Those of us with a little age tend to remember events of the past and relish in talking about them. Thus, a meeting like the one I attended last week at the Corbin Public Library to talk about the history of Corbin was fun. Diane Mitchell has been a leader in preserving Corbin’s...

One of the most pleasing headlines we have had in this newspaper came last week when it read, “A United Front: Mayors Pledge Cooperation.” It was a story about Corbin and London coming together after decades of rivalry over the property along the Cumberland Parkway, off I-75 Exit...

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview 82nd District Representative Nick Wilson to get his thoughts after completing his first full year in the Kentucky House of Representatives. During the course of that interview, I learned more about the process of how bills become laws....

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...

After a failed bid for the governor’s office in 1951, Williamsburg’s own Eugene Siler, Sr. decided to make run for a congressional seat in 1954. It was a decision that would greatly affect not only the rest of his life, but the lives of generations of Whitley Countians.

Some people have told me that they missed my columns during January. I appreciate that. However, due to my illness I wasn’t up to writing any. My wife and I are into preventive health. We have taken all covid shots that are available, flu shots, shingles, you name it, we try to...

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...

It has been quite the week, and while I have spent much of it on the road, I wanted to weigh in here with just a few random observations…

Our Publisher, Don Estep, already touched on this in his column, but I just wanted to briefly talk about the News Journal’s first place General Excellence win in the Kentucky Press Association’s Excellence in Kentucky newspaper contest. We compete in the large weekly division,...

What can I say except, “They are the best!” I’m talking about the staff of the News Journal. Once again, this newspaper has won the General Excellence Award in the annual Kentucky Press Association’s contest for large weekly newspapers presented at its banquet last Friday night...

Bobby Knight’s recent passing brought up memories of my encounter with the former Indiana basketball coach. It was like a volcano erupting in my ear when Coach Bobby Knight picked up the phone to answer my phone call back in 2014. I was in the middle of writing a book, Better...

Here is a not so fun fact. Did you know that it is in fact possible to cough so hard that you pass out? Most of the people that I have asked that question to over the past week answered no to that question. As a matter of fact, no is the answer I would have given to that question...

Later this week, some of us here at the News Journal will join colleagues from all over the state as the Kentucky Press Association presents its annual winter convention and awards banquet. We are hopeful to return home with at least a few first-place awards among us, but who...

At the Health Department, we monitor several health conditions. People rarely want to think about some health conditions like sexually transmitted infections, but it is important that there is a level of awareness so that disaster can be avoided. Unfortunately, Whitley County has...

Next week, the All “A” Classic state championship basketball tournaments will be held in Corbin for the very first time. For those who are not familiar with the event, trust me when I say that it is very, very difficult to overstate what an amazing opportunity this is for...

If you missed the first installment of this new ongoing series of columns focused on the life and political career of Eugene Siler, Sr. I would highly suggest checking that out at www.thennewsjournal.net. It provides some important background information that will help you to...

From a personal standpoint, the last week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me. On Jan. 5, I got a call that my aunt, Patsy “Pat” White, had passed away. We buried her Monday afternoon. Pat was there for pretty much every big event in my life from high school graduation to...

The News Journal is one of 6,000 newspapers remaining in the U.S. Since 2005, the U.S. has lost nearly 2,900 newspapers. What does this say about the News Journal? It says that you have been good to us and we are good for this community. Our newspaper increased in circulation...

You just can’t fit all the news from a year into a top 10 list, like the one running on our front page in this week’s edition of the News Journal. Sure, we get the big news events in there, but that doesn’t mean there still weren’t quite a few other interesting and memorable news...

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have several opportunities to cover events and ongoing efforts taking place at our local Cooperative Extension Office. Trust me when I say there is a lot going on at the Whitley County co-op office, and I like to encourage folks whenever I...