Craig Allon Anderson

Craig Allon Anderson, age 57, of Williamsburg, Kentucky passed away Monday, December 18, 2023, at his home. He was born July 17, 1966, in Watervilet, Michigan.
Craig was preceded in death by father, Edward Anderson; and mother, Margaret (Stallings) Birdsall.
He is survived by son, Dylan Anderson; brothers, Steve Anderson, and Scott Anderson; and a host of nieces, nephews, friends and family to mourn his passing.
Funeral service was Friday, December 22, at the Harp Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. James Hackler officiating.
Burial followed in the Douglas Cemetery in the Wooldridge community of Jellico, Tennessee.
Harp Funeral Home of Jellico in charge of arrangements.

Savannah Barbara Blanton Carnes

Savannah Barbara Blanton Carnes, 100, died Wednesday, December 20, 2023. She was born on February 1, 1923, to Denver Mitchell and Savannah Smith Blanton in Algoma, Mississippi. There she was raised by the rails of the GM&O before moving to nearby Houston.
Barbara was a member of the 1940 Class of Houston High School. She received an Associate of Arts from Wood Junior College, Bachelor of Science from Delta State Teachers College and a Master of Arts from George Peabody College for Teachers. From 1957 until her retirement in 1988 she was a professor at Cumberland College having taught courses in English Composition, Teaching of Reading, Children’s Literature, and Early Childhood Education. During her career she was selected 1974 Teacher of the Year and 1983 Honored Professor. In 1978 the B&PW Club named her Business Woman of the Day.
She was a member of the First Baptist Church where she served as chairperson of the Child Care Committee. She was a former trustee of the Whitley County Library.
Along with her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Ferrell “Prof” Carnes; sister, Alva Merle Blanton; brothers, Denver Garland Blanton, Marlin Doyle Blanton and Dewey Bennett Blanton; and grandson, Simon “Sim” Leonard Renfro IV.
She is survived by her three children, Frank Ferrell Carnes Jr., Catharine Carnes (Ronnie) Renfro, and Robert Garland (Bethani) Carnes; four grandchildren, Aaron Ferrell (Jessica) Renfro, William Joseph (Jaclyn) Renfro, Zachary Ryan (Mattie) Carnes, and Kaitlyn Brooks Carnes; two great-grandchildren, Leo Raymond Renfro and Annie Louise Carnes.
A private memorial service will be held at the Croley Edition of the Highland Park Cemetery with Dr. Bob Dunston officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Bluegrass Care Navigators, 1733 Harrodsburg Rd, Lexington, KY 40504.
Croley Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Reflecting on 80 years of joy at Christmas time

Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Christmas brings Joy and Happiness, but the older you get it is more Joy than Happiness. Here’s why; Happiness can be caused by luck, good fortune, or other personal pleasures. For example, about 80 years ago as a four year old who was then believing in Santa Claus, the gifts I got made me happy. But now as I look back at over eight decades of memories of Christmases, I feel the Joy they have brought. Joy is caused by a moment in time, as in the time we celebrate now, the birth of Jesus!

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

My best memory was when I was about six years old. I wanted Santa to bring me a scooter. After hearing every sound that I thought could be Santa I finally went to sleep. The next morning it was there. A bright red scooter. I couldn’t wait to ride it, but when I went outside my friend Billy also got a scooter and it was bigger than mine. I wondered why Santa liked him more than me.

A few years later I couldn’t wait to get home after school let out for the holidays. The first thing we did was purchase or cut down a Christmas tree. I shared the decorating of the tree with my two older sisters. They were cedar trees and remember those big lights we decorated with? They would get so hot they would burn you. It was my job to keep the tree watered. I pitched in on the decorating which was not appreciated by my sisters. I thought throwing a big bunch of icicles on the tree looked good. They didn’t.

Even before decorating the tree our thoughts turned to Christmas when the big two-inch Montgomery Ward catalogue would arrive. I would spend hours on the couch looking at the pictures, knowing I would not get any of what I was looking at, especially the boxes of candy that made my mouth water.

Part of the greatest memory that brings Joy to my heart today was the gathering of family at my parent’s house. I had seven sisters and those who could be there on Christmas Eve were there with their children. It was standing room only in that little house. The fun started when my mother would open the gifts from my father. Always one of my sisters had done the shopping and he was as surprised as we were at what she received. Then he would put on a big show of expression for the gifts he got. Pure Joy!

The Joy of Christmas got even greater after my marriage to Judy Holman after we had our first daughter, Angie. The memories of seeing a little sleepy-eyed girl coming to see what Santa had brought are precious. The same is true for our other two daughters, Ashley and Amber.

It was so wonderful that I bought a Super 8 film camera and recorded all the scenes. I have a box full of film and recently I bought a converter to change the film to digital. It is a project I’ll get to after Christmas. Christmas with our children was pure Joy!

Attending church and being a part of Christmas programs has lasting memories for me. I feel fortunate to have been selected several times to be the narrator for Christmas and Easter programs at our church. My memorization at age 84 has slipped a little, but I still know the verses from the Bible by heart after saying them so often. Also, our church had Christmas songs and a dinner show for a couple of years. I was the MC for those and those are part of my Christmas Joy.

Christmas has changed greatly as I get older. No longer is there a house full of people and children opening gifts. Our daughter from Lexington, along with Trent and grandson Blake will be here. We will attend the candle lighting ceremony at church and open gifts, but it won’t be like that house full of years gone by.

When I write about Joy at Christmas, which is great, I also recognize that Christmas can be the loneliest day of the year for many people. Then how can one have Joy when sadness is there. It is possible to be sad and be Joyous at the same time if you are a believer of Jesus Christ. You know that the loved ones who believed and accepted Christ are now with perfect and everlasting Joy.

I have just learned that I have lost a relative here at Christmas, but I know the Joy she is having now. It is tough and with my condolences to all who are faced with this situation, remember “For Unto us a Savior was born on Christmas Day” and “Joy Comes in the Morning!”

Merry Christmas!

UPDATE: KSP releases name of suspect in Sat. shooting in Gray

Kentucky State Police has released the name of the suspect being sought in connection to a shooting incident that occurred Saturday in the Gray community of Knox County.

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Wilson praised for going ‘above and beyond’ the call of duty

The Corbin City Commission spent several minutes during its regularly scheduled monthly meeting Monday recognizing a pair of Corbin police officers for outstanding working, including Assistant Police Chief Major Coy Wilson for going above and beyond the call of duty.

Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus read a letter from Robert and Glenna Berru thanking Wilson for his help involving a situation with her Glenna’s mother, Glenna Dungey, a few months ago.

“I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Corbin’s best police Major Coy Wilson, who went above and beyond his call of duty as a public servant with his compassion for a citizen in dire need,” Glenna Berru wrote.

She went on to explain that Wilson noticed her mother, Glenna Dungey, who had lived in Corbin for over 23 years, needed help from a family member.

Wilson contacted Berru though a number on file after a welfare check on her mother in April 2023.

Glenna Dungey was an independent woman, whose health was declining and her memory was also failing due to dementia. Because of the dementia, Dungey allowed some of her “friends” to take advantage of her by moving into her home, trashing it and taking her money.

After her doctor revoked her driving privilege, she was walking everywhere with local “rift raft” giving her rides multiple places taking advantage of her money, Glenna Berru wrote in the letter.

She was estranged from her family due to the dementia, and her daughter was unaware of how destitute the situation had become.

After she arrived from California, Wilson made it a priority to help Berru alleviate the situation with her mother and the people that she was surrounding herself with.

“He (Wilson) provided us with all of the information that we needed to petition for emergency guardianship for my mother. Without his help I have no doubt in my mind my mother would have left this world without her family having knowledge of her passing,” Berru wrote in the letter.

“I want to thank Major Coy Wilson for giving us the knowledge and resources to remove her from this mess, and bringing my mom to California. With his compassion for the citizens in this town, he made it possible for my mother to spend the last four months of her life with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren with laughter, smiles and love for her family instead of fearing for her life.”

“Again, thank you kindly Major Coy Wilson for everything you have done for my mother and my family. We are grateful for all of your compassion as a public servant. May God bless you and your family this holiday season. With sincere gratitude and respect, Robert and Glenna Berru.”

Razmus noted that she wasn’t a bit surprised by the letter.

Corbin Police Chief Rusty Hedrick added that this is nothing short of what Wilson does on a daily basis.

“I appreciate all of his effort and everything he has done for the department and for me. He’s a good one to have by my side,” Hedrick said.

Also, during Monday’s meeting, Hedrick recognized Patrolman Chris Brown, who recently won a Governor’s Impaired Driving Enforcement Award for having the most DUI arrests of any officer in the department.

Hedrick said that Brown had 26 DUI arrests between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023.

“He does a really outstanding job with those. Impaired drivers are a passion of his. He is out there all the time,” Hedrick said.

In addition, Hedrick thanked the Corbin Fire Department for its support of the Shop with a Cop program in helping take 130 less fortunate children on Christmas shopping sprees last week.

“Without them, we would never have gotten those kids through there like we did,” Hedrick said.

In other business, the city commission approved the hiring of Wayne Bird as a full-time police officer effective Dec. 9.

Bird served 27 years working for the City of Williamsburg before retiring in 2022. He spent 14 of those years working as the Williamsburg Police Chief.

Bird also worked for most of 2023 for the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department as a lieutenant.

Single-vehicle crash claims life of Rockholds man Thursday

A Thursday afternoon crash claimed the life of Rockholds man.

I wish we could keep the spirit of Christmas all year round

If we could harness the spirit of giving year round that exists at Christmas time, then there is no telling what we could accomplish. I’m not just talking about the spirit of giving from those, who donate to a worthy cause and those that volunteer to help make it happen. I’m also talking about the children getting help too.

Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.

Saturday morning, I went out to Immanuel Baptist Church where volunteers had stayed up all night wrapping Christmas presents for the Southeast Kentucky Empty Stocking Fund Christmas party.

Over 600 children received a wrapped Christmas present, a new pair of shoes, new socks, books and a blanket among other items. Children ages six, seven and eight years old also received a free bicycle.

It took nearly as many volunteers as there were children to make the event happen.

Last Tuesday evening, Trevor Sherman joined the Corbin Police Department for its Shop with a Cop program at the Corbin Walmart where over 130 children got to go on Christmas shopping sprees.

Last Thursday morning, I joined the folks over at Forcht Bank in Barbourville, who helped with the Knox County Sheriff’s Department Shop with a Cop program, which took 14 children on $100 shopping sprees.

Afterwards, the children, some of their family members, and most of the sheriff’s department were treated to a free lunch at Forcht Bank, which included a visit from Santa Claus. Each child also received a gift bag loaded with items from Forcht Group, and a new bicycle courtesy of Forcht Bank.

Last Thursday evening, Timothy Wyatt got to go take pictures of the Williamsburg Police Department Shop with a Cop program at the Williamsburg Walmart where nearly 180 children got to go on $100 shopping sprees.

Shop with a Cop is one of my favorite events to cover each year, and not just for the smiles on these kid’s faces as they are getting toys and presents.

One of the surprising constants that you see over and over again at each of these Shop with a Cop events is that many of these children, who don’t have a lot monetarily speaking, want to buy presents first for their siblings before they do so for themselves.

They are pleasantly surprised to learn that their siblings will have their own money to spend and that this is just for them. If we all took note of these examples, the world would be a better place.

Kudos to everyone, who helped make these events and several other events across the Tri-County area possible, and to many of our local children, who truly understand the spirit of giving.

Now for a few other things before I conclude this column.

• Let me brag a minute about a couple of News Journal employees, who pitched in to help with some of these events. Timothy Wyatt helped pick up presents across the area Thursday afternoon for the Toys for Tots program, and delivered them to the program’s warehouse in Emlyn.

On Friday, Trevor Sherman and his son, Connor Sherman, helped pick-up presents for the Empty Stocking Fund and then they helped with the wrapping.

• Last week we ran a story talking about how the Whitley County Clerk’s office wouldn’t be able to process vehicle or boat registrations or transfers for a couple of weeks after Dec. 28 due to the state of Kentucky switching over to a new database system. You also won’t be able to get a new license plate issued or a disabled parking permit during this time period.

The portion of the clerk’s office, which does these things, will reopen for business on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Between Dec. 28 and Jan. 11, the clerk’s office will still be open for things like getting a marriage license and recording deeds, mortgages, notary renewals, voter registration and candidate filings among other things.

In other words, if you need to renew your vehicle registration or transfer a car title, then you need to get down to the clerk’s office sooner or you will be waiting until a good bit later to make this happen.

Corbin Ind. pursuing purchase of properties near CHS

The Corbin Independent School District is expected to purchase more property near Corbin High School to be used for a currently-undisclosed purpose.

The Corbin Board of Education met last Tuesday for a special-called meeting, in which board members authorized Superintendent David Cox to pursue the purchase of two pieces of property off of Early Street near the back-end of the high school campus.

According to Cox, as of Friday, the purchases had not been finalized.

Cox said he could not share further information regarding plans for that space until the sale is approved, though he did note there are two old house that currently sit on the lots that the district is pursuing.

In other board of education business:

– The creation of a position for an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Corbin Elementary School was also approved. That position is expected to be implemented beginning with the 2024-2025 school year at a stipend rate of $800.

Whitley County Grand Jury indicts 12 people for bail jumping

If you are charged with a crime in Whitley or McCreary Circuit Court, and you don’t show back up for court, then your legal woes will be getting a bit worse from here on out.

London businessman indicted by Knox County Grand Jury

A London businessman, who is accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from customers and not providing them with what they paid for, has been indicted by a Knox County grand jury.