Columns

What are you passionate about? For many people, the answer can be a number of things. For me, though, the answer is clear: music. Music has shaped my character since childhood. Some of my fondest memories are playing piano and singing gospel songs with my momma. She taught me how to harmonize and play chords, planting the seeds for my lifelong connection to music. I’ve always considered myself a “band geek.” Over the years, I’ve learned to play piano, flute, and ukulele. I didn’t fall in love with music right away. There were times I wanted to quit, but my momma wouldn’t let me. She saw something in me that I couldn’t...

There is a special kind of pain that comes with sitting front row at a funeral. Before Saturday, the last time I sat on the front row was for my Mamaw’s funeral in 2008. At nine years old, the significance didn’t quit hit. I understood what death was and that life moving forward was going to look different. At nine years old though, you are still a child. At that age, death seems final, but in the same way that the end of a book seems final. You can go back and reread the book. You might catch little details that you missed here and there, but ultimately, the book is...

It was a different feeling to walk into the News Journal office last Monday following the departure of News Journal Publisher Trevor Sherman. I am now literally the last man standing at the News Journal as the entirety of our remaining staff is female; not that this is a bad thing. We have Publisher Jennifer K. Perkins, Advertising Manager Melissa Hudson, Office Manager Linda Carpenter, Bookkeeper and Classifieds Manager Jennifer Benfield and Reporter Leeann Fragosa. Ironically, when I first started at the News Journal more than 30 years ago, most of the staff was male. I have told my female co-workers that they are more than welcome to use the men’s restroom,...

How are things in your world? This was a common question I would ask folks in the newsroom at WYMT. It became one of my catchphrases. As I walked around checking in with the staff each day, I would often ask, ‘How are things in your world?’ The question was often met with one of two answers – a thumbs up or, ‘it’s still spinning.’ Another one of my catchphrases became ‘cool beans.’ I don’t know where I picked it up, but once I started saying it, I never stopped. At the end of news meetings, I would often say ‘cool beans’ to which staff would respond, ‘the beans are cool.’ On...

What are you supposed to say when you are expected to say goodbye to something you very much wish to hold onto? In 2022, I posed that question as part of my farewell column. On Monday, I finally learned how to respond – ‘See you soon.’ After nearly four years working in broadcast television, I returned home to Corbin and The News Journal on Monday. This will be my third time working at the newspaper. You know what they say, third time is the charm. If not for my experiences here as both an intern and a reporter, I would not be the journalist I am today. This community is where I learned...

As the old saying goes, the teacher is disappointed when the student does not surpass them or in this case students. I am referring to now former News Journal Publisher Trevor Sherman and current News Journal Publisher Jennifer K. Perkins. Many moons ago, I can remember when Trevor started working here doing advertising and delivering the newspapers on Wednesday. He was a fresh-faced young kid, who was an incredibly hard worker. He persevered improving his sales skills and helping out with sports. A few years later after sports editor Jim McAlister had to retire due to illness, Trevor stepped into the sports editor position quickly becoming a first-rate journalist. A few months after...

Written by Diane Taylor Roberts We now live in a world of convenience shopping. If we need batteries, groceries, shoes, or just about anything you can think of, it can be delivered to your door immediately by a Walmart Spark driver or Amazon delivery. We just get on the app on our phone, browse through the items available, and at the touch of a button, our selections are on their merry way to our front door. Back in the day, we could browse through the Sears Roebuck Catalog and patiently wait a week or two for delivery. The main shopping in Williamsburg was a trip to Bailey‘s Country Store. They carried...

I just finished reading a book titled “BILLY.”  It is a story about Kentucky’s All-Time winningest high school basketball coach with over 1,000 wins, Billy Hicks, written by a friend, Dr. John Wiley Bryson. Hicks became the head coach at Corbin High School in 1987 and in his eight years at the helm, his teams won 212 games. They dominated the 50th district with six straight district titles and they did something that had not been accomplished at Corbin High School in 39 years. That is, they won the 13th Region tournament and advanced to the state tournament. As the author of the book pointed out, everybody liked Coach Hicks. I...

I personally cannot remember a worse back-to-back gut punch situation in our local community than what we saw recently with the downtown Williamsburg fire that was followed just days later by one of the worst winter storms in years. There has been plenty to be miserable about recently between those two events alone, which is why I want to focus on a few positives this week. First, after missing some days of school and competition due to the snow, ice, and extreme cold, it is good to see our student-athletes back out on the court again. We had several days in a row there where things felt anything but normal,...

At this point, much has been said about proposed efforts to lengthen Penny Lane in Williamsburg and particularly how it might impact the Zehr property. During a recent Williamsburg City Council meeting Mayor Roddy Harrison said that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet wants to extend Penny Lane past the health department, have it turn left and eventually come out onto KY-92W. The new road would go through some of the Zehr property. Eventually, Penny Lane would become a one-way road. This is currently an eminent domain lawsuit pending in Whitley Circuit Court over efforts by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to obtain the needed property for the road. The Zehr family, who I understand...