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Commonwealth Attorney for Whitley and McCreary counties Ronnie Bowling told members of the Corbin Rotary Club on June 4 that protecting children and holding repeat violent offenders accountable have been his top priorities during his time in office. Bowling serves as Commonwealth’s Attorney for the state’s 34th Judicial Circuit. Since taking the position in 2018, Bowling has worked to make the local jurisdiction more involved in legislative efforts and more respected throughout the state. “I wanted us to have a seat at the table in Frankfort,” said Bowling. “I wanted us to be much more involved and us more involved in legislative change. I wanted us to be respected as a jurisdiction,...

After spending approximately five hours and five minutes in executive closed session to discuss Superintendent Tabetha Housekeeper’s evaluation and contract, the Williamsburg Board of Education voted 2-1, with two members abstaining during the vote, to authorize Board Attorney Paul Croley to negotiate a three-year contract with Housekeeper. Housekeeper informed the board and audience members her current contract ends on June 30. The board entered executive session at approximately 12:50 p.m. and returned to regular session at 5:55 p.m. Prior to the executive session, Housekeeper presented her end-of-the-year evaluation evidence and capstone, highlighting accomplishments and goals in the areas of strategic leadership, instructional leadership, cultural leadership, human resources leadership, managerial leadership, collaborative leadership...

Dr. Katherine Whitaker felt like she had arrived when she got her name on the hats of a local T-ball team as a sponsor. The Corbin Family Dental Care dentist says she doesn’t expect people to come to her practice because of it, but she does it because she wants to be part of the community. She still remembers the names of the businesses that sponsored her ball teams while she was growing up in Bardstown. It was that hometown feel where she could be part of something that led her to buy a practice in Corbin 10 years ago. “A small town is very familiar with me. I knew I wanted...

Numerous representatives from area ambulance services, fire departments and police departments turned out to honor and help lay Whitley County EMS Director Amanda Jackson to rest June 3. Jackson died at Baptist Health Corbin on June 1 following a long battle with cancer. After funeral services at Hart Funeral Home in Corbin, Jackson’s casket was loaded onto a Whitley County EMS ambulance and made the short drive across the street to Pine Hill Cemetery. The ambulance has a breast cancer awareness wrap, which was done in Jackson’s honor after her diagnosis to surprise her on March 20, 2024. Several emergency service representatives, friends and family members walked across the street some of whom...

Malachi Brown’s commitment to the University of Kentucky was announced on Sunday. The Corbin offensive tackle recorded 66 tackles and eight sacks during his junior season with the Redhounds. Brown chose the Wildcats over Tennessee, Louisville and Purdue.

“If you believe, then a lot of good things are gonna happen.” This is how Whitley County Baseball Head Coach Jeremy Shope described his team’s mentality ahead of the school’s third state tournament appearance. The Colonel’s will take on Apollo in the first round at 1:30 p.m. on Friday at Legends Field in Lexington. The impact of experience For most of the team’s roster, Friday’s game will be their first time participating in a Kentucky High School Athletic Association baseball state tournament. There are four players, however, who have been to the tournament before and know what it takes to win. Seniors Dee Parker and Kaden Powers were freshman the last time Whitley County made...

Members of the Williamsburg baseball team appeared in the audience with their jerseys on in support of Coach Brennen Patrick while one parent and one upcoming senior spoke to raise concerns regarding staffing changes during the Williamsburg Board of Education meeting on May 27. Williamsburg Education Association (WEA) Vice President Todd Mattingly spoke about concerns related to non-renewals, school discipline, budget issues and staff morale. “We feel like we need to be a better bridge between administration and the teachers that we represent,” said Mattingly. Mattingly mentioned having monthly or bimonthly meetings to help address concerns before they escalate. “Hopefully that will also improve morale when non-renewals and things like that go out,”...

It is not just the Whitley County School District that thinks Superintendent John Siler is super. Siler recently received an Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) – Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative (CKEC) Superintendents of the Year “Experience Excellence” Award. “This recognition reflects exceptional instructional leadership, strong communication, professionalism, and meaningful community involvement. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved honor and grateful for the vision and leadership that continues to move Whitley County forward,” Whitley County Board of Education Chairperson Brenda Hill said during Thursday’s monthly meeting. While the award was given to him, Siler said the credit belongs to the board of education, program directors, bus drivers and everyone else involved in the...

Leading up to the election, the two leading Republican candidates to replace Mitch McConnell as U.S. senator both made stopping in Whitley County a priority. Andy Barr stopped at Sanders Park Monday to speak to a crowd of supporters while former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron made a campaign appearance on May 13 at Williamsburg City Hall. Election results show that Barr won Whitley County with 3,810 votes, which was 64 percent of the total votes. He was the overall winner in the Republican Primary statewide with 60 percent of the vote. Barr will square off against Democratic nominee Charles Booker in the November General Election.

The Whitley County Colonels baseball team is the 2026 50th District Champions. The Colonels defeated the Corbin Redhounds, 3-1, Tuesday night. After the top of the first inning, players were sent to the dugouts to wait out weather delays. This year’s championship game was a rematch of last year. In that game, Whitley County won 4-2.