Don Estep

We welcome nonsubscribers in the Corbin area to a free copy of the News Journal this week. We will be doing the same thing for the Williamsburg community in September. By looking at what we have to offer we hope you will take advantage of the special offer we are making and become a full-time subscriber. A full-page ad is in Section B on page five that lists the details. You’ll save by subscribing and the newspaper will be delivered to your mailbox every Wednesday. It is Nibroc week in Corbin, four days of fun filled activities. I am probably one of the few who are left that attended the first...

It is hard to find adequate words to express the loss to family, friends and the City of Corbin with the passing of Diane Mitchell last week. She was a rare individual that took on tasks in our community that very few are available or willing to do. She will be greatly missed. She was active in several organizations including the Ossoli Club, the Carnegie Center, the Corbin Public Library Board, and Friends of the Library. She served in the food pantry of the Corbin Presbyterian Church for many years. Diane and I had a lot in common in that she taught journalism, along with French at Corbin High School. She...

When I was in college one of the courses that interested me the most was classicism, the study of ancient Greece and Rome. It took me over 60 years but last year I went to Italy and visited Rome and several other places. I also enjoyed courses in history, especially about our forefathers. There is a new book out by A.J. Jacobs titled, “The Year of Living Constitutionally.” The author spent a year with a musket and lived the  life of those who wrote the Constitution, even to the point that he used a quill to do the writing. His study of the Constitution revealed some interesting facts. For one, there are...

Many of you are familiar with Ernest Hemingway’s book, “The Old Man and the Sea.” It was the last published work of the Nobel Prize winning author before he took his own life. The book delivers an inspirational message about the human capacity for resilience and perseverance. And no doubt many of you have read the novel or seen the movie, “No Country for Old Men.” I bring this up because of the choice the USA has been left with in the run for our next president. I normally don’t write about politics, but because of the debacle in the debate last week I am sharing my concern of why...

This week I conclude a review of my 37-year history of being publisher of this newspaper with a column of why it is important to have a local newspaper in a community. It is obvious that local newspapers keep readers up to date on their own communities. Not only does our newspaper benefit readers, but it also benefits local businesses. We offer an affordable way of informing the readers of the benefits coming from local businesses. I must admit that it was better 37 years ago to fill our newspaper with ads than it is today. Due to Amazon and big box stores many businesses have closed their doors. Local publications...

(This is the fourth in a series of articles I am writing that cover my 37 years as publisher of this newspaper.  Last week I wrote about Terry Forcht solving our printing problems.) In the early 90s we had three newspapers, the News Journal, Pulaski Week and Laurel News Journal and two real estate magazines and hardly any area printing company could handle the load. I discussed this with our owner, Terry Forcht, and he suggested that we buy presses and start printing our newspapers. Terry and I, along with a pressman we had hired, started visiting printing plants. We were preparing to start a new business to solve our printing...

As of August 12, 1987 our staff had two newspapers to publish - the Whitley Republican and Corbin! This Week. The same stories were in each edition, but to give identity to both we would make up the Whitley Republican with all Williamsburg related stories on the front page and the Whitley masthead also on the front. After we shot negatives of that edition we would then take off Williamsbrug related stories on the front page and replace them with Corbin news of interest along with the Corbin masthead. That was a lot of work just to satisfy the ego of both areas. After four and a half years of doing this...

I have been fully blessed to reach a milestone in my life. This Saturday, June 1, my wife Judy and I will celebrate our 60th Wedding Anniversary. Having her to say “yes” to my proposal 60 years ago was among the best things that have happened in my life. My how the years have flown by so fast. It seems like it was so recent that I saw a beautiful young girl for the first time and instantly I wanted to learn who she was. I was working at radio station WCTT and seated in the control room overlooking a studio. In came a group of students from Corbin High School to...

This is the second in a series of articles I am writing that cover my 37 years as publisher of this newspaper.  Last week I wrote about being hired by Terry Forcht and starting the job with new computers... We had learned how to make the printer print and now we were in the process of giving the Whitley Republican a new look. It was June 1987 and for the first time the entire paper was prepared on the new MacPlus computers. I had very little to do with it. Willie Sawyers, our news editor, was the brains behind it all. Willie had been the publisher of this newspaper, and he...

It was 37 years ago this week when I accepted the job as publisher of this newspaper. At the time I was the advertising manager of the Sentinel-Echo in London. I talked with Terry Forcht, the owner of the Whitley Republican, about the job and we decided to start a companion newspaper in Corbin after he agreed to purchase the new MacPlus computers which we would need to publish two newspapers. Those little computers, which had far less memory than your telephone, was the new way to publish newspapers. They were expensive, costing about $2,500 each. The printer cost $5,000. I gave my two week notice to the Sentinel and planned a...