Patriot Award…

Dr. John Fox (center) recently received the Patriot Award from the Williamsburg chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Captain Charles Gatliff Chapter. Presenting the award from left to right are Jimmy Schneider of London, Don Crago of Manchester,  Mike White of Barbourville, and David Etter of Williamsburg.

 

Contestants sought for 2024 Miss Whitley County Fair pageants

The 2024 Whitley County Fair pageants are still looking for contestants of several ages when the competitions are held on July 5-6 at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center.

“We want as many people to come out as possible to support the fair. It is near and dear to my heart,” said Michelle Calton, director of the pageant.

Contestants can register on the day of the pageant.

Calton said that while there has been a Ms./Mrs. Whitley County Fair Pageant competition the last couple of years, this year’s winner will get to go on to compete in a Kentucky Ms./Mrs. County Fair Pageant for the first time.

“Now they actually have that open for them to win a state title, which is exciting,” Calton said.

Contestants in this category will be judged in evening gown, cocktail and interview categories.

The Miss Whitley County Fair Pageant is open to young women from across the state, and the winner of that pageant will go on to compete at the state level in the Miss Kentucky County Fair Pageant.

This year will mark the second time that there will also  be a local winner crowned for the Whitley County contestant, who finishes the highest in the competition if a local contestant doesn’t win. However, the local winner will not go on to compete in the state competition.

Contestants will compete in evening gown, swimwear and interview.

“Say a local girl doesn’t win, then the next highest score of a local contestant will win a local title and a scholarship to the University of the Cumberlands. Both of those ladies will win a scholarship,” Calton added.

The Miss Whitley County Fair Pageant and the Ms./Mrs. Whitley County Fair Pageant will both take place on July 5.

On the morning of July 6, there will be beauty competitions for the younger contestants at the tourism center.

Starting about 2:30 p.m. on July 6 at the tourism center, the competition for the Little Miss and Mister, teen and pre-teen pageants will take place. Winners in these categories will go on to compete in the state competition.

The Little Miss and Mister will have an onstage question. The teen and pre-teen will compete in interview, evening gown and fun fashion.

There will be categories for boys ages 0-2, ages 3-6, and ages 7-10.

There will be categories for girls up to age 15 during the July 6 competition.

In addition, there will be a special angels competition, which open for those with special needs, which is an all beauty competition.

For more information about the pageants, go to the Whitley County Fair Facebook page, or contact Calton at (606) 524-4635.

 

Williamsburg native authors new book about yesteryear in her hometown

Three Point Cafe. Petrey’s Super Market. Bailey’s Country Store. Mr. Cola Bottling Co. AB’s Barbecue Shack. These are just a few of the once-familiar local landmarks that get revisited in the pages of Diane Taylor Roberts’ new book, That’s What I Thought: Growing Up in 1960’s Appalachia. (more…)

 

Public housing directors have the chance to serve as a force for positive change within our communities

Hopefully, you have been following along in recent weeks with the ongoing special series dedicated to looking at issues related to homelessness and housing insecurity in our local area. We have spoken to a couple of faith leaders about ongoing efforts to assist those who are in need of basic necessities. We have also checked in with KCEOC Community Action Partnership to learn about some of the reasons behind why folks might find themselves experiencing housing insecurity. Most recently, we spoke to the director of the Emergency Christian Ministries homeless shelter in Williamsburg about how people can begin to climb their way out of desperation and back toward sustainability. (more…)

 

Weart “Mickey” McCracken Jr.

Weart “Mickey” McCracken Jr., age 91, of Corbin, Kentucky, passed away on Friday, June 14, 2024, in Corbin. He would have celebrated his 92nd birthday on July 20, 2024.
Born in Corbin, he was a son of the late Weart McCracken Sr., and Pauline Ford McCracken.
Mickey was the longtime owner-operator of McCracken Maintenance and he was a member of East Side Church of God in Corbin.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Bishop McCracken; and by a brother, Ivan McCracken.
Mickey is survived by his daughter, Kimberly Helton and husband Gary; granddaughter, Ashley Sizemore and husband Travis; and by three great-grandchildren, Blaine Sizemore, Gunner Sizemore, and Brooklyn Sizemore.
A private visitation and funeral was held for the family at Vankirk-Grisell Funeral Home.
Burial followed in Pine Hill Cemetery in Corbin.

 

KSP charges Whitley Co. man with child sexual exploitation offenses

Kentucky State Police issued a statement Friday afternoon announcing that a Whitley County man has been arrested and charged with 20 counts of distributing matter portraying a minor over 12 but under 18 in a sexual performance. (more…)

 

James (Jim) C. Caddell

James (Jim) C. Caddell, age 83 of Eastlake, Ohio passed away on June 25, 2024.
He was born in Wolf Creek, KY. on September 20, 1940 to the late Wymer and Neaner Caddell.
James was a tool and die maker by trade and retired from ABB, previously know as Bailey Controls, in Wickliffe, Ohio in 2003.
He liked to make gadgets to make life easier and followed all the Cleveland sports teams. He was a member of the Weslaco Sportsman’s Club for 40 years. In addition, he played guitar and sang in a country blue grass band for many years that played at area nursing homes and senior centers.
James (Jim) is survived by his daughter, Barbara “Jeannie” (Mark) Reddick; his brother, Henry Caddell of Williamsburg, KY; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Barbara (Huddleston); his parents, Wymer and Neaner Caddell; siblings, Raymond Caddell, Otis Caddell, Jackie Lambdin, Lucille Caddell, Irene Lambdin, and Geneva Caddell.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Please visit Monreal Srnick.com to offer condolences or share a memory of James (Jim).
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

 

Answering the question of ‘what’s next’ as Corbin begins annexation process in southern Laurel Co.

The next 12 months and the following few years should be an exciting time in Corbin as the city sees one of the biggest expansions ever of its city limits, and significant development along the Exit 29 corridor, which may finally help it reach its full potential.

The Corbin City Commission officially took the first step last week to annex the right-of-way along the Exit 29 corridor from the KY-770 bridge to “malfunction junction,” which is technically known as the junction of US25E and US25W. The ordinance also annexes the right-of-way along I-75 from the Whitley County line up to Exit 29.

This ordinance will annex a total of 143.426 acres of Laurel County land into the Corbin city limits.

This is more or less the same tract of land that the city of London annexed in 2020 minus the old King’s Truck Stop property, which prompted a lawsuit by Corbin. The London City Council voted to de-annex this property last year, but a temporary state moratorium last year prohibited Corbin and other cities from annexing property in counties. This moratorium was lifted last month, which cleared the way for Corbin’s latest annexation effort.

Why is being annexed into the city limits important for some businesses?

This question can be largely answered with one word.

Alcohol. (Booze is also an acceptable answer…LOL.)

Currently alcohol sales are not allowed in any of our local counties, such as Whitley, Laurel and Knox counties, but alcohol sales are allowed inside the city limits of most of our regional towns, such as Corbin, London, Barbourville, and Williamsburg.

This means that you can buy a case of beer at the Williamsburg Walmart, which is located inside the Williamsburg city limits, but you can’t buy a case of beer at the Corbin Walmart, which is located outside of the official Corbin city limits.

The same holds true for gas stations, convenience stores and restaurants.

No, it is not all about alcohol, but the ability to sell alcohol will be a major factor in several businesses along the Exit 29 corridor requesting to be annexed into the Corbin city limits.

My best guess is that within the next 12 months, Walmart and pretty much every gas station and little convenience store along this stretch of roadway will be annexed into the Corbin city limits, and most will either be selling alcohol or close to being able to sell alcohol by then.

I suspect that you will also see multiple restaurants there serving alcohol less than one year from now. Sonny’s BBQ was built with a bar area in the restaurant. Cracker Barrel’s corporate website features “beer, wine, mimosas & more” on its drink menu so it is a realistic expectation that Cracker Barrel will seek to have its Corbin location annexed into the city limits.

As far as the other handful of existing restaurants along that corridor, we will just have to wait and see. Some will. Some won’t.

I will be completely shocked if the owners of the old King’s Truck Stop property don’t request annexation into the city limits as soon as possible. This property is primed for development with a new road leading through it is already in place.

Alcohol sales could be enough to entice two or three chain restaurants to possibly locate there or perhaps the opening of some new restaurants by local entrepreneurs.

This in turn could lead to various retail businesses opening up shop there. There is vast potential for the development of that property.

The annexation of businesses is a win for the city of Corbin as these new businesses would pay city taxes, alcohol taxes (if applicable), and I am sure an occupational tax at some point, but this is another topic for another day.

Be forewarned that none of what I am talking about will happen overnight. It’s a process just to annex property into a city limits.

For instance, the Corbin City Commission must still pass the second reading of the ordinance annexing the right-of-way in this portion of Laurel County. The ordinance must then be advertised in the newspaper.

After this, businesses interested in being annexed into the Corbin city limits will make a request to be annexed, an ordinance will have to be drawn up to annex the property into the city limits, first and second readings of ordinances will have to take place, ordinances will have to be advertised, etc.

Then businesses will have to go through the process of applying for a liquor license in order to sell alcohol, which will take several more months.

Put simply, it is going to be a little while before any businesses are actually annexed into Corbin so be patient, but development should come with it relatively soon.

 

Corbin Rotary Club hands out scholarships

At its June 20 meeting, the Corbin Rotary Club presented 2024 Rotary Scholarships to the following individuals. Pictured left-right are Mahayla Jordan, Bailey Stewart, Haleigh Black, Alyssa Jones, MaryAlice McVey, Colby Johnson and Grayson Maggard. Alyssa is from Lynn Camp High School and the rest are from Corbin High School.  Scholarship winners not present were Tanner Marcum, Bailyn Scent and Zachary Clifton from Corbin and Sassie Mitchell from Lynn Camp. Each got $1,000.

 

Open air structure being built at WC Fairgrounds will not be ready for fair

The new open-air structure being built at the Whitley County Fairgrounds will not be ready in time for the 2024 Whitley County Fair, though it is expected to host several other events later this year.

The Whitley County Fiscal Court held their regular monthly meeting last Tuesday, where a change order was approved for the ongoing construction of the structure. That change order required that the concrete the structure will be built upon to be increased.

According to Judge-Executive Pat White, Jr., the change was due to a slight oversight from before the project was even started. 

“We originally bid it before we had a full architect and consultation with the state, so the concrete footers had to be substantially larger than the base plan for the building was,” said White. 

The holes for the footers had been dug as of last week and concrete was expected to begin being poured sometime this week. White said that workers at the site anticipate having all the footers finished and the dirt cleared before the fair begins next month. 

Despite the change order, it has not impacted the delay in the structure’s progress. According to White, several permitting issues have been the biggest obstacle since construction began. Chief among those was in regards to fire safety.

Once finished, the structure will be 125 feet wide and 300 feet long, which could make it the largest open-air building in the state, according to White. However, buildings that large normally require specific fire safety measures, including alarms and sprinklers.

But being an open-air structure that people could freely exit created a unique problem.

“The State of Kentucky said they hadn’t ever permitted an open-air structure that large. So, they didn’t really have specs to go off of,” said White. 

Ultimately, state officials decided a sprinkler system was not necessary, which White said would have been more than the entire cost of the building due to its location, but an alarm system will be required.

Once the fair has concluded, the steel beams for the structure will begin being installed.

Though it will miss this year’s fair, White said it will see use this year.

“We have some events planned for this fall and it’ll probably be ready for them,” said White.

Among the events currently being discussed are a rodeo and a circus.

In other fiscal court business:

– The fiscal court voted to approve a contract with Coddell Construction as the construction manager for the county’s upcoming expansion of the Whitley County Detention Center (WCDC).

The fiscal court voted to hire the company for that role during their meeting last month.

The expansion at WCDC is expected to add up to 100 beds to the jails current 184-bed capacity. The project is possible due to $7.5 million in state funds allocated to the county for correctional renovations.

During last week’s meeting, the fiscal court also voted to approve opening a new bank account to hold those funds separately from the county’s other money.

– A public hearing and subsequent vote was held to close part of Kidd Road. According to White, several adjoining property owners were in attendance. The fiscal court voted to close the portion in question, though that merely means it will be removed from the county’s maintenance. However, property owners could decide to close the road off.