RIP Cpl. Billie Hash, Corbin splash pad almost ready to open, more

Rest in peace Cpl. Billie Joe Hash, who was killed during the Korean War, and finally got to come home to Corbin last week after 70 years.

Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.

Hash was laid to rest Saturday at Worley Cemetery, which is close to where his family used to live.

It was an honor to be on hand Friday and Saturday to see Hash’s family finally get some much deserved closure.

There were probably hundreds, if not thousands of people, involved in locating Hash’s remains, getting them identified, and then transporting his remains back to Corbin after so many years. I know it was their jobs in many cases, but all of them still deserve a special thanks for the work that they do.

It is nice to live in a country where we don’t forget about those who served and died for us.

Now for a few other thoughts about a number of topics.

• Corbin’s long awaited splash pad was dedicated Friday. For the many children, who are wondering, it has one more state inspection to go before it is cleared to open, which hopefully will be sometime this week.

This will be a great addition to downtown Corbin, especially for the young children, who I suspect will have a blast playing in it.

There are a few really good things about a splash pad. Unlike a pool, it is open pretty much all the day long. It also can be open for far longer in the season that a pool or waterpark.

This is also something free that all children in the community can enjoy.

This is one of the better projects that Corbin leaders have done.

• Corbin Arena Manager Kristina Balla’s made an interesting announcement Monday that legendary comedian Chevy Chase will be appearing at the Corbin Arena on Dec. 2 for “An Evening with Chevy Chase.”

The evening will start with a screening of my favorite Christmas movie, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Then Chase will take to the stage to talk about his career and do a question and answer session with the audience.

This will be a first of its kind event for The Arena, and based on initial reactions that I have seen online, it looks like it will be a popular event.

• Congratulations to Williamsburg, which was recently named one of 25 best cities for fit lifestyle in Kentucky.

• Our school COVID-19 situation in Kentucky really makes no sense. It isn’t safe for students to resume in-person classes until Sept. 28, but it is OK to resume high contact sports like football, which start next week. Huh? Sometimes it feels like the country has decided to quit using any form of common sense or logic.

• By now, I daresay most people are aware of the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has led to protests there. I imagine that most people are also aware of a second shooting involving 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three people and killed two of them with an AR-15 rifle. He claims he shot the people in self-defense, and may well have a valid argument in at least some of the instances.

Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha from another state reportedly to protect property there from looters.

First, I hope Rittenhouse lied to his parents or guardians and whoever he borrowed the gun from about where he was going and what he was planning to do. If ever there is a time to add an expletive(s) in front of the word ‘No’ in answer to what a teenager plans to do, this would most certainly be it.

Inserting an armed teenager into a volatile situation like that on either side is a disaster waiting to happen, and anyone that thinks it is a good idea has absolutely lost their mind.

This is a hard enough situation for trained police officers and professional soldiers to manage, let alone an untrained, armed teenager.

There are a lot of people upset and passionate these days about a lot of subjects, and in many cases deservedly so.

I don’t see much getting accomplished as long as people on both sides keep yelling at each other, and insisting things have to be done their way.

If we can get people on the various sides to start talking to each other and listening, then we might get something accomplished.