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A Williamsburg woman is facing murder, DUI and other charges after allegedly striking two pedestrians with her vehicle early Monday evening and killing one of them. Kentucky State Police Trooper Delzie Kelly charged Sonia Renee Askins, 46, of Williamsburg, with murder, first-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence, failure to maintain required auto insurance, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol/drugs in connection with the accident. Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley pronounced Teresa L. Ward, 40, of Williamsburg, dead at the scene at 6:45 p.m. Monday. She died instantly from blunt force injuries sustained after being struck by a motor...

Laurel County Sheriff’s deputies have identified a suspect in a strong-arm robbery that occurred about noon Tuesday in southeastern Laurel County. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, the department’s public affairs officer, said the suspect, is 37-year-old Jason Wells of Lily, remains on the run. Acciardo said deputies were called to the Corner Market at the intersection of Ky. 233 and Ky. 1223 near the Laurel/Knox County line in response to a complaint about the robbery. “They were acquainted with him at the store,” Acciardo said when asked how Wells had been identified. The store clerk reportedly told deputies that the perpetrator had come in and asked the clerk for change for a $100 bill. “The clerk...

Laurel County Sheriff’s deputies are searching for a suspect in a strong-armed robbery that occurred about noon in southeastern Laurel County. Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, the department’s public affairs officer, said deputies were called to a location at the intersection of Ky. 233 and Ky. 1223 near the Laurel/Knox County line in response to a complaint about the robbery. The victim reportedly told deputies that the perpetrator had taken and undisclosed amount of money and then fled the scene in a vehicle. While the make and model is unknown, Acciardo said the vehicle is reportedly blue in color with one of the doors painted red. Anyone with information concerning the vehicle or the driver...

A female pedestrian was killed and her husband injured during an accident early Monday evening in the Canadatown community of Whitley County. Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley pronounced the victim dead about 6:45 p.m. at the scene from blunt force injuries sustained after being struck by a motor vehicle. She died instantly. Her name is being withheld pending proper notification of her family. Her body will be sent to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort for autopsy. The victim's husband, who was also struck by the Saturn vehicle, was taken to Baptist Health Corbin for treatment. The accident happened about 6:15 p.m. on Highway 859. A Kentucky State Police accident reconstructionist from the Richmond...

U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) plans to lead a series of town hall style events Tuesday through Thursday across Kentucky. One of those events will take place in Corbin Tuesday. Dr. Paul released the following statement on the upcoming town halls: “When Kentuckians elected me, a physician by trade, to the Senate in 2010, they sent me there to diagnose and fix the problems plaguing our government, fight for our liberties, and defend the Commonwealth from an overreaching federal government and President Obama’s anti-Kentucky agenda. I look forward to speaking with Kentuckians about what I’ve been doing to keep my promise to continue standing for Kentucky no matter what, and my...

A Woodbine man is facing charges of attempted murder and wanton endangerment after police say a gun discharged as he and his wife struggled for possession it Friday morning. Fifty-three-year-old Bryan Dwayne Karr was arrested just after 10 a.m. at the couple’s residence on Perkins Street near the General Shale Brick site. Sheriff Colan Harrell said Karr and his wife had been arguing and at some point, the .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun came into play. “He pointed the gun at his head and then pointed it at her,” Harrell said. “She grabbed the gun and got her hand around it.” Harrell said the gun discharged, resulting in second-degree burns on the woman’s hand. Whitley EMS...

A downtown Corbin restaurant, and interior design and jewelry store owner is offering a $400 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person, or people, responsible for vandalism overnight Friday. Shae Hensley, co-owner of House of S&J and Seasons Restaurant, said Friday morning he was shocked when he went to the outside porch of his Main Street business only to find about $750 worth of expensive pots and plants had been smashed to pieces. There area the vandals hit faces Depot Street. “Those have been out there all summer. They been there since May,” Hensley said. “We try so hard to volunteer to make the town look better. We really...

UPDATE Thomas A. Gilbert pleaded guilty to all charges when appearing before Judge Kathy Prewitt at the Whitley County District Court on Tuesday morning. According to the arrest citation, Gilbert was actually walking along 7th Street when he was arrested by Corbin Police Officer Steve Meadors. The arrest stemmed from two calls complaining about a flasher. The first call came in at 8 a.m. stating that a man wearing ball shorts was walking down Allta Avenue and exposing his genitals. Officer Meadors and Major Rob Jones responded to the incident where the subject, Thomas Gilbert, denied the allegations and stated he "was lost and only trying to get to work." The second call...

Corbin city officials said Monday that an effort to annex along Browning Acres Road, Barton Mill Road and Gordon Hill Pike is effectively dead. At the regularly scheduled meeting of the Corbin City Commission, commissioners voted to take the proposed annexation along the three roadways west of Corbin, “under advisement.” After the meeting, Mayor Willard McBurney and City Manager Marlon Sams said opposition from residents in the area who turned out in force on July 7 at the planning and zoning meeting, led to the decision. “They don’t want it,” McBurney said when asked if the matter would be brought back before the commission. Sams was at the planning and zoning meeting as...

American Idol contestant Elvie Shane Payton was announced this week as one of the musical acts to take the main stage at the 2016 NIBROC Festival in downtown Corbin. He will be the opening act for returning festival favorite County Wide on the Friday of the festival. The main NIBROC Festival is scheduled for Aug. 10-13 this year. Carnival rides will be available starting Aug. 8. Payton, a Grayson County native who now lives in Monticello, competed on the final season of American Idol in 2015. HeÕd first done an audition for The Voice in Los Angeles, but was not selected. His luck on American Idol was a little better, however, and...