Don Estep

Remember the saying, “Be like Mike,” referring to Michael Jordan? Well, a young man who dressed up for Halloween chose to “Be like Terry.” When our boss, Terry Forcht, attended church this Sunday he met the young man who dressed like him and had his picture taken with him. Terry got a kick out of it. You can’t blame the young man for wanting to be like Terry. He is one of Kentucky’s foremost entrepreneurs. No doubt the young man has noticed how Terry dresses. I have worked for Terry for about 35 years and I have never seen him without him wearing a coat and tie. He and I were discussing how...

Here is to wishing Paul Jones a Happy Birthday. This Friday Paul will celebrate his 99th birthday. You wouldn’t know it by being around him. He moves and acts much younger. Paul has been a friend of mine for many years. I first got to know him well when I was selling advertising for this newspaper. He was the owner and operator of the Hall-Watson Furniture Company which started here in 1922. It closed in 2009. For at least 25 years I have enjoyed eating lunch with him and several other guys a few times a week. We have been at it so long that most of our original group has...

You know you are getting very old when there are 100th anniversary celebrations and you can almost remember when they started. I am almost at that point but only at about 80 percent of them. This week both Central Baptist Church and the Kiwanis Club of Corbin are celebrating their 100th anniversaries. In this issue of the News Journal we published a special section about the Kiwanis Club. And for those who attend the service at Central Baptist this Sunday we helped prepare a historical magazine that will be handed out to those in attendance. I have been more closely associated with Central Baptist than the Kiwanis Club but I have recollections...

We are Soarin’ in Corbin this week. Not the one at Disney World, but rather this is the 2021 SOAR Summit. SOAR is a regional nonpartisan nonprofit that champions local projects, programs, and advocacy for the 54 ARC-mandated counties in Eastern Kentucky. The mandate: To fill the economic gaps left by the decline of the coal industry. The task: To rally our communities to help us achieve these goals together for the good of all. What is SOAR? It stands for Step, Overcome, Achieve and Renew. Step towards making your dreams a reality. Overcome doubt, fear, procrastination, and anxiety. Achieve your goals and dreams and walk confidently. Renew your mind...

Monday was national taco day. Hey, whatever happened to taco Tuesday? Seems like there is a day or week for every cause. This week is the 81st annual National Newspaper week! It is my opinion that National Newspaper Week is more important than taco Monday. Or as the kid said while sitting in his dad’s lap, “Why is Freedom of the Press under the First Amendment? The dad’s answer was the correct one, “Because it is the most important one.” One of the most important roles that freedom of the press offers is being a “watchdog” for you as a taxpayer. While some legislators try to shut the door on open...

I am on a committee at Central Baptist Church to plan the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the church. The church had its beginning in 1921. Our committee had its first meeting this past January. At that time we set the celebration for Saturday, Oct. 23rd and Sunday, Oct. 24th. We have been meeting regularly since then. One of our greatest concerns at that time was Covid. We did not want to invite people from all parts of the country to have to wear a mask which would hinder fellowship with each other. But since it was January we felt confident that by October things would be under control and...

Kentucky’s infection rate is 3rd in the nation. Perry Co. Kentucky is first and Whitley Co. is in the top 20 according to the Centers for Disease Control as reported in the New York Times. Only 35.8 percent of Whitley County’s population has received two vaccination shots while 50 percent of Kentucky’s population has received both shots. Kentucky is in the middle of the pact as far as vaccination rates are concerned with 24 states below us. Here is a good comparison as to whether masks and crowd control works. At the start of the pandemic in 2020, Sweden did not impose any controls while its Scandinavian neighbors Finland and...

Our news reporters are working on stories for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. They will appear in next week’s edition of the News Journal. They are asking for your input. You can send information about where you were and how it affected you to: jperkins@corbinnewsjournal.com. To get a jump start on this I am writing my column this week about that horrific time. I remember it as if it was yesterday. It was a Tuesday and all of us were working hard to get the paper to the printing plant. My phone rings and it is my wife. She says, “Turn on your television, a plane has just crashed into the...

You will notice from the content of this page that we are very serious about the effects of Covid-19 and what everybody should be doing to protect us during this pandemic. Sen. Mitch McConnell said, “Let’s put the opinion business aside. 97% of the people in the hospital now are unvaccinated. That’s not opinion. That’s a fact.” A couple of weeks ago I wrote in this space a similar article and I was bombarded with the harshest and most critical response I have ever received from one of my columns. Thankfully, I also received many comments that agreed with what I wrote. I am aware that all the facts in the world...

This week marks the 34th anniversary of the publication of Corbin! This Week. The first paper rolled off the presses on Aug. 12, 1987. I was 48 years old and we were starting a sister edition of the Whitley Republican aimed at a Corbin readership. It was a risky move in that the Corbin Daily Tribune had big numbers in Corbin but the Whitley Republican had the Williamsburg numbers. A weekly newspaper had never succeeded in Corbin against the daily. However, we knew that if we were to succeed we would need a larger circulation in the Corbin area. In 1992 we merged the Whitley Republican and Corbin! This Week into...