News

May 5 was a big day for Corbin High School athletics as three graduating seniors signed full four-year scholarships to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level.

The Whitley County Sheriff’s Department responded to 1,134 calls during the month of April. Deputies issued 77 total citations for 149 various counts ranging from violations to criminal charges. There were a total of 69 arrests, including 17 criminal arrests plus warrants served, according to a sheriff’s department release. The sheriff’s department opened 41criminal cases, including 12 drug related cases, one assault case, 11 theft cases, and 16 other cases. Deputies also worked 16 total collisions including one injury crash. “Your Whitley County Sheriff’s Department works 24/7 365 to ensure the safety of our citizens. We work tirelessly fighting the war on drugs and answering calls for service simultaneously,” the release noted. “There...

If you are a teenager or adult, who wants to help give back to their community or who needs to log some volunteer hours for school, then you may want to keep reading as Baptist Health Corbin is looking for volunteers. “As you take on your new role as a volunteer, you will soon know the joy and fulfillment of serving others and doing a job that only, you can do. You make a difference by sharing your talents and unique personality with those we serve at Baptist Health Corbin,” Baptist Health Corbin wrote in a release. Baptist Health Corbin offers the Teen Volunteer Program for teens ages 14 through 18....

The Corbin Police Department answered 1,074 calls during the month of April. Officers issued 137 total citations for traffic or criminal offenses, and made 72 total arrests. Out of those arrests, there were 21 criminal arrests and 51 warrants served. Corbin Police opened 39 criminal cases during April for things such as theft, assaults, etc. Officers responded to 54 total collisions in April including two injury crashes. “The City of Corbin’s Police Department works tirelessly to ensure our community is provided a quality law enforcement service. We utilize all available resources to minimize the risk of the citizens we serve becoming a victim of criminal activity,” the Corbin Police Department wrote in a...

A Rockholds man received a lifetime prison sentence Wednesday on federal kidnapping charges. George Oscar Messer, 62, was sentenced to life in prison by United States District Judge Robert E. Wier, on two counts of kidnapping, in which Messer was convicted of by a jury following a trial in January. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, evidence presented at trial revealed the kidnappings were motivated by an unsuccessful drug transaction, during which Messer’s son, Jake Messer, 38, and his co-conspirators lost $10,000. George Messer arrived at the scene of the kidnappings with numerous firearms, including an assault rifle and .44 magnum...

Investigators from the DEA Criminal Diversion Group, the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, the Barbourville Police Department, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and the Manchester Police Department arrested 12 people, and seized approximately 10,000 diverted oxycodone pills and over $2 million in U.S. currency, as the result of an investigation into a Louisville-based drug trafficking operation with local ties. In connection with this investigation, a federal grand jury sitting in London returned an indictment charging Jose Luis Barata Vazquez, Alexey Barata Hernandez, Yoleisys Reyes Castillo, Dioslen Jimenez Ortiz, Kaid Rogers, Allison Renee Rogers, Michael King, Christopher King, Floyd Barker, Sheila Barger, and Samuel Barger with conspiring, together and with others, to...

Following a two-day trial, a Woodbine man facing a murder charge stemming from an April 2021 fatal crash was found not-guilty Thursday evening in Laurel County Circuit Court. William Petrey, 38, faced one lone count of murder in connection to the crash, in which he was the driver of a pickup truck that crashed along Pine Grove School Rd. in London while his fiancé was riding in the truck bed. According to press releases from the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department, the vehicle veered off the roadway, struck two fence posts and a tree, causing the woman to be thrown from the bed of the truck and into a barn. The...

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers with be speaking on the 2022 legislative session next week during a luncheon co-hosted by the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and Knox County Chamber of Commerce. The monthly luncheon will be held Tuesday, May 17, at 11:45 a.m. at The Corbin Center. May’s luncheon is sponsored by the City of Corbin and will be catered by La Donna’s Catering of London. Anyone who wishes to attend can register by calling (606) 528-6390 or visiting the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s website at www.southernkychamber.com, selecting the “Events” tab and then choosing the luncheon date from the calendar. Lunch will be $14 per person.

The towns of Corbin and Williamsburg are both planning free outdoor movie presentations in the coming days, but each will involve a very different type of movie. Williamsburg is hosting a “Friday the 13th Drive-In Style Movie Night” on Friday, May 13 starting at 9 p.m. at the Kentucky Splash waterpark. The featured presentation will be the PG-13 rated movie “It,” which is based upon a popular Stephen King book. The 2017 film follows the experiences of seven children as they are terrorized by an evil entity in the form of Pennywise, an evil clown. Admission is free. “Join us for an old fashioned drive-in style scary movie! ‘It’ will be played and...

A Corbin man , who was arrested late Friday night by a Kentucky Fish & Wildlife officer, is facing numerous charges, including third-degree assault for allegedly spitting on the arresting officer. Travis Blackwood, 28, was arrested at the Hightop Boat Ramp after attempting to elude the officer. According to an arrest citation obtained from the Whitley County District Court Clerk, the officer was patrolling at the boat ramp when noticing two individuals in dark clothing attempting to hide behind the bathroom building. The officer activated his vehicle’s emergency lights and the individuals allegedly continued around the building out of the officer’s sight. The citation states that as the officer exited...