Trent Knuckles

So you’ve probably heard about the police officer in Ohio who photographed a couple literally dying of heroin overdose while their young child sat in the back of the vehicle strapped in a car seat. It’s very sad. The man and woman are slouched in the car, their mouths hanging open like zombies; eyes rolled back in their heads. Their skin is pallid and their bodies are clearly limp. The juxtaposition of them and the healthy child in the backseat, full of promise and, perhaps, a bright future makes it all the more sickening. We see it, and we just know on a primal level that it’s bad. When you talk about...

Two weeks ago, Corbin City Commissioner Joe Shelton announced he wouldn’t seek re-election to a seventh term. He was very gracious and complimentary about his time on the commission as he announced his impending departure. I read with great interest our story about some of the improvements and projects that have happened during his 12 years on the board. Sometimes, I think, when we constantly think in the moment we don’t really realize or see all the good things that have happened. All the work and effort that got us to this point. I think Corbin is a better place to live now than it was when Joe Shelton first became...

I really like the way the Board of Directors of the Corbin Public Library is handling plans to nearly double the library’s size by expanding into an adjacent building. During a public meeting last Monday, initial plans for the project were unveiled. And, to anyone interested in the library at all, they were exciting. The additional space will be used to house a small theater for live productions, more community rooms, an Internet café and much more. It’s all pretty impressive. When purchase of the nearby space by the library board was announced earlier this year, it immediately brought up some tantalizing possibilities. But it’s been far from a top-down decision making process....

Some post-NIBROC thoughts: • I had a great time at the festival. I saw a lot of other people having fun too — playing volleyball, socializing in the beer garden, enjoying the free music, cruising through the vendors, riding rides at the carnival. I spent so much time at NIBROC that I still haven’t recovered! It’s the most immersed in the festival that I’ve ever been. • I really enjoyed the return of the NIBROC Idol talent contest. Every night I looked forward to hearing the contestants perform. We have so many very talented local people. I thought the judges got it right when they named 17-year-old Courtney Mason, a senior at Lynn...

It’s NIBROC week! I know there’s some negative Nellies out there who complain incessantly about it, but not me! I love NIBROC! I get so immersed in it these days that by the time Sunday rolls around I’m totally exhausted. It takes me a week to recover. There’s just so much to do. I conducted a short interview with my nine-year-old daughter, Rachel, to get her take on the festival. She is pretty representative of kids around her age, I think. Here are some highlights: Me: “Rachel, NIBROC is this week. Do you like NIBROC?” Rachel: “It’s AMAZING!!! Can we ride that one ride that takes us up high and spins us in circles? And the...

Just the other day, I heard someone actually say the following: “There is absolutely nothing good on TV anymore.” Then, they started to wax nostalgic about the days of “Hee Haw,” “Love Boat,” “Dallas” “The Waltons” and of course, the ultimate, hands down, best go-to show in television history — absolute required viewing for anyone who considers themselves a true American … “The Andy Griffith Show.” Actually, I always found that last one to be pretty boring, but I’ll concede it does have a certain charm for those who yearn for the “simpler days of yesteryear.” While I do think there were some things that were better in “the good old days,”...

Since the Corbin City Commission banned the NIBROC Festival from Main Street several years ago, you may have noticed it’s a little smaller than it used to be. Fewer vendors. Less room for the carnival. Musicians that, while still very talented, are not the national acts we’d become accustomed to. It’s just unfortunate reality. We can change that reality if we want. Perhaps find a way to build it back again and utilize our Main Street to celebrate our community festival for a few days like almost every other community on earth. The Chicken Festival manages to pull it off somehow. Too bad we can’t. Maybe some day. Quite frankly, I still think NIBROC...

All of us here at the News Journal are truly saddened this week by the passing of Bena Mae Seivers. During all of my two decades working for this newspaper, Bena Mae has been an extremely popular fixture in our pages. Her column, “Bena Mae’s Kitchen,” was about so much more than just recipes and cooking tips. It was the way so many of us got to know her. Even people that had never met Bena Mae felt like they’d been friends all their lives. Her writing style had personality and oozed likability. She was truly talented. Since becoming editor of this newspaper, and now publisher, I’ve received so many calls from people...

It was about nine years ago that Gibson’s Music owner Betty Comer implored me to take time out of a busy Tuesday to watch Tommy Emmanuel play guitar. Emmanuel, an Australian-born guitar wonder of the world, was playing a show at Corbin High School for the Fine Arts Association of Southeastern Kentucky Inc. I’d never heard of him. But I have great respect for Betty. Tuesdays are brutal days here at the News Journal, but I got up ultra early that morning, got as much work done in advance as I could, and carved out time to see Emmanuel play. I wasn’t real enthused about the whole thing, to be honest. I figured...

There’s a very snide, contemptuous and secretive attitude of late regarding all things financial at Corbin City hall. This newspaper is having to climb mountains to get basic information. That usually means trouble. At the meeting where the city passed its budget this year, not a single highlight of the over $11 million worth of planned spending was given. Nothing. Not a word. Are we buying some new police cars? Are improvements being made to the Rec Center? Are the guys in Public Works getting some new equipment? Are we fixing more sidewalks? Who knows? Nobody’s talking. When one commissioner asked why the practice continues of overestimating revenues that are totally out of...