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Jami Cook has a message for people regarding walking on railroad tracks following the death of her 18-year-old son and another young man early Tuesday morning. "Stay off the railroad tracks. They are not safe. You can hear them coming. You can see them coming, but stay off them railroad tracks," she said Tuesday. "Trains do run those tracks and they aren't easy to stop." Cook's oldest son, Jordan X. Carr, 18, of Williamsburg, and his friend, Cody E. Stevens, 18, of Barbourville, died after being struck by a northbound CSX train about 2 a.m. near Highway 26 at Underwood Road near the Family Dollar store. Both were lying on the railroad...

The man who has admitted to being the source of supply in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Knox, Laurel, Madison and Rockcastle counties has been sentenced to eleven years, three months in federal prison. Jorge Carrillo, aka Jorge Artechi, was one of 17 defendants named in the indictment returned in August 2015. Carillo later admitted in court that he would bring kilogram quantities of methamphetamine to Kentucky from Minnesota, delivering it personally to other members of the conspiracy to resell. According to Carrillo’s plea agreement, he did this on at least three occasions, Dec. 31, 2014, Feb. 12, 2015, and Feb. 21, 2015. On Feb. 12, 2015, law enforcement seized approximately 2...

If you're a cornhole player or if you just want to do something to help a program designed to get kids off drugs, then you might want to visit Old Fashioned Trading Days Saturday morning. The Sixth-Annual Reclaiming Futures Cornhole Tournament will take place starting about 8:30 a.m. in the Whitley County Board of Educations' parking lot. All proceeds benefit Reclaiming Futures, formerly known as juvenile drug court, which helps teenagers in the court system get off drugs and stay in school. "This is our major fundraiser event for Reclaiming Futures since our funding for juvenile drug court was cut about seven years ago. "Since that time we have run on donations,"...

UPDATE: Kentucky State Police have identified the two individuals killed Tuesday morning when they were struck by a train. The individuals were 18-year-old Jordan X. Carr of Williamsburg and 18-year-old Cody E. Stevens of Barbourville. Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley said the two individuals were walking from Corbin via the tracks. The collision occurred approximately 2 a.m. near the Family Dollar Store. Croley said the train was traveling north. Based on conversations with the train crew, Croley said the individuals were apparently sleeping on the tracks.

The mother and the wife of a Whitley County Detention Center inmate allegedly met a woman at the bottom of the hill in front of the jail earlier this month to pick up pills to be delivered to an inmate at the jail, according to testimony Monday morning from Whitley County Jailer Brian Lawson about an alleged conspiracy to smuggle contraband into the facility. A total of six people are currently charged in connection with the case, including a minister, who allegedly smuggled the drugs into the jail inside a guitar case during an Aug. 18 worship service. Joshua A. Smiddy, 37, Melissa Smiddy, 32, Peggy L. Smiddy, 60, Gary Ray...

A member of upper management at the CSX Corbin yard has been arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography. Fifty-three-year-old David B. Haas was arrested Wednesday night following an investigation by Kentucky State Police. According to Detective Justin Oliver, state police received a complaint from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning child pornography. Based on the information provided, police secured a search warrant for Haas’ home and to seize electronic equipment and storage devices located at the residence. “Images of child sexual exploitation were located on a device seized from the residence of David Haas,” Oliver wrote in the arrest citation. Haas was charged with one count of possession/view of matter portraying...

Teachers, administrator and support staff at Corbin High School are celebrating an important testing milestone that officials say is not only a measure of how well the school prepares its students for college or careers, but could also have monetary benefits as well. Corbin High School Principal John Crawford said having a cumulative ACT score of 21 or better among juniors at the school taking the important test has been a goal for several years. Earlier this month, they got word that CHS had exceeded that goal. It had a score of 21.38 based on tests administered in March to 220 juniors at the school. The state average score on the...

Starting this Saturday, The Depot on Main in Corbin will be hosting a series of free concerts featuring performers from historic Austin City Saloon in Lexington. Called “Austin Saloon Soundstage,” the shows will take place from now through November, one a month. “They’ve always had that big space where they used to do the comedy shows and they wanted to use it for something else, so we thought we’d try this,” said Josh Brock, a Corbin High School graduate and varsity basketball standout who is now owner of Austin City Saloon. “I just want to see if there is interest in live music like that in the Corbin area,” Brock said. “We...

Williamsburg police say a man, who was ministering to inmates at the Whitley County Detention Center, allegedly smuggled drugs, tobacco and other items Thursday to his son, who is an inmate at the jail. So far, Williamsburg police have charged a total of six people in connection with the conspiracy that allegedly involved three other family members of the inmate, and say more arrests are possible. Williamsburg police charged Joshua A. Smiddy, 37, Melissa Smiddy, 32, Peggy L. Smiddy, 60, Gary Ray Smiddy, 59, Gary Rosco Smiddy, 36, and James Randell Goins Jr., 29, all of Williamsburg, with first-degree promoting contraband, second-degree promoting contraband, trafficking in marijuana less than eight ounces,...

August 31 may not be the last day for Forest Lanes, but owner Roman Cassidy is welcoming and encouraging the public to come and enjoy the facility for as long as possible. “This is an unresolved family matter,” Cassidy said, declining to say anything further. Janet Osborne, a regular participant in the Monday night women’s league since 1983, said that fall bowling leagues that typically begin right after Labor Day and run through April will not begin as previously scheduled. “The bowlers have been told to go elsewhere,” Obsborne said, adding she and other regulars have received mail from Galaxy Lanes in Richmond encouraging them to go there. “Most everybody is going to...