Business

A family-owned French company that manufactures ice-cream and coffee-stir sticks will be the latest firm to open a manufacturing facility in the Southeast Kentucky Regional Business Park in Corbin — a 90-job, $15 million operation capable of producing up to two billion of the sticks annually. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin joined state and local officials Oct. 18 in welcoming Smart Wood to the area during a special ceremony. The company’s local manufacturing facility has been under construction for quite some time and is nearing full operational ability. The event was held at the facility. Bevin, who met with Smart Wood officials in France during a European job creation trip last year,...

You and Me, Coffee and Tea is getting its own line of tea. Owner Andy Salmons announced that the 10 varieties of loose-leaf tea would be unveiled at a special event Saturday at the Main Street location. Salmons said he and his employees tasted more than 140 varieties of tea to find the 10. “We have green tea, oolong and a variety of herbal blends,” Salmons said. “There is something for everybody.” Salmons said the loose-leaf tea differs from the tea bags in that it is typically a higher quality. “The loose leaf has the chance to open up so you get a better flavor,” Salmons said. Salmons said to celebrate the launch there will...

The national Community Action Partnership presented Paul Dole, KCEOC President/CEO, with the 2017 Robert M. Coard Innovation Award at the national annual conference on September 1st in Philadelphia, PA. The Award is named after Robert M. Coard, the long-time President/CEO of Boston ABCD, the Community Action Agency in Boston, MA. Dole was chosen as the recipient of the award for his hard work creating new and innovative services to grow KCEOC and improve southeastern Kentucky. Paul continually works to find new ways to improve and grow the community. His effort proves successful by the advancement of KCEOC and services its provides and continues to expand.

Hood Harris, President of AT&T Kentucky, will be the featured speaker next Tuesday at the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce monthly membership luncheon. The title of Harris’ keynote speech is: “Investing in the Future: Telecommunications Today and Tomorrow in Southern Kentucky.” He will also discuss and answer questions about local upgrades to Internet and voice service being installed by AT&T in the area. Harris has served as president of AT&T Kentucky since August of 2013. As president, he is responsible for the company’s local, state and federal government relations, public policy and community relations initiatives across the Commonwealth. An 8-year veteran of AT&T, he served as deputy regional vice president for...

The Wrigley Taproom in Corbin was closed Monday but Kristin Smith and some of her employees were working to #KeepCorbinClean. Smith along with Josh Wren, Nikolah Bishop, Shannon Ferrell, Melissa Bond, and friend Thor Barman III, covered Depot Street, the public parking lots and the neighboring alley spending about an hour picking up a variety of trash. “We feel fortunate that we have been warmly received by the community,” Smith said when asked why she and her staff elected to participate in the Keep Corbin Clean effort. “We take a lot of pride in being located downtown and saw an opportunity to help the community.” Smith said along with the normal litter,...

A Whitley County native is working to bring a staple of the country music scene in Lexington to Corbin. Josh Brock, who owns Austin City Saloon in Lexington, has submitted an application for a quota retail license in Corbin doing business as Austin City Saloon. According to the notice, in conjunction with business partner James Brashear of Louisville, the new location would be at the site of the former Tri-County Pawn and Vacuum at 302 North Main Street. “Southern Kentucky is my home and always will be,” Brock said in a statement announcing the intention to seek one of the three available quota retail licenses. “I’ve watched Corbin grow as a community and...

Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison signed a proclamation Friday afternoon declaring October 2017 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the city of Williamsburg and he urged all community members to support efforts and dedicate themselves to the fight against the disease. He was joined at the proclamation signing by several employees from Baptist Health Corbin. About one in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2014, an estimated 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States. About 85 percent of breast cancers occur in women, who have no family history of...

One of the largest non-profit organizations in the U.S. celebrated its 32nd anniversary last week with a special open house at one of its main distribution centers, located in Corbin. “Operation Sharing,” a program of the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP), gathered employees, volunteers and corporate partners together for a special celebration at its Corbin facility last Thursday. Guy Adams, President and CEO of CAP, told the group that “Operation Sharing,” the largest single part of the organization, has a “substantial impact on lives” in the Appalachian region. “Operation Sharing is an incredible part of CAP,” Adams said. “CAP is such a blessed organization to have the benefit of a gift-in-kind program. All...

Unemployment rates fell in 32 Kentucky counties, stayed the same in three, including Whitley County, and rose in 85 counties, including Laurel and Knox counties, between August 2016 and August 2017, according to the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS), an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Whitley County's unemployment rate increased stayed at 6.4 percent between August 2016 and August 2017. Whitley County's August unemployment rate was 0.8 percent lower than July's unemployment rate. Laurel County's unemployment rate increased from 5.9 percent in August 2016 to 6.5 percent in August 2017. Laurel County's August unemployment rate was 0.5 percent lower than July's unemployment rate. Knox County's...