Columns

The journey begins this Friday night for the Corbin Redhounds in their quest for another state championship in Class 4-A football against Russell County at Campbell Field in Corbin starting at 7:30 p.m. As usual the Hounds will be one of the favorites to win it all. Their first playoff championship came exactly 50 years ago against Mayfield, winning by a score of 6-0. Mayfield came in as the favorite with a 12-1 record. Corbin was 11-1. This was the first of three playoff state championships. The other two came in 1980 and 1982. Counting the mythical state championships, the Hounds have won five, one in 1939 and the other in...

Last year, then Publisher-Sports Editor Trevor Sherman started writing the weekly Par for the Course golf column talking about all things golf. I thought he did a really good job with it writing about how he wanted to learn how to play golf. He even took a lesson or two describing the process of learning how to play golf. He also talked about his experience in a golf simulator, which sounded fun. He never quite made it out on the golf course, as far as I know. He wanted to. He just never had the chance with work, a wife, two kids and, well, life. (We have all been there…LOL.) Trevor also...

If you do not go vote, then do not let me hear you complaining about government. This is my message to those out there thinking about skipping voting this year, particularly those social media warriors, who regularly take to Facebook to complain about government. For anyone, who does not know, the General Election is Nov. 3. Statewide, there will be races on the ballot to decide, who will replace long-time Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell next year. Republican candidate Andy Barr is facing off against Democrat Charles Booker and Kentucky Party candidate Christopher Campbell. Also, there will be an important constitutional amendment on the ballot statewide. The amendment would limit a sitting governor’s...

With two great local events in Williamsburg this past weekend, residents had a lot to do.  The Williamsburg Tourist and Convention Center hosted a Pumpkins in the Park and book walk event on Friday. The event is geared towards children and improving literacy rates.  Community members helped by bringing their own carved pumpkins to set up around the park. Briar Creek Park often hosts community events, and holidays are no exception. Holidays like Halloween are perfect for bringing people together with events.  Local community members of all ages dropped off their carved or etched pumpkins.  The book for this event was It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz.  At the start...

I spent a decent amount of time Sunday trying to come up with something to write my golf column about this week. The thing about writing columns of any kind is it is pretty easy if you have something you really want to write about. Whether you are writing a sports column, a human interest column, or a political column, it can be on the tough side to do when you are struggling to come up with topic. (If you have ever been reading a column and thought the writer really struggled to come up with a column idea, then, truth be told, you were probably right…LOL.) I finally decided to write about...

College football week 7 is in the books, and this week was one of the most exciting weeks of football yet! Several upsets, and several teams even though it wasn’t an upset, they still overcame the odds and pulled out a win. First, I would like to mention Auburn beating #1 Georgia  24-27. This game was electric as with less than a minute left, Georgia fumbles and Auburn recovers, and then they would go on to kick the game winning field goal as time expired to win 24-27. What’s next for Georgia: Georgia is a powerhouse team and there schedule is tough, but I still see them winning most of...

Hello, Tri- County! ​ My name is Summer Mills, and I cannot believe I get to join The News Journal as a digital content producer and news reporter. I grew up in Knox County on the Clay/ Knox line. Eventually, I moved to Whitley County to further my education at the University of the Cumberlands. I spent four years earning my Bachelor of Science in communication arts- journalism and Bachelor of Science in English- literary studies. During my time at UC, I enjoyed being involved in tutoring and joining the Student Government Association (SGA), Sigma Tau Delta (National English Honor Society), and The Patriot (the campus newspaper). Through these organizations, I met many...

Let me offer a word of congratulations to our local school districts, on their 2025-2026 Kentucky Summative Assessment Test results, which were released last week. Corbin High School, Corbin Middle School and Corbin Elementary School all had blue ratings. This is the highest rating a school can receive. Corbin High School knocked it out of the park ranking seventh among all high schools in the state. Williamsburg High School did just a little bit better with the sixth highest overall score among Kentucky high schools. Williamsburg High School almost doubled its overall score going from a 46.0 the prior year to 90.4 overall last spring. Now that is an increase to brag...

When you organize an outdoor event in the spring or fall, the weather can cooperate, the temperature can be perfect, and things can sometimes go great with numerous people turning out to take part like Williamsburg’s Oktoberfest a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes though, you have weather like we had Saturday for Corbin’s October Fest. (Each of them spell Octoberfest differently…LOL.) It was rainy pretty much all day up until about 2 p.m. It was a bit on the cool side. Despite the weather, some vendors still turned out, but, unfortunately, there were few visitors. Corbin Tourism Executive Director Emily Roberts ended it early. Just about everybody was packed up and out...

Congratulations to the Corbin Lady Redhounds Girls Golf Team, which finished eighth in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s 2026 state tournament. The team shot a two-day total of plus 198 during the final two rounds of the state tournament, which was played at Bowling Green Country Club Friday and Saturday. Conner shot a two-day total of plus 212 to finish ninth. Corbin golfer Makena Myatt finished tied for eighth place shooting a two-day total of 151 or seven over for the two days. She finished tied with Caroline Lankford of Lexington Christian. Sacred Heart’s Keira Yun shot a five under two-day total of 139 to win the individual competition. Her next...