News

For the 39th consecutive year, the Corbin Rotary Club and the Southeast Kentucky Empty Stocking Fund Inc. will be doing their annual Christmas giveaway next month, and sign-ups start next week. The first sign-up date is Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the former district courtroom at the old Corbin City Hall, which is adjacent to the Corbin Police Department. The second sign-up date is Nov. 24 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the same location. Parents or guardians will need to bring their proper identification, proof of income and other assistance, including their food stamp award letter and their children's Social Security cards. Since its inception, the...

A pair of benefit events are scheduled for Saturday for two people with Whitley County ties who are going through medical issues. One has been diagnosed with cancer, and the other recently underwent a heart transplant. Coonhunting for a Cause will take place at Patterson Creek Volunteer Fire Department, with events starting at 9 a.m. It is a benefit for Junior Angel, a Whitley County native, who has been diagnosed with intraosseous carcinoma cancer. “It’s a rare and serious form of cancer, but we know he’s a fighter and so are we!” a flier for the event stated. “Every entry, donation and contribution helps provide support of medical expenses and the road...

Judge Dan Ballou sentenced a Corbin man Monday to 20 years in prison for shooting his wife over three years ago. On Oct. 14, a Whitley Circuit Court Jury convicted Steward Peace on a charge of first-degree assault in connection with the 2023 shooting of Misty Peace, who was 41 at the time. It took jurors approximately four minutes to recommend a 20-year prison sentence for Steward Peace, which is the maximum penalty for the charge. Steward Peace, who is now 45 years old, will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. Ballou credited Steward Peace with time he has already spent behind bars toward his...

On Oct. 29, a Jellico man allegedly led Whitley County Sheriff's deputies on a vehicle chase before being arrested on drug-related charges. Deputy Frank Foster arrested Johhny Morris, 60, charging him with two counts of first- degree wanton endangerment (Foster and Stephen Meadors), no operator’s license, first-degree fleeing or evading police (motor vehicle), tampering with physical evidence, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of marijuana, first-degree possession of a controlled substance (drug unspecified), second- degree possession of a controlled substance (drug unspecified), and no auto insurance. According to the arrest citation, about 10 p.m., Deputy Frank Foster and other deputies with the Whitley County Sheriff's Department were conducting a...

Alexandra Ward, who was convicted last year of complicity to commit murder and complicity to commit first-degree strangulation in the 2023 death of her three-year-old daughter Amoura Smallwood, will not be getting out of prison any time soon. Last month, the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed her conviction and life sentence. Smallwood died on Feb. 19, 2023, from blunt force injuries to the head and body due to non-accidental injuries she suffered at the hands of Jordan Taylor, her mother’s boyfriend, in whose care she had been left. Ward had only known Taylor for weeks. The medical examiner, who performed Smallwood’s autopsy following her death, testified over 70 individual injuries were documented on the...

Kentucky State Police (KSP) arrested an 82-year-old Corbin man Wednesday morning for allegedly shooting his wife Tuesday night and then barricading himself into his home, according to his arrest citation. At approximately 6:07 a.m. KSP Trooper Matt Ridener arrested David Michael Holbrook at the Whitley County Detention Center charging him with first-degree assault (domestic violence) and resisting arrest. His bond has been set at $100,000 cash. The shooting allegedly happened at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday near KY-90 approximately seven miles south of Corbin, according to the arrest citation. Ridener began investigating after receiving a call Holbrook had apparently been involved in a domestic dispute with his wife. The victim, who was identified as...

Think you have the best chili in Williamsburg? You have the chance to find out Saturday. Williamsburg will hold its annual chili cook-off in conjunction with a craft fair. Flannels, Frost and Flames: Keeping it Cozy in the “Burg” will take place at the Williamsburg Tourism and Convention Center. The craft fair will take place from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The chili cookoff will take place from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. There are two chili categories this year, home style (with beans) and traditional (no beans). There will be a judge’s choice award and a people’s choice award in each category. There will be a $125 cash prize and a trophy given out...

Dozens of people attended a DIPG and Pediatric Cancer Community Forum hosted by the Whitley County Health Department at the Stivers Center on Oct. 28. Experts came together to discuss the topics and help the community understand current findings and grant allocations. The experts still do not know the cause of DMG/DIPG, but they are working to find an answer. According to Dr. Eric Durbin, Director of the Kentucky Cancer Registry and associate professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, DMG/DIPG cases existed before 2018. Still, they are hard to track because of how pathologists identified tumors at the time. Panelists noted that since 2018, Whitley County has seen three...

An Evarts man allegedly told Williamsburg police the reason he took a package of medication off someone’s porch last month was because children were walking on the road and he did not want them getting the medication, according to his arrest citation. Williamsburg Police Officer Bryson Lawson arrested Jeffery Lambdin, 40, charging him with theft of mail matter and lodging him in the Whitley County Detention Center. Lambdin, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge, has been ordered to report to Whitley Circuit Court on Nov. 16 to find out whether a Whitley County grand jury has indicted him. The incident happened on Oct. 14 on North Sixth Street at approximately...

Approximately 32 percent of Whitley County voters either went to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots, voted via absentee ballot or participated in early voting during the November General Election. Whitley County Clerk Carolyn Willis said previously she was hoping for at least a 20 percent voter turnout during her final election as clerk. Willis is retiring at the end of her term on Dec. 31, 2026. Willis said she was pleased with the turnout, which was better than she expected. There were only two contested local countywide races on the ballot. Incumbent Republican Jailer Jason Wilson won re-election to his second term in office, defeating independent candidate Nathan Wood by a...