Dean Manning

Williamsburg Independent Schools canceled in-person classes this week because of a spike in COVID–19. That announcement was made at approximately noon on Monday. Yet Monday night, the Williamsburg Lady Jackets suited up against Whitley County for a basketball game at Williamsburg. The Williamsburg boys didn’t play against Red Bird on Saturday, or at Whitley County on Tuesday. The boys’ upcoming games against Somerset Christian, Jackson County, Middlesboro and Barbourville have also been canceled. Even before COVID–19, there have been instances where a school canceled classes because of weather or illness and then the sports team suited up and played a scheduled game. To paraphrase what my mom used to tell me, if you can’t...

High school basketball in the era of COVID–19 is driving fans, coaches and players crazy. Whether it is a team like the Whitley County Lady Colonels, who had been on a season-opening winning streak prior to Monday night’s loss to North Laurel, or the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets, who are looking to the next game to get them back on the winning track, the next game on the schedule is an opportunity to make something positive happen. How frustrating is it for these teams who may, like the Whitley County boys on Monday, find out just hours before that the next game is postponed? Corbin’s boys went through it, not opening the season...

Corbin and Williamsburg have both been at the cusp of the pinnacle of high school football in their respective classes in recent memory. Williamsburg at Class A, and Corbin at Class 4A have been to the state finals. While two out of three ain’t bad in the world of classic rocker Meatloaf, what the area needs, and hopefully new Coach Zeke Eier can deliver, is a Whitley County football program that can play at that level. No pressure there, coach! While the Colonels struggled in 2020, it isn’t like Coach Jep Irwin left the cupboard bare. As Coach Eier said in his interview, there is some talent. Can he, like Coach Tom Greer at Corbin...

High school basketball is slated to begin Monday night, but like almost everything else in the era of COVID–19, there are some changes. One of the victims of COVID-19 appears to be sportsmanship. Per the Kentucky High School Athletic Association rule changes, the traditional postgame handshake by opposing teams is suspended. Despite what may be written in the rules, basketball is a contact sport. Players beat and bang each other, and collide when diving for loose balls for 32 minutes. After all of that, the least the players should be able to do is go down the line and slap the other team’s hands. Is it hard to do after your team has been...

Who is the best high school football team in the area? Corbin could make the argument that, even though it lost in the regional championship game, it played the toughest schedule, and a broad spectrum of opponents from Class 2A powerhouses Beechwood and Somerset to Class 6A Dixie Heights, in addition to sweeping its district that includes Wayne County, Knox Central and Lincoln County. Williamsburg could make the argument that it was the last area team standing, reaching the Class A state semifinals. If you are going to go on the one common opponent, Somerset, Corbin defeated the Briar Jumpers, while Williamsburg lost in what was its second game of the season. Even...

This week’s edition of The News Journal marks my third week covering sports. It has been an exciting time with high school football in the midst of the playoffs. Being a Wednesday paper, my goal has been not to spend a lot of time recapping the past week’s games. Instead, I try to focus on the upcoming games and what our local teams could expect from opposing teams. I know Trevor Sherman liked to make predictions. I will freely admit that, at this point, I don’t know enough about who is who and what is what in high school football to make an intelligent argument for or against one team or another. So,...

Every once in a while, a story in The News Journal about someone being arrested will draw outrage from family and friends, and even other members of the community, along with complaints that we have slandered or libeled the individual. Though there is a running joke in the newsroom when these accusations arise that we randomly decided that we were going to make up a story about that individual, just to get them and make their lives miserable, I can assure you that it is not true. We have just been accused of it so many times that we have to laugh about it. I have written crime stories about individuals I...

In light of the response in the June primary election to the addition of early, in person voting and excuse–free absentee ballots, Democratic legislators have announced that they plan to introduce a number of bills to make those additions a permanent option when Kentucky voters. It is time. Before the full plan for the primary election was released, Whitley County Clerk Carolyn Willis was predicting approximately 10 to 15 percent of registered voters would turn out to the polls. While there was no gubernatorial race, and the Republicans and Democrats had both picked their presidential candidates, there were a number of races on the ballot, including state representative. The fact that it was...

My dogs have become drug addicts. Over the last week, we have been forced to medicate our two Shih Tzus nightly because the area around our house has been inundated with fireworks. I would not be surprised if some of those neighbors took advantage of the closeout sales at the fireworks tents to have one last blast to send off the holiday. They were at it again Monday night and the dogs came up to us shaking in their fur. We thought we were going to have a peaceful night, but about 10 p.m., the booms began. Nothing we say or do will relieve their fear, so the only option is to dole...

So, what lessons can we take away from Tuesday’s election? By far, the biggest is that giving voters additional means to cast their ballot other than on election day is an effective way to increase turnout. I’m still not a fan of mail in ballots, or at least returning ballots by mail. Just too many things that could go wrong, particularly when you factor in the U.S. Mail. One prime example recently occurred with the Kentucky Press Association. Each year, the organization holds a contest that calls for member publications to submit stories, photos, columns and pages in a competition to determine the best among newspapers. Lo and behold, nine packets of submissions...