Whitley County certainly has its share of problems from drugs to poverty, but fortunately our local schools aren’t one of these problem areas. In fact, they are quite the opposite. Last week, the Kentucky Department of Education released 2022-2023 school report card data, which...

In September, we ran a story here in the News Journal announcing two new online resources that would be coming soon courtesy of the Whitley County Health Department. On Tuesday, both of those websites went live.

If I had it my way, we would move our clocks forward one hour in the fall and back one hour in the spring. Presently it is opposite of this and Sunday we will move our time pieces back one hour. I think my suggestion is better and here’s why: Soon it will be getting dark just...

Attention all of you social media know-it-alls that are constantly complaining about state government. The same goes for the Grumpy Gus’s, who are griping all of the time about the this and thats, which Frankfort does. Guess what? We have an election next week to decide who the...

When you envision the landscape of downtown Williamsburg, chances are that the marquee of the old Lane Theater will be among the first images that come to mind. Although it has largely sat empty for decades, the Lane Theater is one of the predominant structures on Williamsburg’s...

I’ve known about a particular stray cat situation for some time. But this weekend I heard more about it from people in a neighborhood on Whitley Avenue in Corbin. It is where my 89-year-old sister lives. She has been tormented by cat droppings in her yard along with cats ruining...

Sports. When we talk about them, discussion typically involves statistics, win-loss records, championships, etc., etc., etc. And while all of that may be the reasons WHY athletic competitions exist, it only scratches the surface when considering WHAT is being accomplished.

Roy Kidd was a football coach. Was he ever! I got to know the former Eastern Kentucky coach a few years back while I was writing a book, “The Boys From Corbin, America’s Greatest Little Sports Town.” Roy Kidd was one of those boys. He died at 91 years of age on September 12. I...

You may be familiar with the News Journal’s quarterly publication, Strictly Business Magazine, which we publish in conjunction with the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. It has been released four times a year for several years now, and exists to highlight interesting and...

The boy was 11 when his mom left him in charge. She had weekend plans away. It came time to put the baby to bed, so the other kids played while the boy struggled. The game was cops and robbers. It doesn’t matter who was whom. It just matters that the boy heard the shot. The boy...

We are now into what I like to call “full blown spooky season,” meaning the calendar is getting jam-packed with Halloween activities. There really are too many events to count in the local area, but here are a few that I am aware of that should help you to get into the spirit…

I was wrong and I’m glad of it. Back in May I wrote that most of us living today would never witness a settlement between Corbin and London on the annexation of the property along Interstate 75, adjacent to Exit 29. Surprise! Last week the London City Council dropped its attempt...

I have had the opportunity in recent weeks to chat with a few different folks about various ongoing efforts in our local communities.

It is National Newspaper Week. Yes, this one belongs to us. Please read the column to my left written by Dean Ridings. It is excellent and it explains the value of newspapers. I am a veteran newspaper person. I’ve been told that I started at the age of four so I’ve been at it for...

For about 10 minutes last Wednesday afternoon, I got really excited. My wonderful wife, Cecelia, and I were having lunch when she noticed on Facebook that a $1 million winning Mega Millions ticket had been sold at the Circle K on Gordon Hill. Since this is where I almost always...

September is Recovery Month. We celebrate those who have found recovery from substances like drugs and alcohol, and we give hope to those that are still struggling. While I’m not in recovery, I have at least three close family members who are. From that side of things, I...

You would be hard pressed to find anyone, whose hasn’t known someone that died by suicide. A few years back, I had gone over to the courthouse to speak with an official and bumped into an old friend, who was there to see the same official. We sat around for probably 30 minutes...

In 70 years of watching high school football and viewing it from every corner of the state, plus attending several state championship games, I have never been in an atmosphere like the one Friday night for the game between Corbin and Frederick Douglass. It was electric! And the...

Last week’s 40th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days festival proved to be a hit as always. Although I wasn’t down at the festival Friday and Saturday, I spent most of the day and part of the early evening in downtown Williamsburg Thursday enjoying the festival and getting other...

As we get ready to celebrate a new Redhound Complex and the 100-year history of Corbin football our spirits are saddened by the death of former Redhound great and collegiate Hall of Fame Coach Roy Kidd. I was just a young boy, but I remember Roy Kidd playing football and...