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Photos by TIMOTHY WYATT The annual Let Freedom Ring bell ringing ceremony was held Thursday morning at Patriot Park on the campus of University of the Cumberlands, where several dozen people were in attendance to celebrate Independence Day through a variety of patriotic songs and texts. The bell on UC’s campus, which is a replica of the Liberty Bell, was rung 13 times, once each for the 13 original colonies, which later became the 13 original states. 

Photos by TIMOTHY WYATT Independence Day Festivities in Williamsburg included many of the same events residents have come to love over the years, including the annual hot dog eating contest at Kentucky Splash Waterpark. Dozens of contestants both young and old gathered under the big green umbrella near the gift shop to see if they had what it takes to eat the most hot dogs. Following the contest, the yearly duck race was held at the lazy river. The evening was capped by a fireworks display.      

A brave six-year-old girl called 911 late Friday night reporting that she couldn’t wake her mother up and told dispatchers that she thought her mother was deceased. As it turned out, mom didn’t need a hearse, but mom and dad did end up getting a ride in a police car to jail. The incident happened about 10:51 p.m. at an apartment on 17th Street in Corbin. Officers with the Corbin Police Department responded to the residence after the girl called 911. When police arrived, they made contact with the juvenile and her mother, Danielle Asher, who advised officers that she had been working all day and had fallen asleep, according to...

At its June 20 meeting, the Corbin Rotary Club presented 2024 Rotary Scholarships to the following individuals. Pictured left-right are Mahayla Jordan, Bailey Stewart, Haleigh Black, Alyssa Jones, MaryAlice McVey, Colby Johnson and Grayson Maggard. Alyssa is from Lynn Camp High School and the rest are from Corbin High School.  Scholarship winners not present were Tanner Marcum, Bailyn Scent and Zachary Clifton from Corbin and Sassie Mitchell from Lynn Camp. Each got $1,000.

Photo by TIMOTHY WYATT The first Country Meets City event of the year was held last Friday in downtown Williamsburg at the Green Space on Main. Though he currently resides in Nashville, Corbin-native Zac Hart returned to Whitley County to perform a variety of original music as well as pop and country classic hits for those in attendance. The next Country Meets City event is scheduled for July 26 beginning at 8 p.m.

Photo by DEBORAH WARREN /Recap by J. BILL SOSH The Corbin High School Class of 1979 held a 45-year reunion at The Corbin Center on Saturday, June 22. There were 120 in the senior class. The class honored the 21 classmates who have passed on and cherished the good memories it made with them. Of the 99 who remain, 41 were in attendance. Included in the picture are a couple of friends who were along for part of the journey but who didn’t graduate with the class. The Class of 1979 was the first CHS graduating class to attend all four years in the new school building that opened in...

Kerstin Colliver, who is one of the founders of Horses Healing Heroes, noted that the 2.2 mile walk that the group held in downtown Williamsburg late Saturday afternoon may sound like an odd distance, but it was chosen intentionally as a reference to the frequently quoted statistic that 22 veterans and first responders die by suicide each day. “You see 22 everywhere. The thought was to let people know what we were doing we wanted to surround things with the number 22. We did it on June 22, and it is a 2.2 mile walk,” Colliver said. “The point is we are driving home that 22 number and we want to...

As we have already seen in the initial entries in this special series, there are many different factors that contribute to the problems of housing insecurity and homelessness. Because of that fact, there is no magic bullet that can fix things and no one individual is going to have all the answers. But we can all do something. In the case of Susan Jett, director of the Emergency Christian Ministries (ECM) homeless shelter in Williamsburg, the goal is to help guide as many people as possible back toward self-sustainability. It is a big job, but it is one that she feels called to take on. “I really feel like God put this...

Photo by TIMOTHY WYATT A grand opening ceremony was held last Thursday at Bill Woods Park for the Jacket Farmer’s Market. The market is now operated by the Williamsburg Independent FFA and helps the program fund various expenditures throughout the year. Williamsburg Superintendent Tabetha Housekeeper, Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison Williamsburg Independent FFA members and others were on hand to cut the ribbon during the ceremony. A variety of vendors were set up as well, with the FFA providing snow cones and selling t-shirts.

Full-time Corbin Independent School District employees are getting a 4 percent pay increase next school year. During its regular monthly meeting Thursday, the Corbin Independent Board of Education approved the pay increase, which is across the board for all full-time employees. “To my knowledge this is the largest single pay raise that we have done since I have been here,” said Dave Cox, who has served as superintendent since Jan. 1, 2016. “We had some extra money. The board felt like it was certainly well deserved based upon the performance of the district and as hard as everybody works. We are glad to be able to do that.” Over the previous four...