Letters

Flooding and tornadoes are nothing new for Kentucky. Over the last five years alone, the Commonwealth has been home to ten Presidentially declared disasters, most coming in the form of severe storms, flooding and tornadoes. March is the start of another Kentucky storm season and while we can hope for good weather and a season free from disasters, if history tells us anything it is that disasters can happen anytime and anywhere without notice. I’m not writing today to scare you, but rather to urge you to prepare. Disaster preparedness begins at home. Choices and actions you take now could save you time, money and headaches in the event of a...

(Letter to the Editor by Hilary Baker, Cumberland River Behavioral Health Child Trauma Therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor) To the Editor, Have you ever been bullied? Do you see bullying at your school? Has anyone bullied you online? These are some of the questions I may ask during my work as a Child Victims Therapist. They are important questions due to the fact that research shows that bullying can severely affect a child or teen’s self-image, social interactions, and school performance. There is also a strong possibility that it may contribute to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, substance use, and even suicidal thoughts and behaviors. What may have once...

(Letter to the Editor by Cecelia White, Cumberland River Behavioral Health Emergency Services Director) To the Editor, As a therapist and the Emergency Services Director at the local community mental health center, talking with people about suicidal thoughts is common. However, friends, families, churches, schools, physical health care organizations, and communities must also become comfortable talking about suicide to prevent suicidal thoughts turning into actions that are permanent and devastating to many. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide was the thirteenth leading cause of death for Kentuckians of all ages in 2020. Even more startling, it was the second leading cause of death in both the 10-24 age group...

This is an open letter from the Corbin Board of Education to our local businesses requesting that you move vaping products behind the counter and closely monitor the selling of these products to minors. Use of vaping products by minors in our schools is an ever growing and very alarming problem. We are dealing with an incredible number of vaping issues in our schools and the number of incidents we see is growing daily. The age of students utilizing vaping products is getting younger as time goes by. When speaking to students anonymously, many tell us that use is rampant and they all know friends who are addicted to...

To the Editor from the physicians of Saint Joseph London and Baptist Health Corbin: As physicians, we are called to care for the sick no matter the time of the day, or day of the week. We are asked to put others before ourselves. During the pandemic, our call is no different. We are using our knowledge of science, clinical skill and compassion to help others. But we need more help. We cannot fight this battle against COVID-19 alone, and we must use every tool at our disposal. You know what our tools are: masking, handwashing, keeping a few feet of distance between ourselves and others, and receiving a vaccine. Together, these measures...

The 72nd consecutive year of providing food baskets to local families during the Christmas season was unlike any other that the Corbin Lions Club has seen.  Due to concerns related to COVID-19, the club mailed a $50 gift card to 254 individuals and families in the greater Corbin community instead of delivering food baskets. Although the club announced in November that it would use its “rainy day” fund this year, many faithful supporters donated to help us serve the community.  To date, the club has received $5,925 in donations and wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations for their monetary donations: Patricia Anne Browning, Raymond & Beth Arnold, Mike...

With the year 2020 nearly behind us, I wanted to take a few moments this week to say “thank you” to all of the essential workers out there who have helped us get through the difficulties of the past nine months. Of course, this includes all of the medical professionals who have treated the sick, but it also includes the police officers and fire fighters who have continued to put themselves in harm’s way in order to keep us safe. The men and women of our armed forces are, as always, on our minds as they bravely defend our country’s freedoms all over the world. Educators deserve a lot of recognition as...

(Letter to the Editor By Trevor Sherman, Corbin) To the Editor: I wanted to give a big shout out this week to everyone who has helped make recent Christmas-related events possible in the City of Corbin. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, things have looked and felt much different this year, but the fact that many of Corbin’s yearly holiday traditions were able to continue has provided people in the community with some sense of normalcy, as well as a temporary escape from all of the bad news surrounding the public health crisis. Downtown Corbin’s Christmas Open House event was held last month, and earlier this month we saw a new twist on...

(Letter to the Editor By Maggy Kriebel, Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission Director) To the Editor: The Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission would like to express its sincerest appreciation to everyone who was involved, and participated in the 2020 Corbin Christmas Parade. We would also like to congratulate the 1st Place Winners: • Civic/Non-Profit – Corbin Public Library • Commercial – Cumberland River Behavioral Health Green Dot • Youth – Just for Kids Free It is through the hard work, dedication and selfless giving of individuals, organizations and businesses of Corbin that enables the Tourism and Convention Commission to provide the community with quality of life events. Thank you for your support!

(Editor’s Note: This is a reprint of a letter to the editor, which was written by Jack Sellards in 2006. He asked that we run it again as it is as appropriate now as it was 14 years ago.) Dear Editor, More and more solicitors are appearing at Wal-Mart and supermarkets that are questionable in purpose. Each instance I’ve checked these people, and they do not represent honorable veterans, such as American Legion, VFW, AmVets, DAV, or any true veteran organizations. For example, in 2005, a woman was in front of Kroger on the north side of U.S. 25E and she held a large sign, which read “Help the Veterans.” I asked...