Trent Knuckles

With pensions and tax reform and a super-tight budget cycle, among other concerns, there’s one proposal before the Kentucky General Assembly this year that may not be the most exciting thing on the agenda, but I think it’s one of the most important. In her excellent legislative update, which you can read on page A-8, 82nd District State Rep. Regina Huff briefly outlines the proposal, HB 23, that would move the election of the state’s constitutional officers, including the governor, to even-numbered years. This would coincide with the election for U.S. President. I’ve wondered for years why Kentucky has this odd-year, outlier election. Voter turnout is bad enough in the most...

It’s pretty common that I will hear someone say they feel our area is stagnant. There is no growth or new jobs. Nothing ever changes. There is nothing to do. We are stuck in the mud. I disagree. There have been a lot of significant developments, physical improvements, and economic progress in the 21 years I’ve lived here. Perhaps it’s just my profession. I’ve covered, in great detail, many of the things that have happened over the years, so they are etched in my memory, I suppose. I just think about Corbin, and the immediate surrounding area, 21 years ago. The Corbin Bypass didn’t exist yet. The overpass hadn’t been built. There was...

A few interesting tidbits. • You might remember a story we had about Daniel Johnson, a Corbin man who walked from Canada to Mexico on the Pacific Crest Trail. I interviewed him when he was just over 400 miles into the 2,695-mile hike. He finished recently. Took 92 days. If you are interested in sort of a pictorial travelogue of his adventure, look him up on Facebook and send him a friend request. Scroll through his timeline and you will see a pretty impressive recap of his journey. Congratulations Daniel! That was quite a feat. • If you are looking for something to do, I suggest “Sound the Trumpets,” a show sponsored by...

Too much bad news lately. I simply can’t allow my mind to marinate for too long. So, let’s talk about some good things. • This week is the beginning of our third annual Secret Phrase Game contest, but there’s a twist this time around. Very quickly, the rules. Basically, there will be a word hidden somewhere in the News Journal each week for the next 12 weeks. Get all the words, assemble them in the right order, and be the first one to call us on the last day of the contest with the right phrase and you win $500! The word will be written in a distinctive font, so you should know it...

In government, there are disagreements. That’s natural. But at Monday’s work session meeting of the Corbin City Commission — perhaps the most productive and fun meeting I’ve been involved with yet as a commissioner — we ALL agreed on one thing. The Corbin Creekwalk should be named after commissioner Ed Tye. In an age when history is forgotten so quickly, there may be little appreciation for the creekwalk and what a monumental project it was to get completed. I remember. As a reporter for this newspaper, I covered the ins and outs, ups and downs of that project for years. There were delays that it took a while to sort through. The usual amount of...

A few thoughts and observations. • As many of you know, I’m a commissioner for the city of Corbin. The decision to end daily service of the Corbin Trolley was a necessary one. I know there are a few detractors who feel as though it should have continued. But consider, the trolley had between two and 10 riders a day. Many days, it didn’t have ANY at all! It was running 13 hours a day. Two full-time drivers were hired to keep it on the road. It’s an expensive luxury that few used. Our city is double taxing the wages of those who work in the Knox County side of Corbin, and the...

One of the more troubling developments — from the point of view of a journalist, anyway — has been the rather sudden ramping up of vitriolic hatred and distrust of “the media.” Two newspaper-printing facilities relatively nearby received bomb threats over the weekend. A journalist was body slammed by a Montana candidate for U.S. House of Representatives for asking a question about health care, of all things. The candidate won following the assault, and his behavior was explained away and excused by many. Windows at one of Kentucky’s largest newspapers were shot out Sunday. I think harsh words towards the media are starting to manifest themselves into harsh actions. That’s cause for concern. “The...

OK, here’s your chance. Voting begins this week in the News Journal’s annual People’s Choice readers’ poll. This is always a popular contest and we get many votes every year. I think it’s a lot of fun. Some folks get upset every year when the results are announced. Usually, it’s because they or their business did not win. It’s regularly the case that they didn’t bother to vote. Neither did their family nor friends. This is one contest where stuffing the ballot IS PERFECTLY FINE! Encourage all your employees, friends, family and neighbors to get a copy of the News Journal and fill out the survey. It’s good publicity if you win. The results...

A few observations: • Our front-page story today about the case against Keith Edward Mason, and the recent decision by the Kentucky Court of Appeals to dismiss his indictment altogether, is must-read stuff. If you want to see the entire decision — and I suggest you definitely do so — it is included online for our subscribers at thenewsjournal.net/. In it is a pretty troubling narrative regarding prosecutorial misconduct, purposeful deception and how the grand jury process in this case went awry. A local trial judge heard some of the same arguments as the Court of Appeals, but thought nothing of them. Mr. Mason got no relief here in Whitley County. Is...

Who knew a beautiful, nice little quiet hometown library could have so much drama boiling below the surface? Mercy! Our reporting on recent issues at the Corbin Public Library has been weeks ahead of our competition. Credit to our Corbin reporter Dean Manning for his timely, accurate coverage. But, I think some perspective is in order. Personally, I’d categorize the stuff happening at the library right now as mildly troubling, but definitely not scandalous. More than anything, some procedures weren’t followed correctly. Lack of proper notification of meetings. Maybe a few purchases that were legit, but weren’t exactly made the right way or with proper authorization. And obviously there’s a riff between...