Columns

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...

By John Curtis White The trade deadline for MLB was Monday and a lot of teams made moves. Some trades made really big headlines while others were not talked about as much. Here are in my opinion the winners and losers of the trade deadline. First, the Cubs get Kevin Gausman and the Blue Jays get Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene. The Cubs, for this trade, get an A- and the Blue Jays get a C-. The Cubs were in need of a starting pitcher and the two time all star in Gausman really helps the starting rotation. The reason that the Blue Jays get a C- is because the rotation isn’t very...

Goodbyes are rarely easy, but when you get the opportunity to watch someone step into their dream, they can be quite special. In recent weeks, the News Journal has said goodbye to three people. For a small staff, those farewells seem to hit just a little harder. Two weeks ago, we wished Andy, our delivery driver, well as he traveled to the west coast for the next chapter of his career. Andy was a behind the scenes person, and his contributions to the newspaper were invaluable. If Andy didn’t show up on a Wednesday, you wouldn’t see the News Journal on the newsstands scattered throughout the region. If he didn’t show up...

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...

By: John Curtis White The MLB season is over halfway through and playoffs are in two months. The trade deadline is in only 14 days. However, I believe that the playoffs should be talked about more than they are right now. Here are my 1st round playoff predictions. First, I would like to name all the teams in the National League  (NL) who will get byes. The Dodgers will be the one seed and move on to the NLDS. The Dodgers have been the best team in baseball. Led by a combined 3.51 ERA and a .229 batting average, the Dodgers are the best team in baseball. The 2nd team who...

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...

After a year with the News Journal, it’s time for me to say goodbye and return to the classroom. This news may come as a surprise to some of you, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. As I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think about the people who will be reading it. One of my favorite parts of this job was getting to know the people behind the stories. I’ve always said Corbin feels like home to me, even if technically it isn’t. I was born and raised in London, but after interning with the News Journal in 2023 and completing both of my student...

By John Curtis White As of right now, the All-Star Game has just concluded and the AL ended up winning 4-0 with Cody Bellinger winning MVP. There are also a lot of things left to happen in the season, one of which is the trade deadline, which is only 15 days away. Most players who are going to get traded either cost too much and their team has to make budget cuts or just want to get out of wherever they are. Here are 3 key players who I believe will get traded.    First, I think Louis Arraez will get traded. This season Arraez has been one of the best...

On my first day at the News Journal, my Nana, for reasons I truly cannot imagine, thought I worked at Waffle House. She told a few of our relatives as much, which prompted my brother to send a me a confused text. When I got back to the house that evening, she opened the door smiling and asked if I was making people breakfast. I do not remember exactly what she said when I told her, “No, Nana, I’m working at the newspaper,” but knowing her, she probably laughed at herself and said something like, “Oh, flitter.” I am glad she could still laugh in moments like that. She was...