Columns

Whitley County recently lost two pillars of the community with the recent death of former Williamsburg business owner Paul Steely and Corbin Dr. William Briscoe. Steely died at the age of 95 years old on April 28. He was well known in the Williamsburg community as one of the owners of Paul Steely Ford. He purchased the first Ford Explorer ever sold off the lot of Paul Steely Ford. He also purchased the last Ford Explorer ever sold off the lot on Sept. 11, 2009, right before it closed after more than 28 years in business. Steely, who was a lifelong Williamsburg resident, was much more than just a successful businessman. He...

In approximately two weeks or less, I will be seeing my favorite band of 10 years in concert in Las Vegas with my sister. I am still in denial because it does not feel real. We will also be getting on a plane for the first time ever. Panic mode: activated. I have always wondered if I have a fear of planes. I always thought I did, but I have never actually been on one, so I’m not sure how I’ll respond. Knowing my fear of heights, it is safe to say I will likely be full of fear. I will give you an update soon on how I will...

The 2026 session of the Kentucky General Assembly was a very good one for Whitley County, which received nearly $11 million in funding for various projects in addition to millions more for various road projects. The Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport is getting $7 million for a new runway expansion. $1.5 million has been earmarked for a replacement water tank for the City of Williamsburg. An additional $1.5 million – on top of previous state funding – is going to help pay for the jail renovation and expansion project, and $950,000 is allocated to help renovate the old Williamsburg post office into an innovation hub. It will be good to see something positive...

What do you hear about this year’s election? This is a common question I typically get this time of year. This year I would sum up my answer with one word. Quiet. It’s a word Whitley County Clerk Carolyn Willis also recently used to describe the upcoming May Primary Election when I interviewed her, as well as various others. There just is not much buzz about it. This may have something to do with the fact many races are uncontested this year in Whitley County, such as judge-executive, coroner, district judge, county attorney, state representative and PVA. This is probably a sign most people are generally content with the job these incumbents are doing. This isn’t...

Court usually isn’t like what you see in the movies or on television. Truth be told, there is a lot of sitting around for sometimes hours waiting for a judge to call a case much of the time. The lawyers speak for a couple of minutes about motion or waiting on test results, and then the judge sets another hearing date. Big trials are another story. These can be interesting to watch sometimes. This is particularly true if you have a couple of really good lawyers going at it. Tom Handy, who died last week, was one of the best. Handy spenxt 28 years working as the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Knox...

There is nothing greater than watching a dream come true. A dream, to me, is something deeply desired yet just out of reach. We can visualize it but achieving it is only possible through patience, dedication, time and work. A dream comes in all sizes and can have multiple layers to it. With enough effort, dreams do come true. Right now, my great friend Dustin Ryan is living proof of that. My friend Dustin recently debuted his first single, “Settling the Score,” with help from his manager and friend, Nick Sturms. The song is a call for unity during hard times. I first met Dustin when I joined the Old...

It is kind of weird to look at a jail’s website and see your own name listed, even when you know it isn’t you. As a journalist, the first thing I usually do when I get into the office in the morning is check my e-mail. The second thing I usually do is check the websites of our local detention centers to see who got arrested. There are almost always a handful of people each day booked into the jails on various charges ranging from DUI and shoplifting to assault, sexual abuse, strangulation, etc. Last Wednesday morning, the name of one person in the Whitley County Detention Center grabbed by attention. Mark White. The...

As a journalist you get used to – I can’t say it is ever pleasant – dealing with politicians when something bad or controversial happens concerning their particular office or them personally. Some of them will make excuses. Some of them will blame somebody else. Some will try and say whatever is happening shouldn’t really be a news story. Some will try and spin what has happened. Some of them try to ignore you. You have some though, who are a no spin zone. They will just give you the facts of what has happened, both good and bad. They may offer reasons why something happened and factors related to it,...

I went to the Excellence in Leadership Series at the University of the Cumberlands (UC) to see James Clear for work. I left feeling like a completely different person. Listening to him talk about identity made me think about my own—who I am now, and who I was when I was a student there. When I arrived on campus, I didn’t have to think about where I was going. I had walked that route so many times. I graduated from UC in May of 2024. I know that wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like everything has changed in such a short amount of time. The goals and dreams I...

Day 5 of Mark Batterson’s 40 Days of Prayer is titled ‘Write it Down.’ Throughout the chapter, Batterson expounds upon a simple phrase, “The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.” 40 Days of Prayer is a book I turn to at critical junctures in my life. It helps me focus my prayer life by teaching me to pray through the various facets of a situation rather than just praying about it generically. Because of the times I’ve read it, I often recall bits and pieces of it during my prayer time. Day 5 is one of those chapters I think about a lot. It doesn’t hurt that one of...