Trent Knuckles

Goodbye 2018. Hello 2019! As I write this, we are on the cusp of a new year. To me, that’s always a very exciting time. I don’t know what it is about the changing of the calendar. For some reason, it always feels like a fresh beginning for me. Time to reset, reevaluate and set some new goals to accomplish. Some personal, and fun things I want to get done in 2019: • Make a big dent in my backlog of books. I feel like I read a pretty good amount, but I could do better. I’m reading Altered Carbon now. Can’t wait to watch the series on Netflix. Waiting in the wings: Revelation...

OK, this is a little weird. They say in the magazine industry, it is pretty common to be working on things that will be printed three to six months in the future. Normally, I write this column the day before it is published. But because of the necessities of the holiday printing schedule, I’m typing away on this the Friday before you receive it. So, please excuse me if it’s more dated that usual by the time you read it. • A note to our readers. Those of you who subscribe to the News Journal will be receiving it Saturday, Dec. 22 or Monday, Dec. 23. If you get it at...

I think the Whitley County Health Department is doing the citizens of our county a disservice by not being more forthcoming regarding food service workers diagnosed with Hepatitis A. Kentucky has the nation’s worst outbreak of the disease. Among Kentucky counties, Whitley ranks third worst. So, that’s pretty bad. Daily, I read headlines from across the state where health departments in other counties are warning their citizens about restaurants where workers have been diagnosed. Just this past Monday, a Sonny’s restaurant in Richmond and the Little Caesars in Corbin were identified as having had employees diagnosed with Hepatitis A. These are appropriate disclosures. Reporting on this is most definitely in the public...

A few years back, we started a games and puzzles page in the News Journal. I liked it. I thought it was a fun page that gave our readers something to do besides read the news. Printing it was predicated on the idea that we would have advertising sponsors for the page. We did for quite a while. But when enthusiasm for it waned, the page had to be dropped. Since that decision, I’ve heard variations of this phrase many, many times. “A newspaper just doesn’t seem like a newspaper without a crossword puzzle.” I agree. Several weeks ago, I started adding a crossword puzzle back into the newspaper. Response has been positive. My...

Before I write anything else, I want to wish the Corbin High School football team the best of luck Friday night in their quest to win a sixth state championship. They will be taking on Central High School (Louisville) at 7:00 p.m. The game will be played at Kroger Field in Lexington. Should be a great game. Go Redhounds! • We are all pretty familiar with Corbin’s history and impressive athletic and academic accomplishments. I think it’s also interesting to get to know the opponent. Central is actually, officially, called “Central High School Magnet Career Academy.” It has a rich history. The school was founded in 1870 when black residents in Louisville appealed to the...

Last week’s lead story, in this newspaper, made for fascinating reading. I wanted to know even more. It was about a Corbin woman who received, rather unexpectedly, a pardon for her past crimes from Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. She’d prayed and hoped, but was never sure it would happen. I thought it was amusing that when Bevin called her, personally, to let her know she was being pardoned … she thought it was some kind of joke or a prank. It wasn’t. Over the course of my years here at the newspaper, I’ve done numerous stories about local people who received rare and unique blessing of a gubernatorial pardon. It has a redemptive quality...

Every other year, my family takes a vacation. This is more often than my parents took me on vacation when I was a kid, but is apparently bordering on child abuse and spousal neglect in modern times. Anyway, I’ve learned a few things about traveling that I want to share. Don’t go to Myrtle Beach during “Bike Week.” Total nightmare! Don’t go to Disney World, ever… period. (OK, admittedly, my last trip was pretty good, but I think it might have just been luck.) And if you are traveling to a Caribbean paradise, like Jamaica, for instance, NEVER try to return home on a weekend. First-hand experience on that last one. My wife and I took my...

You learn so much when you ditch the car and get on a bike and simply walk your town. In a city like Corbin, it’s actually doable to see about every street on your own two legs, given a reasonable amount of time and dedication. It’s actually a fun and enlightening thing to do. In 2016, and again this year, I was a candidate for Corbin City Commission. One of my favorite things about that was doing some old school, door-to-door campaigning. Each time, it has been enlightening. You meet some interesting people, to be sure. And it also gives you a better sense of the size and scope of a city....

I think one of the most significant things about next Tuesday’s General Election, at least for those of us who live in Corbin, will be who’s NOT on the ballot for the first time in over a decade. When the votes are counted, the clock will begin counting down on the final days in office for Willard McBurney; who holds the distinction of being the longest serving mayor in the history of Corbin. I think there’s a reason for that. When I first interviewed McBurney in 2006 (then just a candidate), one of his primary goals was to beautify our town. Without question, he’s delivered. The Engineer Street Bridge was, at one time,...

NIBROC! It’s the best four-day stretch of the year, I think. I know some don’t agree. That’s fine. To me, it’s just one big celebration, right in our downtown. We close down the streets. We set the grind of reality aside for just a bit and all resolve to have a great time. We come together as a community. We visit and socialize. We enjoy funnel cakes and blooming onions and deep-fried Oreos, all to the soundtrack of great live music, and the lights and sounds of a carnival right on our Main Street. I do so much volunteering, tournament organizing and helping at the festival, that by the time it’s over...