WOW! We have been truly overwhelmed with the response today to our EKY Disaster Relief Donation Drive! That is the opening sentence from the post by the Corbin Arena on Facebook. The same outstanding response can be applied to numerous people and towns, not from just Kentucky,...

Before I came back to the News Journal full time about two months ago, I was working a sales job that required me spend a good amount of time in several different areas of eastern Kentucky, including many of the communities that were hit hardest by last week’s historic flooding.

Hopefully, the recently formed Corbin Historic Preservation Board will be successful in its attempt to establish a historical district. Unfortunately, the “sins” of the past have left them little to work with. Unlike Williamsburg, which has done a good job of establishing...

Last week I was heading from Williamsburg back to Corbin after a day of typing in public records at the courthouse and judicial center, and I took a trip partially around the two new roundabouts, which are being built off of Exit 15 at Goldbug. Hopefully, the folks over at...

At Monday’s Corbin City Commission meeting, a pair of announcements were made concerning longtime city employees who will soon be retiring. First, City Manager Marlon Sams informed the commission during his report that Roger Shelton has decided to step down from his position as...

July is our hottest month in Kentucky. Although it is going to be hot for the next several days, it is nothing unusual and it is not due to climate change. Climate change is having its effect all over the world with record setting heat levels, but our summer heat is one thing and...

The Whitley County Fair is turning into a pretty good little festival. Last week the four-night Whitley County Fair took place and I was out there on three of those nights, most of which there was a pretty good turnout. I thought adding a fourth night of entertainment went well...

Over my journalistic lifetime I’ve been fortunate to interview hundreds of people for newspaper and magazine stories, as well as books, radio, and yes, even television. Many have been famous celebrities, the majority former sports stars. Among the more memorable is John Y. Brown,...

Typically the first thing that most of us do when we get to the office in the morning is check our e-mail. I don’t know about you, but mine is usually pretty full, especially if I was out of the office the prior afternoon. (Hey, not much news actually happens inside ...

It was surprising that there was a $3 million mistake in the published budget a couple of weeks ago for the City of Corbin. But it was not surprising that Commissioner Trent Knuckles discovered it. You see, Trent Knuckles is the best “watchdog” for governmental affairs that I...

My wife, whether she will care to admit it or not, fancies herself as somewhat of an amateur detective. She’s not out on the streets processing crime scenes or anything, but she’s watched enough true crime documentaries to pick up more than a thing or two about forensics and...

Back from vacation, and now I need a vacation to rest up. Spending many hours in airports getting home was the worst part about our trip. It took 24 hours from Vancouver to Cincinnati. After hearing friends talk about going to Alaska for years and the “oohs and ahs” they said...

Corbin’s Independence Day celebration Sunday evening seemed to go pretty well with some relatively nice weather for July. There were a handful of vendors selling things from lighted swords and inflatable aliens for the kids to funnel cakes and kettle corn in The Arena parking...

Days are long gone since anyone thought comic books were just for kids.  It’s the old saying, “Follow the money.” There’s big bucks in comics, especially old ones.  A few years ago a 1938 Action Superman comic sold for $3.2 million.  It is considered to be the beginning of the...

The Fourth of July is almost upon us, which is one of the grandest of our nation’s holidays and a celebration of our nation’s freedom. In the coming days, people will be having cookouts, parties at the lake and fireworks celebrations to cap off the festivities. Despite her many...

The theme of my life for the past week has been “roads.”

I have written in the past about the 1940 Chevrolet pickup truck that my father and I have brought to previous Cumberland Valley Cruise-In events in downtown Corbin. To quickly review, the truck was restored by my grandfather. For the sake of time, I will not go into the details...

I believe in vacations. When I worked at the Comprehensive Care Center our director, Roland Mullins, a very nice person, insisted we take vacations, clear our minds and come back refreshed ready to work harder and better than ever. That was good advice, but because of Covid I...

It isn’t often that I am inclined to say that I think I can speak for nearly everyone in the community, but this is one of those occasions. We’re all grateful that the missing person case of Darrell Carter last week had a happy ending. Carter, 75, who has a history of dementia,...

Normally, I don’t write about a lot of mushy, family type stuff in this column, but this week I will make an exception given that Sunday is Father’s Day and say a few things about my dad, Mike White. My dad has always been a great role model. When I was growing up, he would...