Mark White

As a kid, I can remember my mom dragging me to the Corbin Kmart when it first opened in October 1978. At the time, it was kind of a big deal. Wal-Mart didn't exist in these parts at the time. The Corbin Kmart was huge or at least it seemed that way to a seven-year-old, whose mom was dragging him around the store as she and her friends shopped for what seemed like an eternity. I will admit that the "blue light specials" were kind of neat. For those too young to remember, Kmart would bring this flashing blue light around to various parts of the store during various times in the...

Ever wonder why newspapers, television stations, magazines and other forums run end of the year reviews and top 10 lists around New Year's Eve and New Year's Day each year? There are actually a few different reasons. One BIG reason is that the week between Christmas and New Year's Day traditionally is a slow one and this helps us fill space or airtime or whatever the case may be. (It's one of those things we aren't supposed to admit though so don't tell anybody...LOL.) Of course, another reason is that it's interesting to go back and reflect on the events of the past year. As I flip back through each issue...

Why are you running for office? "Boy, that's a good question. I'll have to think about that one," is a response that I have gotten back on multiple occasions over the years interviewing candidates. At that point, I am usually thinking, "I really hope this person doesn't get elected!" If I am doing the interview over the phone, I am usually shaking my head about now and looking for the bottle of Advil on my desk. We periodically get some real doozies running for office. Fortunately, those folks are the exception rather than the rule. Thank goodness. As I write this column before the results of Tuesday's election start pouring in, I thought...

Looking for something to do this weekend? Well, you have a couple of good options Saturday right here in Williamsburg. The Whitley County Historical & Genealogical Society will be holding its annual Heritage Day from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday at the old L&N Railroad Depot in Williamsburg. The day will feature crafts, demonstrations, tours, model trains and lots of interesting local history. I've been to this event several times. The historical society has done a good job with the facility and there is a lot to see there. If you have an interest in history, local history, trains or genealogy then there is a good chance you will have a...

In the classic 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”, Kevin Costner’s character, Ray, is working in his cornfield when he hears a voice in his head that tells him, “If you build it, he will come.” So naturally after hearing the voice tell him that a few more times, Ray decides to plow under a significant portion of his crop and build a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa corn field. Of course, not long after that the spirit of Shoeless Joe Jackson walks in from the corn patch and starts playing baseball there along with the spirits of a lot of other famous ex-big leaguers. It seems as if the...

In 2007, Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison had a problem. His police chief, who two months earlier had been suspended after a failed drug test, resigned after another drug test came back with a diluted sample. A year earlier, another officer resigned prior to a termination hearing after being involved in an on-duty crash where he struck another driver. A toxicology test showed cocaine and Oxycodone in his system at the time of the crash. Harrison needed someone to take over as police chief, who could restore trust and confidence in the department. He needed someone, whose reputation and character were above reproach. His choice was Russell Jones, a 20-plus year veteran of the...

This year I did something a little different to celebrate Independence Day. For the first time in about a decade, instead of heading to Williamsburg to watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July, I instead went to Corbin's Independence Day party on July 3 at The Arena. I have to say that Corbin Tourism Director Maggie Kriebel and other organizers (I saw City Manager Marlon Sams and Tourism Commissioner Alan Onkst there) put on a good show and a nice atmosphere. While I am not a big bluegrass music fan, "Timberline Road" had a nice sound, and I really enjoyed the southern rock band, "County Wide." My wife, Cecelia, made the observation...

Let's put Corbin's recent decision to stack an additional 1 percent payroll tax onto its residents in the Knox County side of town, but not onto the net profits of businesses there into some perspective. Starting on July 1, the woman flipping burgers at your favorite restaurant in the Knox County portion of Corbin, who is making minimum wage, will have to pay an additional 1 percent tax on her meager wages. The rich guy or multi-billion corporation that owns the restaurant won't have to pay a dime more in taxes on his profits under the Corbin City Commission's plan. The rationale for not collecting taxes on the net profits...

Is the Whitley County Health Department’s proposed needle exchange a good thing or a bad thing? There were some mixed opinions offered up during a Whitley County UNITE Coalition meeting Monday afternoon to discuss the issue. Personally, I think that it is a good idea for multiple reasons. Whitley County Health Department Public Health Director Martha Steele told me of a statistic recently that illustrates the problem pretty well. When someone is shooting up drugs, there are typically five other people at that same location sharing the same needle. Besides sharing drugs, this also means that they are likely sharing the same diseases, such as Hepatitis C and HIV. An outbreak of...

As those of you, who have read our front page this week know already, Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison is headed back to the drawing board in his effort to place a measure on the ballot that would allow for packaged alcohol sales in stores and by the drink sales at smaller restaurants. The measure is identical to what Corbin has had for several years and what Barbourville and London voters recently approved. Harrison's alcohol petition came up six valid signatures shy Monday of the total he needed to get the petition certified and on the ballot, so he went back to work Tuesday on a new petition that he hopes to...