News

The Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission earned a clean audit report for its financial practices. Tom Campbell of Cloyd & Associates made the presentation during the commission’s Feb. 19 meeting. Although the audit report was available for review at last month’s meeting, Campbell was unable to attend due to surgery. The audit for fiscal year 2024-2025 resulted in a clean, unqualified opinion. “It’s the best opinion you can get,” explained Campbell. “That means we found no irregularities—nothing to be concerned about.” Campbell also highlighted that the commission manages its funds appropriately, describing it as “great.” “Overall, you all increased your fund balance,” said Campbell. “ means you brought in more money than you spent,...

The Williamsburg Board of Education approved several action items at its Feb. 17 meeting and received a financial report from Finance Advisor Dalton Sizemore. Among the approved items were the Williamsburg Independent Schools 504 handbook, the Family Resource and Youth Services Centers Assurance Certification for the 2026-2028 school year, and acceptance of a $15,799 Offer of Assistance from the School Facilities Construction Commission. Sizemore reported the district has collected $1,135,540.26 in property taxes year to date. That amount is approximately $125,456.77 more than what was collected at the same point last year. In January alone, the district collected approximately $100,000 in taxes. Currently, 347 tax bills remain outstanding. Those bills total $154,398. The January...

Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison will be the keynote speaker during the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s monthly membership luncheon on Tuesday, March 10. The luncheon will be held at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center. The luncheon is slated to take place from 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m. The cost to attend the luncheon is $15 per person. Old Town Grill will provide the food. Express Employment Solutions is sponsoring the luncheon. You can register by calling (606) 528-6390, or by e-mailing whitney@sky-eda.com.

The Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission received the January financial report from Financial Advisor Bryan Gay during the Feb. 19 meeting. “According to Jan. 31, 2026, our total cash in the bank is $1,465,563,” said Gay. Gay noted there were no capital asset purchases or new liabilities in January, consistent with the previous month. He also reported that the restaurant tax for January was $165,481. Gay described it as the highest revenue January has seen in several years. The transient tax totaled $18,504 bringing total income for the month to $183,984. “We did have some advertising expense come through in January,” said Gay. “Other than that, we did not have anything out of...

Fishing and hunting license are now available for the 2026-2027 season. The new license season began on March 1. Licenses and permits are sold online through the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resource’s License Sales portal and at agent locations throughout the state. The fee for the license will state the same as last year - $37. In Kentucky, the license covers basic hunting or fishing for many species, but additional state permits may be required for animals such as trout, deer, wild turkey or black bear.

Corbin Senior Citizen Center Director Amber Case was the guest speaker at the Feb. 26 Rotary Club meeting. Case took on the role of director in 2023. Case discussed the center’s meal programs, in-home services and social activities for local seniors.

A new license plate supporting disaster relief is now available in Kentucky. The Kentucky League of Cities’ (KLC) Cities Drive Kentucky specialty license plate went into production on Feb. 27. You can now purchase the plate online. Proceeds from the plate will support the KLC Cities Helping Cities Fund, a disaster-relief initiative. The funds will help cities impacted by tornadoes, flooding, hail, severe storms and other disasters. “Cities are often the first to respond after a disaster,” said KLC President and Beaver Dam Mayor Paul Sandefur. “When utilities, public safety, and city facilities are disrupted, it affects everyone – not just city residents. This license plate is a meaningful way for Kentuckians...

The Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission voted to support the expansion of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Baptist Health Corbin (BHC) with an $11,000 donation on Feb. 19. Board members described the contribution as an investment in both local healthcare and the community’s future. The vote followed a presentation by BHC Foundation Director of Philanthropy Ryan Yother and Director of NICU Melissa Barnett about plans to renovate the hospital’s existing NICU space. The expansion is in line with the ongoing expansion of the new $100 million patient care wing. “I don’t think it’s a secret at this point,” said Yother. “We’ve got a lot of things going on at...

The Corbin Parks and Recreation Department plans to do some work at Rotary Park this year. This was part of the message that Corbin Parks and Recreation Director Jacob Roan delivered to the Corbin City Commission during its recent regular monthly meeting. Roan said the city has Miller Park in pretty good shape after work in recent years and it is time focus on Rotary Park. He noted there is a lot of repair work that needs to be done to the playground at the park and the park overall, such as replacing a broken slide. Roan said he is also looking at replacing part of the poured in place rubberized surface...

A Corbin man was indicted on fourth-degree assault by a Knox County grand jury after officials say he put methamphetamine in a woman’s coffee. Shawn Bennette Asher, 37, was initially charged with second-degree assault, but the charge was amended down by the grand jury. The indictment was returned on Feb. 27. Asher’s bond was set at $25,000. According to the Kentucky Court of Justice online database, he posted bond on Feb. 17. Asher was arraigned on charges in a separate case on Monday. In that case, he was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and fourth-degree assault – domestic violence. Judge John Paul Chappell set pretrial conferences in both of Asher’s cases...