Trent Knuckles

It is with great pride that I can now say, “I’m a Lion!” Not the King of the Jungle type. Not an aggressive warrior either. No, instead the kind that wears the yellow vest … synonymous with peace and mercy and betterment of community. I’ve attended meetings of all Corbin’s social and service clubs in the 20 years I’ve been a reporter at this newspaper. They are all such great organizations. I’d been asked to join the Lions Club before, but always turned down the invitation. I felt like I just didn’t have enough time to properly devote myself to it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to the realization that there is never really...

When I filed to run for Corbin City Commission in January, I knew it was going to put the shackles on my ability to talk about city politics in this column for awhile. Election laws make it pretty well taboo to do so. So, I kept quiet. Now, all bets are off. The voters have spoken. I want to thank everyone who supported me. Honestly, I can say that running for office was quite an amazing experience. It was A LOT of work. Perhaps I put more pressure on myself than I should have, but I wanted to do well. I was not satisfied with just putting out yard signs and...

Although this is the first time I’ve ever actually been a candidate for public office, it’s not the first time I’ve gone out on the campaign trail. Since I’m writing this on election night, I thought it would be fun to tell the story of how, inexplicably, I spent a week in South Carolina during Spring Break campaigning for an upstart Republican candidate for governor. It was totally an unplanned thing. I was a junior at the University of Kentucky at the time. A buddy of mine, Quinton, who was from a wealthy, and very Republican Mississippi family, asked me if I wanted to go to South Carolina to help out...

I haven’t been a big fan of the nastiness of the election for U.S. President. Too much focus on silly stuff, next to no discussion of real issues. It’s the ultimate triumph of smoke and baloney over substance. Emails and ancient interviews with Howard Stern only serve to get us to take our eyes off the prize. Hours of coverage surrounding who has the best energy, stamina and appropriate body language are just exhaustingly stupid. But with attention spans at an all time low, and tolerance for ridiculousness so high, I guess it takes every-increasing craziness to move some people’s needle. Things like tax policy, social justice issues or our nation’s infrastructure just...

Is social media turning us into a nation of zealots? That’s the main crux of some reporting that’s coming out of legitimate journalistic publications here lately. The stories are based on a series of studies that are pointing to a link between increasing consumption of social media as a source of current events news, and the rise in seemingly hardened, entrenched and extreme attitudes among people. It has the potential to lead to a destabilizing effect in our society. In my opinion, it further bolsters the argument that newspapers are vital to having a stable democracy and an accurately informed electorate. Nearly 30 percent of what is being propagated on social media as...

I love tournaments and competition in general. Eight years ago, with the help of some others, I started a cornhole tournament for the NIBROC Festival. Four years ago, I looked around and noticed that NOBODY was planning 3-on-3 basketball tournaments anymore. I thought that was a shame. I felt as though people still wanted to play. So, I started the NIBROC 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. This year, we had a record 23 teams that participated and it just keeps growing. The competition gets better every year. It’s great. I love playing board games. It’s my favorite hobby. So I wanted to do something in my own town to really cultivate a culture, I hope,...

Well, we did it again! We couldn’t help ourselves. The News Journal’s Secret Phrase game is back. People wanted it. So we’ve delivered. It’s pretty simple really. Go to page C-8 to see all the details. A list of the sponsors who make this contest possible are also displayed there. Make sure you thank them and patronize them for their support. They deserve it. The way this works is simple. Every week, there’s a secret word hidden somewhere in the News Journal. The game started last week, so this week will be the second word. Altogether, the words will make a phrase. But here’s the catch ... we aren’t giving you the words...

“Membership has its privileges.” That ubiquitous line became popular when credit card company American Express used it regularly on TV and elsewhere to sell their product. If you became an American Express “member,” you got some perks to which no one else has access. Growing up in southern Indiana, we always had a septic tank around which the grass always grew a little higher than the rest of the yard. We didn’t have city sewer. A water deliveryman would come late at nights every few weeks to fill up our cistern so that we could drink and take showers, flush the toilet and wash our hands. I remember my dad going...

Yet again, we are reporting this week about an unprovoked attack by a pit bull dog in our area. When will people ever learn? It’s no accident that, over and over, when this newspaper reports on a serious dog bite case it almost invariably involves one of two breeds: pit bulls and Rottweilers. Usually pit bulls. In the wake of this, there will be no shortage of people who will defend this breed of dog as friendly, wonderful family pets that are just “big babies” around their own relatives, friends and children. There will be plenty of people hyperventilating over the mere suggestion that there is something genetic about these animals that...

Years ago, I watched the movie “The Game” with Michael Douglas, and I really didn’t know what to expect. I think movies, books … experiences in general are oftentimes best that way. No preconceived notions or prior knowledge to color your judgment of them. By the end of “The Game,” I was blown away. It remains, to this day, one of my favorite movies. If you’ve never watched it, do so immediately. It’s great! I had an experience recently that I cannot recommend highly enough along similar lines of the movie, though not quite as elaborate. It’s called an “Escape Room.” When I got the voucher for Breakout: Cincinnati from my sister...