Columns

Throughout this week’s edition, readers will find content related to the now underway 2026 legislative session. We aim to continue providing coverage of happenings from the General Assembly on a weekly basis between now and when the session wraps in March, so be sure to follow along for those updates. For now, I’d like to point out a few specific bills that have caught my eye. House Bill 227 – Rep. Matt Lockett (R, 39th District) is the primary sponsor of this bill, which seeks to create new sections of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) to “establish requirements to protect minors from AI companion platforms and social media platforms using...

Throughout this week’s edition, readers will find content related to the now underway 2026 legislative session. We aim to continue providing coverage of happenings from the General Assembly on a weekly basis between now and when the session wraps in March, so be sure to follow along for those updates. For now, I’d like to point out a few specific bills that have caught my eye. House Bill 227 – Rep. Matt Lockett (R, 39th District) is the primary sponsor of this bill, which seeks to create new sections of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) to “establish requirements to protect minors from AI companion platforms and social media platforms using...

Changes have been made this year when you enter Gilliam Gymnasium at Corbin High School for a basketball game. Originally, an intended entrance to the gymnasium was built on the front of the school facing Synder Street. It was used for a short while, but after finding it insufficient a decision was made to close it years ago. This year the school has reopened it and is using what was deemed a poor way to enter then. During the many years of broadcasting Corbin Redhound basketball and attending the games, I have been in every gym in the 13th Region and many in the 12th Region, plus others throughout the state....

Well, we made it. We successfully navigated another hectic holiday season and now we are just days into yet another New Year. This is a time both for reflection on what was, and more importantly, to look ahead to what the coming weeks and months hold in store for us all. I have learned that looking ahead can be tricky. On one hand, I think that you have to stay mindful of certain possibilities and at least try to be prepared for whatever curve balls life may throw your way. With that being said, you also can’t allow yourself to ruminate on what those curve balls might look like, or...

On New Year’s Eve, my wonderful wife, Cecelia, got a phone call from her dad that we had been expecting to get any time. Her 101-year-old grandmother, Mary Updike, had passed away after spending the past two weeks in a nursing home. For most of her life though, she had lived out on her own in rural West Virginia, in the home where she raised her two children. About six or seven years or so ago she went to live with my wife’s parents, George and Ruth, for a short time before going to live with Cecelia’s aunt, Carolyn. Grannie, as many of us in the family called her, was a character....

Each Christmas season, the Director of the Targeted Case Management Team at Cumberland River Behavioral Health, Jennifer Beach, ensures that many children in the eight county service region have gifts for Christmas by organizing an Angel Tree Program. There are many others involved with this including those in our communities who donate gifts, employees who help with the organization of gifts, and those who make sure the gifts get to the children in need. This year, there were also seniors citizens who assisted with the wrapping of gifts. If you have ever seen Jennifer’s office at Christmas you have seen it exploding with gifts. Jennifer is not...

As the year comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on everything I have experienced and accomplished this year. There are many instances, both in my career and in my personal life, when I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I worked on patience and kindness, prioritized my mental and emotional health, and learned to say “no” even when it was hard. I focused on musical growth and surprised myself. Let’s take a walk down Leeann’s 2025 memory lane. At the beginning of this year, I was still a teacher. I was teaching second grade at Boonesborough Elementary School. The other day, I was looking for a specific video...

You just can’t fit all the news from a year into a top 10 list, like the one running on our front page in this week’s edition of the News Journal. Sure, we get the big news events in there, but that doesn’t mean there still weren’t quite a few other interesting and memorable news stories in 2025, such as ground being broken for an expansion of The Corbin Center, Williamsburg Agriculture teacher Toraleah Shelley serving as a guest Christmas decorator at the White House, the retirement of long-time Corbin Independent Schools Superintendent Dave Cox, and a former Laurel County Sheriff’s Capt. apparently killing his mother in Berea before killing...

The past year was full of major developments in both local news and sports. While you can check out our annual review of the top news stories throughout this week’s edition, I thought that I would use my column space to revisit some of 2025’s most talked about happenings in the world of local sports. At the top of the list is the Corbin eighth grade football team’s most recent state championship, which they secured on Nov. 15 after a 26-8 win over Rockcastle County in the Division 2 title game, played at Lexington Christian Academy. This was the Corbin Middle School football program’s tenth state championship overall, and their...

Written by Diane Taylor Roberts It is well into December, and I have received four Christmas cards. This is a first. We usually receive so many that they line the door facing on both sides between our kitchen and dining room. Each year, we receive less and less. Years ago, Christmas cards were a very important part of the holiday season. The cards depicted street scenes, some had glitter, some had Currier and Ives country scenes, a jolly red cheeked Santa, carolers, or nativity scenes all with heartfelt wishes for peace and joy written in elegant calligraphy. The rising cost of postage and the cards themselves may be a significant deterrent....