A data bulletin released last Thursday by the Auditor of Public Accounts, Mike Harmon, revealed the impact tourism has on Kentucky. In 2018 visitors are reported to have spent $7.6 billion in our state. In that report it listed the ten tourism commissions reporting the highest...

I’ve been writing this column since 2002, and because of it I have been able to meet and even become personal friends with quite a few interesting people. One of those is Steve Nally. Bourbon master distiller Steve Nally is a big believer in the bottom to the top business...

Here are some words that I never thought I would ever say. It was actually nice to physically attend a school board meeting Thursday. Perhaps the even sadder part is I am pretty sure there were other people there, who probably shared the same sentiment…LOL. Unless you are being...

One of the casualties of the pandemic is the cancellation of the 59th season of the Fine Arts Association of Southeastern Kentucky’s concert series. Betty Hamilton, who passed away in 2011 at 80 years of age, was the driving force behind the organization which she founded in...

Simply put, the era of COVID-19 is not a good time to be in the newspaper industry. (Although for that matter, it also isn’t a good time to be in radio, the restaurant industry or pretty much any business or profession that isn’t selling Clorox or Lysol products…lol.) Numerous...

As a young boy I delivered the Corbin Daily Tribune to customers in the downtown Corbin area. I have been in many of the buildings which housed apartments at that time. I climbed many steps on my route. After graduating from college I worked at WCTT radio station, which was...

My dogs have become drug addicts. Over the last week, we have been forced to medicate our two Shih Tzus nightly because the area around our house has been inundated with fireworks. I would not be surprised if some of those neighbors took advantage of the closeout sales at the...

COVID-19 is far from being over. Although the United States has only 4 percent of the world’s population, it has 25 percent of coronavirus cases. As Americans, we pride ourselves at being number one. Well, we’re well on our way to being there with this virus. While most countries...

I knew it was coming, but still, it didn’t make it any easier to hear the news last Wednesday that this year’s NIBROC festival has been officially called off. Over the past eight years or so I have really grown to love downtown Corbin’s annual festival. As an employee of the News...

Welcome Jeff Ledington

With the possible exception of those, who own stock in Clorox or Lysol, I think that we can all pretty much agree on one thing. COVID-19 stinks. First there were the business shutdowns, then the layoffs. Now we have the cancelation of events, such as NIBROC, Old Fashioned Trading...

A few weeks ago, I read a post that a friend of mine from college posted on his Facebook page about having “the talk” with his 10-year-old son. No, it wasn’t “that” talk…lol. This friend is black, and the talk he had with his son was what he should do if he encounters a police...

Let me preface this column by saying I am not a medical expert, and my intention here is not to give my “professional opinion” about anything concerning the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With that being said, it is clear to me that a large chunk of our population is simply no longer...

So, what lessons can we take away from Tuesday’s election? By far, the biggest is that giving voters additional means to cast their ballot other than on election day is an effective way to increase turnout. I’m still not a fan of mail in ballots, or at least returning ballots by...

From graduations and church services to government meetings and eating out at restaurants, COVID-19 has certainly changed the way we do things, and next Tuesday’s primary election in Kentucky is no exception. Because of the coronavirus, the election is taking place in a quite a...

It is primary election time again. You have about a week left to cast your ballot. Voting has been rather easy this year with the changes that have been made. Many have already cast their ballots and you can vote now or on Tuesday. It is not a big election year, but it is an...

I admit I’m a train person. While I can’t identify the various types of locomotives in use, or give details on the various railcars, trains fascinate me. I don’t mind being stuck at a crossing as a train goes by. I wish there was a platform where you could stand and watch cars...

Good cops, bad cops. Around here we only know those descriptions from watching television. As far as our local situation goes we only have good cops. The scenes we view on TV are very remote from what we experience locally. I really like living in an area of the country where we...

I am very excited about my column this week. For the first time in a while I am actually able to look ahead on my calendar and talk about what WILL BE happening instead of what should have, would have or could have been happening. Rejoice!

Wearing masks. It has become a hot button topic recently with several people proclaiming that they have a right not to wear a mask and that they simply aren’t going to do it. Here are the reasons why I try to wear a mask when I go out in public settings, particularly large or...