Patriot Real Estate ribbon cutting…

Patriot Real Estate, which is located at 37 South Park Center Suite 5 in Corbin, held its ribbon cutting on July 12 with help from the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, which also presented it with a membership plaque.

 

KHSAA announces rules changes for coming school year

On Monday, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) announced some rules changes via its social media accounts and on the khsaa.org website. (more…)

 

Child porn case to be heard by grand jury

A Williamsburg man facing nearly two dozen child porn charges will have his case heard by a Whitley County grand jury next month. 

Tanner Isaiah Caine Petrey, 24, appeared in Whitley District Court for a scheduled preliminary hearing Monday morning, though no testimony was presented to the court. Instead, Petrey’s attorney elected to waive the hearing, sending the case on to a grand jury where prosecutors will seek an indictment in the case.

Petrey is facing 20 count of distributing matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor over the age of 12 years old but under the age of 18 years old.

He was arrested June 27 following an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation by the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crimes Branch, according to a release.

“The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after receiving a complaint that the suspect was sharing sexually explicit images of juveniles to an online social media account. The investigation resulted in seizing electronic devices from Mr. Petrey and (from) his home in Williamsburg. These devices, believed to have been used to facilitate the crime, were taken to KSP’s forensic laboratory for examination,” the release stated.

According to Petrey’s arrest citation, he allegedly admitted to “sending and receiving numerous files.” It also noted that additional charges may be pending further forensic examination.

Petrey currently remains jailed in the Whitley County Detention Center.

 

Photo Gallery: Cumberland Valley Cruise-In…

Appreciating the classics: Over 100 vehicles turned out for Saturday’s Cumberland Valley Cruise In, which took place on Main Street in downtown Corbin.

 

15 years of marriage has taught me a lot

There are a lot of ways one could describe marriage. Attach just about any adjective to “marriage is…” and it is likely to apply. After all, two individuals—no matter how compatible—will experience both good times and bad that ebb and flow along the ever-flowing current of life.

I bring up marriage during this month’s column for a very specific reason. I’ve decided to take a page out of the Mark White playbook and talk about a milestone I recently celebrated.

On Friday, July 12, my wife, Amanda, and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.

Our story, however, is much different than that of the one White shared about him and his wife several weeks ago and I assume that it likely contrasts wildly from many of whom are reading these words now.

We formally dated for just over a week before tying the knot. We did not have a ceremony. Our family was not present. In fact, our family didn’t even know. We got married in a living room, very unceremoniously, while wearing shorts and t-shirts.

My friend, Glen Smith, was my best man. His grandmother, Inis Reynolds, was the priest that officiated the wedding and his grandfather, Kenneth Reynolds, was the other witness to our marriage. The previously-mentioned living room where this all took place? That belonged to them as well.

No, we weren’t really close to my friend’s grandparents. No, we didn’t plan any of this in advance. No, we didn’t really have any idea what we were doing. But, we did it.

I suppose I should provide a little more background, though. We weren’t strangers prior to dating. Actually, we had sort of “dated” previously, but I guess it was never really official. In case the quotation marks didn’t give it away, I use the term “dated” loosely.

We met at Whitley County High School. It was about a week into the new school year. She had previously been in a different class that period, but dropped it and changed her schedule, which landed her right in Mr. Rickett’s health class with me. Since she had just been assigned a new schedule, she arrived in class later than everyone else.

I still vividly remember her walking into the room. If you’ve ever seen one of those cheesy, slow-motion movie montages when a guy sees a beautiful woman for the first time that he subsequently falls for, it was a lot like that. Or, at least, that’s how I recall it. I was instantly enamored.

For some reason, all the students (including myself) had gravitated to the far side of the room where the windows were, so she sat near the door in an almost-entirely empty section of desks. I didn’t really have a plan, but I knew I had to devise a sensible, non-intrusive strategy to get me to the other side of the room that appeared somewhat organic.

To be honest, I don’t remember at this point what I came up with, but it was effective. I ended up at the desk next to hers.

We began talking and getting to know one another. I learned that we had quite a bit in common, especially when it came to our musical tastes.

We would pass notes to one another during class and eventually started doing so when we would meet in the hallway, too. I would print out the lyrics to songs I liked that reminded me of her and give them to her. She kept those lyrics, along with the notes we exchanged, in a special binder all to themselves.

We began talking outside of school, often staying on the phone for hours at a time and even sometimes falling asleep together while still on the phone.

Everything culminated one morning as we left health class. We stood in this cubby just outside the doorway of the room where we first met and shared our first kiss. At the time, it was equal parts magical and terrifying. The reasoning for the latter? We both had significant others.

Needless to say, things didn’t really work out.

That continued to be the case over the years as we would lose connection with one another and then eventually be brought back into each other’s orbit every few years, just like a yo-yo. But each and every time that would happen, one or both of us would be in a committed relationship. And while there was a time or two during that period where some lines became blurred, nothing ever fell into place as it should.

Yet, once it did, we ran headlong into marriage without too much of a second thought. If I’m being completely honest, it was kind of a dare. One of us brought it up, neither of us thought the other would go through with it and we both ended up winning.

I’ve learned a lot about marriage since that day.

Marriage is hard. Marriage is joyous. Marriage is sharing. Marriage is sacrificing. Marriage is honest. Marriage is compassionate, caring and persistent. Marriage is a lot of things to a lot of different people. And though it has sometimes felt like we’ve been through almost as much bad as we have good, we’ve still stood together through it all.

Thank you, Amanda, for giving me your best for the past 15 years…especially when I didn’t always deserve it. I love you.

 

Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities (KAHCF) visits Corbin Health and Rehabilitation Center

The Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities (KAHCF), which is based out of Louisville, spent time on July 10 visiting and touring Corbin Health and Rehabilitation Center.

 

It’s both Pen and Penn in our Constitution

When I was in college one of the courses that interested me the most was classicism, the study of ancient Greece and Rome.

It took me over 60 years but last year I went to Italy and visited Rome and several other places.

I also enjoyed courses in history, especially about our forefathers. There is a new book out by A.J. Jacobs titled, “The Year of Living Constitutionally.” The author spent a year with a musket and lived the  life of those who wrote the Constitution, even to the point that he used a quill to do the writing.

His study of the Constitution revealed some interesting facts. For one, there are 600 grammatical errors in it. Pennsylvania is spelled Pen in one place and Penn in another.

He said the framers of the Constitution knew it had flaws and depended on new generations to fix the flaws.

He points out that rather than a Bill of Rights, it was more a Bill of Responsibilities. In the 1700’s it was one for all and all for one. The framers did not see a two-party system developing that we have today. They saw a country that was dependent on each other.

As a matter of fact, many of them did not want one president. They had already had enough with the King. Some wanted as many as 12 in charge, while others wanted three. Not agreeing on either they settled for one.

The mindset was so different in the 1700’s. Partisan politics as we have it today was not envisioned.

Even though it is partisan, those of us in Kentucky do not share in the wealth that will be spent on the presidential election. The millions of dollars will be spent in about 11 states that control the outcome of the election.

It is not a reason to not vote, but for those of us in Kentucky it is a foregone conclusion when it comes to the presidential election. That’s because we have an Electoral College system of voting, the only place in the world that has it.

In other words, we don’t need to get overly anxious because the bigger states control the outcome.

• The Whitley County Fair is this week. It looks as if the blazing hot weather has left just in time.

I talked to our Sales Manager Melissa and she told me she had experienced how much fun it was to go up in the hot air balloon. It does sound like fun.

The Fair gets better every year. The people in charge put in a lot of time so everybody can have a good time. Thanks for everything you do!

 

Burger Week draws more business into participating restaurants

Food-related events in the city can have a significant impact on the bottom line of local restaurants with Corbin’s recent Burger Week being a good example, Corbin Tourism Director Nancy Conley told the Corbin City Commission during its monthly meeting Monday.

Old Town Grill once again won the People’s Choice Award with the Depot on Main being named the runner-up during Burger Week last month.

Conley noted that sales were up 28 percent at Old Town Grill during Burger Week compared to the week prior while sales were up 14 percent over the prior week at the Depot on Main.

Overall, Burger Week sales were down compared to the prior year, but this was due to Burger Week coinciding with Father’s Day last year.

“We are excited to see those results,” Conley said.

She also thanked the city, city workers and the Corbin Arena staff for their support of the Independence Day festivities at the Corbin Arena on July 3.

“It was one of the best grand finale fireworks shows that I have ever seen,” Conley noted.

“If you are going to have fireworks you might as well go big. They were great,” added Corbin City Manager Scott Williamson.

In other business, the commission:

• Approved the closure of Main Street on Wednesday, Aug. 7, for the set-up of Nibroc.

• Authorized Mayor Suzie Razmus to sign deed documents related to the property where the water tank sits near the old Tri-County Industrial Development Park.

City Attorney Bob Hammons said that after some research, he found out that the city doesn’t actually own the property where the water tank sits. Willow Creek has agreed to donate that property to the city.

Hammons said that is necessary, in part, to get that fixed because of a potential grant to rehabilitate water tanks is coming available. The city already has the deed for the land where the other water tank sit.

• Heard a complaint from local resident Andrea Mayne regarding fireworks in the city.

Mayne noted that the city’s fireworks ordinance used to contain a provision that fireworks couldn’t be set off within 150 feet of a structure, and she asked what became of provision.

Mayne brought a handful of debris from her yard and her driveway on South Kentucky that came from her neighbors setting off fireworks.

She noted one neighbor set off the fireworks in the street scorching the blacktop, and that another neighbor started setting off their fireworks at 1:15 a.m.

“I don’t know what happened to the 150 feet (rule), but these people were 25 feet from their neighbor’s shed, less than 25 feet from their shed, 30 feet from a two-car garage with an apartment above it, and 75 feet from my house. I have no idea how much actually ended up on my roof,” Mayne said. “The potential for fire is great.”

• Accepted the resignation of Joe Becher from public works, Drew Wilson from the police department and Kyle Garrison from parks and recreation.

• Moved dispatcher Graham Barrineau from full-time to part-time status effective Aug. 1.

• Approved $265 in tax refunds to Gary Thomas or Beverly McGowan in regards to property located at 100 N. Padgett Street.

 

Game times, pairings announced for LL state tourneys at Miller Park

This weekend, Little League baseball teams from all over the state will converge on Corbin as three state championship tournaments are set to be contested on the fields at Miller Park. (more…)

 

School Ready Bash held at W’Burg Housing

   Photos by TIMOTHY WYATT 

A School Ready Bash was held last Thursday at the Williamsburg Housing Authority’s newly-renovated community center on Mackey Avenue. The event was held in partnership with the Williamsburg Independent School District and Whitley County School District and the respective school’s Save the Children programs. Attendees received everything from clothes to books. There was also a number of activities available for children to partake in, from a foam pit to face painting to a petting zoo.