^nd Representative District, 25^th Senate District, and Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 34^th Judicial District, which includes Whitley County and McCreary counties, won’t be opposed in their bids for re-election this year.