Mark White

How cool would it be to have two sitting federal judges at the same time from the little town of Williamsburg? I think I can speak for most people in Williamsburg, Whitley County and even Corbin when I say it would be pretty darn cool. While it probably won’t make the history books, Aug. 18, 2026, may be a date a lot of Williamsburg residents remember for a very long time. Early that afternoon, a ceremony was held at the federal courthouse in London renaming the building the Eugene E. Siler Jr. United States Courthouse in honor of the longtime judge. It is the only federal building in Kentucky bearing someone’s name. Siler served...

Congratulations to Corbin High School golfers Makena Myatt and Kalyn Watkins, who recently advanced to the state finals. Myatt improved on her own personal best and set the lady’s course record firing a five under 67 at Wasioto Winds Golf Course at Pine Mountain State Park on Aug. 18 to win the Kentucky 2A Section 7 Girls’ Qualifier. Myatt sank a birdie putt on the final hole. Watkins held her own shooting an 82 on what I can personally attest is a tough golf course. I imagine the course set-up for a tournament, like this one, was even tougher than usual. (I always used to take old balls when I played Wasioto...

If you read my column on a regular basis, then you know I have written several times about giving experiences instead of presents to loved ones as gifts. How many ties, coffee mugs and scented candles can you give someone? Sure, they will smile for the camera and say thank you, but is it something they really want? Giving an experience is something you can do together with a loved one, make some memories and have a good time. My dad, who has a Fourth of July birthday, and I recently took a road trip. For his birthday, I bought him a red, white and blue golf bag. It seemed fitting given his...

Back in 2014, I remember my dad and I playing golf with Thom Smith, who told us about something interesting he planned to do in the coming weeks. He was planning to take a trip to North Carolina to volunteer at both the U.S. Open Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship golf tournaments, which were being played in back-to-back weeks at Pinehurst No. 2. Many in the Corbin community are probably familiar with Thom. He used to be the transportation director for the Corbin Independent School District for several years before serving as the athletic director for the district. He is also a former golf coach at Corbin High...

Corbin High School golfers recently took a road trip to Jonesville, Virginia, to take part in the Farmers and Miners Bank Invitational high school golf tournament at Cedar Hill Country Club where they had a great showing with an individual win and a second-place team finish. Each year the Corbin High School Boy’s Golf Team and the Girl’s Golf Team join forces to play in the coed tournament. This year 87 boys and girls teed it up to crown the 2026 champions. Corbin Golfer Makena Myatt shot a bogey free four under 68 to become the 2026 Farmers and Miners champion. “She’s good. Plain and simple. Cut and dDry. We hyped this one...

Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus epitomized what a small town festival like NIBROC is supposed to be about Friday night. Razmus was at a concert for The Wildflowers, which is a Tom Petty tribute band. She was sitting in the front row with approximately half a dozen of her besties enjoying the show and was later up dancing with her friends as the group played several classics from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. To me, this is what these festivals are supposed to all about, bringing people together to socialize and have a good time. Sure, the parking is a hassle. Once you get down to the festival though, it is typically a...

When you are the managing editor of a small community newspaper, you “get” to do some stuff editors are bigger newspaper don’t have to do, such as filling up the jug for the water cooler, taking out the glue trap with the dead lizard and checking upstairs in the attic after some of the ladies heard a noise and are convinced there is a racoon up there. (It turned out just to be a fallen ceiling tile…LOL.) The latest case in point was last Wednesday. Our long-time newspaper delivery driver, Andy Welsh, left us for the greener pastures of California. (Cannot imagine why he would want to do that…LOL.) I...

The recent British Open certainly had an exciting finish. American Cameron Young, who birdied four out of his first five holes in the final round, got into the clubhouse early posting a score of 9-under-par for the tournament. Then he waited and waited for more than two hours to see whether anyone caught him. They did. New Zealander Ryan Fox kept plugging along birdieing Hole No. 13 and Hole No. 14. He bogeyed hole No. 15 followed by a birdie at Hole No. 16. After parring Hole No. 17, Fox went into the final 72nd hole of the tournament in a tie for the lead. By this time, Young was back on...

The Whitley County Fair and the recent deaths of two local residents will be three of the topics for this week’s column. Williamsburg Dry Cleaners owner Pat Michael Marple died on July 15 at the age of 79. Most people in Williamsburg knew Pat from his time owning and operating Williamsburg Dry Cleaners for over have a century. Pat’s father, Pat Marple Sr. founded Williamsburg Dry Cleaners in the late 1930s. I did a story about the younger Pat and Williamsburg Dry Cleaners in 2001. The business never charged to clean an American Flag or a Christian Flag. It was a practice’s Pat Marple Sr. started and one his son continued. One interesting thing...

To this day, I can still remember the words of my friend, Rev. Keith Decker, when I was in the ring taking pictures of the mule pull at the Whitley County Fair several years ago. “I want you to know I was praying for you real hard,” Keith told me after I had gotten out the way more than once that morning from a team of mules, which had tried to break loose. If you were going to have somebody praying for your safety, Keith, who founded Cedaridge Ministries, was a good one to have in your corner. For those unfamiliar with mule pulls, these events involve teams of mules working to...