If you ever get the chance to employ one of your former teachers, then I highly recommend giving it a try. Several years back, Lillian Babb, who was my high school journalism teacher for two years, my sophomore English teacher and my senior German teacher, did some freelance...

It appears a lot of folks have caught on to something that local residents have known for a long time, which is that Cumberland Falls is a great place to visit. Cumberland Falls State Resort Park recently won a Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award for 2024. It’s a pretty big deal....

Although I have seen slightly larger crowds in the Corbin Arena parking lot for Independence Day festivities, I still thought there was a good turnout for the event and a nice fireworks show last week. The event featured a lot of things aimed at children, including bounce houses...

I’ve always told my dad that if you have to have a birthday on a holiday, then he has a really good one on the Fourth of July, which is a day to celebrate our country’s independence. Most people have the day off. You have picnics and family gatherings. The day usually concludes...

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...

This fall, my wonderful wife, Cecelia, and I will celebrate our 20-year wedding anniversary, but Tuesday marked another special date in our relationship. It marked the 20th anniversary of me popping the question and asking her to marry me. We had been dating for about seven...

Sometimes the things that people get riled up over on social media can be quite interesting. For instance, take a recent story about Corbin officials urging people to cut their grass before the code enforcement officer had to cite them for it being too high. It was a story that...

Congratulations to new Corbin Tourism Director Nancy Conley, who was hired during a Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission special meeting last Wednesday. About 15 years ago, Conley started at the bottom working as the receptionist for Berea tourism, and has worked her way up...

Since my wife, Cecelia, and I got married nearly 20 years ago, we have traveled to a lot of places and seen a lot of natural and man-made beauty from the sea stacks off the coast of Oregon and the Caribbean at sunrise, to the Outer Banks along the Atlantic Ocean and some truly...

Wow! Saturday’s 150th running of the Kentucky Derby had one of the best finishes of any derby that I can recall watching. Mystic Dan (18-1 odds) beat out Sierra Leone (9/2 odds), to win the Kentucky Derby by a nose with third place finisher Forever Young (7-1 odds) sandwiched in...

When it comes to former 82nd Rep. Charlie Siler, ex-News Journal Publisher Trent Knuckles may have summed it up best one time. Trent had gone to a Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport Board meeting and Charlie was on the board. I don’t remember what was happening that prompted...

Stranger danger. It’s what us adults tend to warn kids about. Beware of the stranger in the park, who offers you candy or wants you to help them look for their lost puppy. Beware of the weirdo driving the van with no windows. He might pull up along beside you while you are on the...

Elvis. Prince. Madonna. Beyonce. You need only say one name and everyone knows who you are talking about. Much the same can be said, if one simply utters the name “Maggy” in Corbin. Pretty much anyone, who is familiar with Corbin over the past decade, will know exactly who you...

Laws. Why do we even bother to have them? Let’s take stealing for instance. Unless you have some type of mental defect, then you know that stealing from someone is wrong. The vast majority of folks in the world are pretty good people, and don’t steal from others. This isn’t to...

One can make a very valid argument that the Corbin Arena has turned into THE place to see a concert in not only in southeastern Kentucky, but also all across the Appalachian region. The Corbin Arena was recently named the 2024 Best Large Music Venue (501 seats or greater) during...

My wonderful wife, Cecelia, got me a really great birthday present back in January that I got to enjoy Saturday afternoon. It was tickets to the University of Kentucky vs. the University of Tennessee basketball game in Knoxville. The mid-level seats were pretty good and had a...

On the front page of our newspaper, you see stories about various BIG things happening in the community each week. On our inside pages you will see stories about some of the bigger things that also happened during the week. Many times there is also a lot of smaller stuff we hear...

Intoxicated drivers seldom get jail time, at least not in first-offense driving while under the influence cases. This is a fact that I suspect will surprise, and probably infuriate, a lot of people, but it’s true at least here locally. First-offense driving while under the...

The Corbin City Commission certainly picked someone, who knows the city well as its next city manager Friday. The commission interviewed four finalists for about one hour each on two different dates before meeting Friday for about 80 minutes and selecting former mayor Scott...

Last summer the News Journal had a delightful young woman, Leeann Fragosa, who interned for us. While she isn’t a journalism major, Leeann is still a good writer. She is funny and one of those people, who just kind of lifts the mood of the room when she is in it. She is...