When the Corbin Tourism Commission first brought the 2132 locomotive to Corbin, I think many people, including myself, had some serious doubts about whether it would actually attract visitors to downtown. Without a doubt, the funniest comment about it came from then Corbin Police...

Young people, consider this tale of two summer interns for a moment. Several years ago, we had a summer intern that showed up for work late every day, except for one. He didn’t dress very well when he came to work. He never could seem to get a hold of much of anybody. Don’t get...

Thanks to the efforts of a few hundred volunteers, the recent 2021 PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment) Spring Cleanups at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park really made a big difference for our local environment. Initially, the cleanup was slated to take...

Happy 50th birthday to Southeast Kentucky Rehabilitation Industries (SEKRI), which was founded on May 10, 1971. For those that don’t know, SEKRI is a non-profit, which was created in Corbin to provide jobs for people with disabilities and to help prepare them for the competitive...

Chances are that if you lived or worked in Williamsburg for very long, and you heard someone mention the name “Nannie,” then you immediately knew who they were talking about. Nannie Hays was a Williamsburg icon. Many knew her from her days as the beloved longtime band teacher at...

Although it might not seem like it based on the temperature at times the last few weeks, spring is finally upon us. (My sinuses and allergies can verify that…LOL.) Unlike last spring with the COVID-19 lockdown, there are several upcoming events that I think a lot of local and...

Compromise. It’s something that happily married couples have usually figured out and figured out sooner rather than later. For instance, they go to the ballet on Friday night to make her happy and then the monster truck rally on Saturday night to make him happy. No, he doesn’t...

Retired district judge and U.S. Army Colonel Ronald Blaine Stewart was both an officer and a gentleman. He had this classy quality about him, but was also down to earth at the same time. Judge Stewart passed away Saturday at the age of 87. He was born and raised in Williamsburg,...

Change. Sure, many words can, have and will be used to describe the COVID-19 pandemic, such as awful, terrible, horrible, deadly, etc., but in terms of its impact on society, change may be the one word that sums it up best. In-person meetings changed to Zoom meetings, and many...

They say there are two things that you never want to see being made. Hot dogs are one and laws are the other. I can’t speak for the hot dog part of this analogy. After watching the Kentucky Senate and Kentucky House of Representatives debate many things before they finally got...

Last Friday night, I went to The Arena box office to pick-up my photographer’s pass for the Winger concert. What the lady at the box office came back with was a bit unique to say the least. I received a 3”x5” index card with “Photo Pass Winger” written on it with a blue Sharpie....

Attention members of the Kentucky House of Representatives, let me tell you a little bit about the area around Exit 29 in southern Laurel County that is the subject of Senate Bill 274, or as us locals refer to it, north Corbin. First off, let introduce myself. I am Mark White,...

While I have definitely gotten a lot more jaded and cynical after decades of writing about crime and destruction, I still like to believe that there are a lot more good people than there are bad people in the world. Disasters and emergencies, like our recent ice and snow storms,...

The time has come for the Kentucky General Assembly to let the people decide the fate of slot machines and “historical wagering” in the commonwealth as the state’s founding fathers intended. As many of you know, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled late last year that mo...

During my college days at Eastern Kentucky University, I remember an interesting project that our staff at The Eastern Progress did one Saturday afternoon for a lifestyle page feature. Several of the staff members and a few significant others, set out on a quest to determine...

Most school children in Kentucky are learning via virtual instruction this school year. Teachers and educators are doing their best, but virtual instruction isn’t the same as in-person instruction where the teacher can just walk over to a student’s desk and help them with a...

One of my fondest memories of former Williamsburg Mayor Bill Nighbert was the time we sat out around the pool at the old Williamsburg Motel for about five hours smoking cigars and waiting on a Williamsburg Police Department sting operation to go down. Two drug dealers from...

I have a real love, hate relationship with eggs these days. When it comes to eating eggs, my preference would generally be scrambled eggs although I do like fried eggs too. Periodically, I enjoy a good ham and cheese omelet. I have never been a big fan of the boiled egg except...

Anyone that has ever been around toddlers is familiar with the dreaded temper tantrum. Young children will get upset over something and will lay on the floor kicking and screaming until they get their way. Sadly, we are living in what I would affectionately refer to as the temper...

Let’s face it. 2020 was quite the year from a worldwide pandemic to the third highest flood in Whitley County and Williamsburg history. Just in Whitley County alone, we were pretty much a war and a famine short of having our own Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse…LOL. Maybe 2020...