W’Burg Ind. grad walk held Friday for kindergartners and seniors

Photos by TIMOTHY WYATT

Each year, Williamsburg Independent School holds a grad walk through the halls of the school to celebrate kindergartners and seniors, the two groups of students who have an annual graduation ceremony. The kindergartners pair with a senior student for the walk, where the halls are lined with the rest of the student body clapping and cheering on the graduates. This year’s grad walk was held Friday at noon.

Federal disaster declaration approved for Whitley, 10 other counties

President Joe Biden approved a federal disaster declaration Wednesday for 11 Kentucky counties, including Whitley County, in connection with April 2-3 tornadoes and storms that swept across Kentucky.

Gov. Andy Beshear requested the declaration in April, and the approval makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Boyd, Carter, Fayette, Greenup, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Mason, Oldham, Union and Whitley counties. Beshear said additional counties could be added after additional damage assessments are completed.

“We are thankful to President Biden and his administration for approving this funding, which will be a big help for our families and communities recovering from these devastating tornadoes and storms,” Beshear said. “We continue to thank our first responders and those continuing cleanup efforts for their unwavering support.”

Whitley County Emergency Management Director Jerry Rains said that after the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) came down and did a joint damage assessment with him in Whitley County where a total of 21 homes were surveyed.

The survey showed that 10 homes were destroyed in the Diamond Acres RV Resort. Out of the remaining 11 homes surveyed, four had major damage, three had minor damage and four were affected. All of the residents did have insurance.

According to the White House, assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the entire state. FEMA’s E. Craig Levy Sr. has been appointed to coordinate federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Residents and business owners, who sustained losses in the designated areas, can begin applying for assistance at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.

Whitley BOE approves district-wide raises

Employees of the Whitley County School District will be receiving another pay raise in the coming school year, the third the district has offered in the last three years.

The Whitley County Board of Education unanimously approved district-wide raises last Thursday during their regular monthly meeting. The decision will allow for each employee to receive a 5 percent increase in their pay beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. However, those who are employed through grants will not receive the raise, as they are paid through the funds provided by those grants.

Thursday’s decision by the board is the third consecutive year that Whitley County School employees have been given a raise.

Last year, the board approved a 2 percent pay raise district-wide. In 2022, employees who held classified positions—or non-teaching personnel—received an 8 percent raise, with all other district employees receiving a 4 percent raise.

Superintendent John Siler said work done during this year’s legislative session in Frankfort in increasing SEEK funding and transportation budgets is what really helped the district be able to once again offer raises. Siler also noted that he felt with the district’s funds being buoyed by the new legislation, it was the right move.

“We got the best school district employees in the state. We’re just happy to be able to do this for them,” said Siler. “They deserve it.”

In other board of education business:

– The district’s 2024-2025 tentative budget was approved.

According to Siler, the budget currently shows for a 4 percent contingency, which is well above the 2 percent required by the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). The budget has several big purchases built into it, including four new school buses.

The tentative budget is the second of three budgets required annually of all school districts by KDE. A draft is done in January, which becomes a tentative budget by May and then a final, working budget in September.

– The 2024-2025 district technology plan was also approved, which includes the purchase of several hundred new devices for teachers.

Every teacher in the district will receive new Dell Latitude 7450 2-in-1 laptops to replace their existing Chromebooks. The new laptops boast several capabilities teachers previously did not have, such as the ability to rate the panel and write directly onto the device’s screen using a stylus. The devices can also transpose their screen onto the large ViewSonic screens in each classroom.

In addition to the laptops, individual printers are being purchased for each teacher’s classroom to allow for smaller-scale, on-the-fly printing.

Former Corbin Housing director sentenced Monday

A former Corbin Housing Authority director, who stole more than $100,000 in housing authority funds, has been sentenced to 10 years in connection to the charges he pleaded guilty to earlier this year, though that sentence will be probated for five years or until he fully repays the stolen amount.

Whitley County Grand Jury issues nine drug-related indictments

The Whitley County Grand Jury issued its regular monthly report Monday, and indicted nine people on drug-related charges, including:

New program will address Corbin feral cat problem

If you have stray, feral cats roaming around your neighborhood in Corbin, then there will soon be something that you can do about them although it will probably be a solution that not everyone will entirely like.

Nancy Conley named new executive director for Corbin tourism

The City of Corbin officially has a new tourism director, and she is a 15-year veteran of the tourism industry.

Nancy Conley

During a special called meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Corbin Tourist and Convention Commission voted to name Nancy Conley as its new executive director.

“With great excitement, Nancy Conley has accepted the position of executive director of the City of Corbin Tourist and Convention Commission. Her skills and experiences combined with her deep passion for tourism and community development will serve Corbin, Kentucky well,” the tourism commission said in a statement.

Conley’s background encompasses a 15-year career in tourism with the City of Berea where she works in the business and tourism development department. In her most recent position as tourism operations manager, she demonstrated a record of achievement, management, destination marketing and partnership building.

“Nancy takes great pride and dedication in her work and the community she serves. Prior to her work in tourism, she worked in facets of the hospitality, service and banking industries,” the statement said.

Conley was not present at Wednesday’s meeting.

Her first day in her new position will be Monday, June 10, and she is slated to preside over her first Corbin Tourist and Convention Commission meeting the next day on June 11.

A reception is planned for later in June to introduce Conley to the community.

Conley replaces Maggy Monhollen, who resigned as tourism director in late March in order to become general manager of Cumberland Falls State Resort Park.

“We are really excited. She comes with a lot of energy and excitement. So we are really excited,” said Corbin Tourist and Convention Commission Chairwoman Jeannie Hensley. “I think she will bring a lot of good, new ideas for Corbin.”

Conley was one of 11 applicants for the executive director position.

Hensley said that Conley’s experience in tourism set her apart from the other applicants. In addition, she is familiar with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and grant writing,

Conley’s career in tourism began working as the welcoming receptionist for the tourism office. She now manages a department of 11 people.

“At Berea tourism she started from step one and she has climbed the ladder,” said Tourist and Convention Commission Member Sudhir Patel. “We have a good person with 15 years of experience in the same field so it is good.”

Tourist and Convention Commission Member Summer Jackson added that Berea tourism’s office is also located in a historical train depot building, and Conley has done some work with historical train towns, which the commission members find exciting.

Conley’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in technology and industrial arts with a concentration in business management from Berea College. She holds a tourism and travel marketing professional and festival and event planner certification from Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College.

She continues her education by attending professional development sessions and education seminars to broaden her knowledge and stay up to date on tourism industry trends and market changes.

In her free time, she likes to garden, camp, enjoy outdoor adventures and spend quality time with friends and family.

“Nancy loves adventures, challenges and the growth opportunities that come with them. She is looking forward to collaborating with partners throughout the country and using her skills to contribute to the sustainability and advancement of tourism in Corbin, Kentucky,” the statement read.

Conley’s base salary will be a $70,000 plus a standard benefits package.

She currently lives in Berea, but plans to move to Corbin, Hensley said.

Whitley Schools expanding summer meal kit program to combat food insecurity

The Whitley County School District is doing more than just feeding its students in need this summer, it is feeding the community as well.

A meal kit program will begin being offered at four of the district’s school sometime beginning in mid-June. The kits will provide a week’s worth of shelf-stable foods at a time and is available to anyone ages 18 and under, regardless of where they attend school.

The program will be available thanks to the work of Sharon Foley, food service director at Whitley County, who presented the Whitley County Board of Education with details during the board’s regular monthly meeting last Thursday. According to Foley, the program existed on a smaller scale last summer as a sort-of trial run, but wasn’t heavily promoted last summer due to staff shortages.

This summer, however, Foley is looking to expand the program.

The meal kits were only available at Boston Elementary School and Whitley East Elementary School last year, though they will now also be available at Whitley Central Intermediate School, Oak Grove Elementary School and Whitley North Elementary School.

Foley noted that it will be more convenient for parents than the traditional summer feeding program since they can just pick up the food and be on their way.

“People don’t like to always have to come in if they’re outside doing things. It’s hard to stop, come inside, sit and wait for your children to eat and then go back outside,” said Foley. “With the meal pickups, they’ll drive through and the school and we’ll bring them out the meal boxes that we need.”

“It’s really a neat program,” said Foley. “We’re excited.”

During Thursday’s meeting, the board approved two separate vendors to purchase food from for the meal kits. Foley said that she wanted to have at least two vendors so the foods provided in the kits could be swapped each week to avoid too much repetition in the types of food being given out.

Pick-up days for all the schools will be on Tuesdays, with the exception of Whitley East, which will be on Fridays. When picking up food, drivers will be provided with kits for the number of children with them who qualify. If the children are not present, there is a form that must be filled out detailing who is getting the food.

Superintendent John Siler said that he was happy for the district to be able to provide such a program to the community.

“When school is out, there’s some children that don’t get three good meals a day and this will help those kids and help those families to provide meals for those kids,” said Siler.

He also made sure to thank the district’s food service workers, noting that the program wouldn’t be possible without them.

“Our kitchen staff helping to do this and being willing to come in and work and bring this opportunity in the community, that doesn’t need to go unmentioned,” said Siler. “They all truly have a heart for kids.”

More information is expected to be shared on the school district’s Facebook page as the start of the program nears.

Jacob Roan named new Corbin downtown coordinator

When the new executive director of the Corbin Tourist and Convention Commission is officially announced Wednesday, they will have a little more help planning downtown events than their predecessor, Maggy Monhollen, did.

Corbin Parks and Recreation Director Jacob Roan has also been named downtown coordinator.

Corbin pool opening on time, splash pad opening delayed

When it comes to aquatic fun in Corbin this summer, Public Works Director Jacob Roan delivered some good news and some not so good news during Monday’s monthly Corbin City Commission meeting.