Suspected fatal overdose reported in northern Whitley County

An overdose mapping program, which is used in Kentucky, issued an alert Friday morning that a new suspected fatal overdose had been reported in Whitley County.

Come out to the 40th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days this week

When I first started covering Old Fashioned Trading Days in Williamsburg nearly 30 years ago, I learned one thing pretty quickly.

Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.

If you referred to it simply as “Trading Days” then Old Fashioned Trading Days founder and coordinator Teresa Estes was NOT going to be happy about it and would definitely let you know that she wasn’t happy about it…LOL.

When Teresa helped start the festival all those years ago, part of how it got its name was that several merchants would dress up in old tymed clothing. I have to say that made the festival fairly unique in the early days and gave it an identity.

This year we mark a milestone with the 40^th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days, and my hat is off to Teresa and all of the volunteers and organizers, both past and present, who have helped make it one of the region’s premiere festivals.

Set up for this year’s festival starts this afternoon with the festival taking place, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in downtown Williamsburg.

While I didn’t make it to the first 10 or so Old Fashioned Trading Days, I have been to most, if not all, of the festivals since that time and it has been interesting to see the festival evolve over the years.

Take entertainment for instance.

Initially, the only musical acts to perform were either bluegrass or gospel, which always annoyed me a little bit since I am not a huge fan of either musical genre.

However, in 2013, Old Fashioned Trading Days – after many years of encouragement from myself and Mayor Roddy Harrison among other people – added a second entertainment stage on Main Street with country and rock acts.

I, for one, think this greatly expanded the appeal of the festival.

For the first couple of decades or so the festival only allowed local food vendors. You had band boosters, football boosters, churches, cheerleaders, civic groups and so forth selling hot dogs, barbeque, hamburgers, soup beans and cornbread, etc.

I guess it was about 15 years ago that the festival started allowing outside food vendors so now you have gyros and so forth that are pretty popular.

Nothing against the gyro vendor and some other out of town food vendors, but personally I usually try to seek out local organizations with food booths at all of our festivals.

I like to support our local church youth groups, school choirs and so forth. Plus, buying food from local vendors keeps the money here in the community. These folks are generally going to buy most of their food locally and the proceeds from their sales will stay here benefitting our community. (Plus, if they sell me food that makes me sick – which has never happened so far – then I know where to find them…LOL.)

Although there have been some changes to the festival, some things have also stayed relatively the same.

For instance, the Whitley Central Intermediate School fifth graders also do a great patriotic performance to start Friday morning, and the Williamsburg High School Band and Williamsburg High School Choir always put on good shows then too.

On Saturday morning, the antique car show will take place in the parking lot of the judicial center, which always features some very cool old automobiles.

If you aren’t doing anything Thursday, Friday or Saturday then come down to Williamsburg and check out the festival. You will be glad that you did.

• If you’re down at Old Fashioned Trading Days on Friday or Saturday then stop by the News Journal’s booth, which will be open from 5 – 9 p.m. each day. If you didn’t get to register for our prize package giveaway during Nibroc, then be sure to register for it during Old Fashioned Trading Days.

Indiana man sentenced to 84 months for trafficking in machinegun conversion devices in Corbin

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced an Indiana man to 84 months in prison Thursday for selling devices that convert pistols into fully automatic machineguns to a confidential informant in Corbin last year.

Bailey Tyler Monde

Bethany’s Hope 988 art competition features work of young local artists

During Williamsburg’s Old Fashioned Trading Days this week and throughout the month of September, local residents will have the chance to view artwork designed by local students to raise awareness about suicide and ways to prevent it.

If they go view the art on Thursday, Sept. 7, during Old Fashioned Trading Days and vote, then they can also get a ticket for a free coffee or smoothie.

The second annual Bethany’s Hope 988 art competition features entries from local youth ages 13-18 or in grades 7^th – 12^th, and was available to local public, private and home school groups. The theme for this year’s contest was “Fearfully & Wonderfully Made.”

In August 2018, 16-year-old Bethany Faith Lawson became one of three people, and one of two teenagers in Whitley County, to die by suspected suicide over a 24-hour time period.

Bethany’s Hope was founded in dedication and memory of Lawson as a suicide prevention, awareness and support program in Williamsburg.

There will be a $100 cash prize for first place, a $50 cash prize for second place, and a $25 cash prize for third place, which will be determined by the community.

There will also be an overall winning piece that will be selected by a panel of local artists, which will be featured on a billboard off the interstate this fall.

The art display opened Sept. 5 at the Whitley County Fine Arts Extension Office, which is on Main Street across the street from Williamsburg City Hall, and will remain open through the end of the September.

On Thursday, Sept. 7, anyone, who goes into the fine arts extension office to view the exhibit and votes will get a ticket for a free coffee or smoothie from The Coffee Spot on Main Street in downtown Williamsburg.

The exhibit will be available for viewing on Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and on the Saturday during Old Fashioned Trading Days from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

The art contest is also designed to raise awareness about the 988 National Suicide Prevention Line, which can be reached 24 hours a day by dialing 988.

“Our hope is to get the 988 crisis line in the minds of our kids,” Lawson’s mother, Melissa Johnson, wrote in an e-mail.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached 24 hours a day by dialing 988. Locally, Cumberland River Behavioral Health answers the 988 line. Callers will be listened to, given local resources, and, if necessary, emergency services will be activated if a caller is at imminent risk of causing life threatening injury to themselves or others.

Some callers will be referred to Cumberland River Behavioral Health’s Crisis Hub, which provides crisis stabilization services for people in a mental health or substance use crisis, who are not at the point of needing hospitalization but need services beyond what outpatient can provide for a few days.

Locally there are 70-120 calls to the 988 line monthly. Of those calls, less than 10 calls require the intervention of emergency services.

Texting and chatting with 988 is also available for people in a mental health or substance use crisis. Text and chat is not currently provided locally, but will be in the next year. Texters and chatters will be connected with a crisis center in America. Individuals in crisis can additionally text “HOME” to 741741.

There will also be a one-mile Bethany’s Hope walk on Saturday, Sept. 16, starting at The Green Space on Main in downtown Williamsburg.

The one-mile walk starts at 9 a.m., and will be led by 82^nd Rep. Nick Wilson and his predecessor, Regina Huff.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

Suicide is the 10^th leading cause of death overall in the United States and is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34.

In Kentucky, there is a death by suicide every 11 hours. For every completed suicide, there are also 25 suicide attempts where the person doesn’t die.

Statistics also show that someone, who dies by suicide, affects at least six people.

The Youth Behavior Risk Survey shows that 18.4 percent of Kentucky high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, and 8.9 percent of Kentucky’s high school students attempted suicide in the previous 12 months.

The Kentucky Incentives for Prevention survey reports that in 2021, 11 percent of Kentucky students felt unsafe while at school, and that 6,924 students in Kentucky self-reported to have attempted suicide at least one time within the past year.

Below are some links to resources you can seek if you or someone you care about needs help.

• Zero Suicide in Healthcare and Behavioral Healthcare – www.zerosuicide.org.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center – www.sprc.org.
• National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention – http://actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org.
• American Association of Suicidology – www.suicidology.org.
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – www.afsp.org.
• National Council for Behavioral Health – http://www.thenationalcouncil.org.

Your local community mental health center, Cumberland River Behavioral Health (Comp Care), will see anybody. It can be reached at (606) 549-1440 or (606) 528-7010.

Whitley Co. man involved in shooting incident is facing attempted murder charge

Steward Peace

Additional details have been released concerning a shooting that took place in Corbin in July, with one of the two people found shot being charged with attempted murder of the other.

Electronic Edition For 9-6-2023

Deeds

40th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days set for this weekend

The 40th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days is set to take over downtown Williamsburg from Thursday through Saturday, with this year’s event expected to be the biggest one ever.

Food vendors and booths are expected to be set up Wednesday, though the festivities officially kickoff Thursday with activities beginning at 3 p.m. when Kathy Lay presents a free art class on stage two, which will be located on Main Street, and music beginning at 4 p.m. with the Level Green Boys Gospel Group on stage one, which will be located near Bill Woods Park.

Stage one will largely feature gospel and bluegrass music, with stage two mostly hosting country and rock music.

Other acts scheduled for Thursday evening include the Higher Ground Singers and Adam Crabb on stage one, with Low Down South and 8 Daze Sober on stage two.

Registration for the yearly garden and canning contests begins Friday and is open from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Judging is scheduled to follow at 11 a.m. and contestants can pick up their entries between 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

On stage one, Whitley Central Intermediate fifth graders will perform at 10 a.m., followed by the University of the Cumberlands Band at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m. the Williamsburg High School Choir will perform followed by the Williamsburg High School Band at 11:30 a.m.

Gospel music will resume on stage one at 4 p.m. with Straight Creek, while ventriloquist Ron Lighty takes stage two at 3 p.m. County Wide will wrap up the night on stage two beginning at 8 p.m.

Saturday’s festivities kick off with a car show that will take place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the Whitley County Judicial Center.

Starting at 10 a.m. on stage two, there will be a beauty pageant for contestants ages 0-18, followed by a performance from the Dance Centre at 11 a.m.

Registration will start at 1:30 p.m. for the Sid Strunk Memorial Corn Toss Tournament, with play beginning at 2 p.m.

Music for the evening begins at 4 p.m. on both stages. On stage one, His Heart takes the stage first, followed by The Believers, The Freemans, The Whisnants and Jeff Tolbert and Primitive Road.

Bobby Hamblin and the Lawless open up for stage two, with performances from Pistol Whip, Zac Hart Band and Paint Creek following.

In preparation for getting the various stalls, vendors and stages set up, Main Street will be closed to traffic beginning at midnight Tuesday, Sept. 5. The one-block portions of Third Street that intersect with Main Street will also be closed at that time.

Cumberland Avenue will be closed from Fourth Street to Second Street. That closing will begin Thursday evening once the school bus routes have finished. Sycamore Street will also be closed this year from Second Street to Third Street.

Williamsburg Tourism Director Alvin Sharpe said that the additional closures are due to the festival’s growth.

“This is the biggest one we’ve ever had,” said Sharpe. “We got more vendors than we’ve ever had, we got more food trucks than we’ve ever had.”

For more information about Old Fashioned Trading Days, call (606) 549-0530 or 1-800-552-0530.

District Court Records

Editor’s note: The News Journal publishes only the final disposition of district court criminal cases except for those which are waived to a grand jury or dismissed without condition.

Cumberlands receives record $25 million donation for student scholarships

The University of the Cumberlands has received its single largest donation in school history, which is a $25 million donation from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation to support student scholarships. The donation will allow many students to graduate with little or no student loan debt, UC announced in a release Tuesday.

President Larry L. Cockrum expressed deep gratitude for the Rollins Foundation’s remarkable investment in the education of students.

“We are immensely grateful to the Rollins Foundation for their extraordinary commitment to our mission,” said President Larry L. Cockrum. “For over four decades, the Rollins Foundation has been instrumental in supporting our efforts to empower students and ensure they have the opportunity to obtain a college degree.”

Cumberlands is matching the Foundation’s contribution dollar for dollar, bringing the total investment in student scholarships to $50 million. The R. Randall Rollins Endowed Scholars Program will benefit 500 on-campus undergraduate students annually, enabling students to seek higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

“My grandfather’s Foundation was started to provide scholarships to those who would otherwise be unable to afford to attend college,” said Amy R. Kreisler, Executive Director of the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation. “We are very pleased to support Cumberlands’ commitment to its students in this way.”

The new scholarship program follows several initiatives launched in recent years to make a quality education at Cumberlands affordable for students.

In 2018, Cockrum lowered tuition for on-campus undergraduate students by 57 percent. In 2019, those same students received free textbooks. Earlier this year, the university announced the “One Price Promise,” which provides free textbooks to all students while eliminating all other costs and establishing a straightforward tuition price.

“At Cumberlands, we believe every student deserves equal access to a quality, affordable education,” said Cockrum. “This transformational gift will have a lasting impact on the lives of our students, allowing them to pursue their dreams without the financial burden that often accompanies higher education.”

The relationship between the Rollins Foundation and Cumberlands dates back to 1975, when O. Wayne Rollins, founder of Rollins, Inc., of which Orkin Pest Control is a subsidiary, made a $500 gift for student work scholarships. After the passing of O. Wayne Rollins in 1991, his sons, Randall and Gary, took over the leadership of the family company and continued their generous support of the university.

The Rollins Foundation has donated over $38 million for significant campus projects at Cumberlands, including the O. Wayne Rollins Athletic Center, Grace Crum Rollins Fine Arts Complex, the Rollins Family Learning Center, Physician Assistant housing, and the campus science complex. The Foundation has also established endowed funds supporting the university’s workship and business programs.

“The R. Randall Rollins Endowed Scholars program serves as a powerful example for others to follow as we continue our daily quest to make a quality private college education more affordable for our Appalachian students,” said Bill Stohlmann, Vice President for Development at Cumberlands.

1. Randall Rollins was a revered business leader known for his deep-rooted commitment to education. Born in 1931, he began his journey with humble origins, marked by working on the family farm.

While Mr. Rollins would go on to achieve tremendous business and financial success, he remained faithful to the tenets laid out by his father and mother that the most important things in a child’s life are faith, morals, integrity, honesty, hard work, perseverance and education, the UC release stated.