Trevor Sherman

I have been trying, for several weeks now, to work on an update story pertaining to the proposed logging project in the Jellico Mountains of Whitley and McCreary Counties. It has been on my to-do list since late-May, but I have just found it incredibly difficult to actually sit down and work on. In my defense, there have been a lot of pretty major events going on recently, such as the Whitley County Colonels baseball team’s state championship run, but I do want to make sure and offer our readers at least some sort of an update before any more time passes. Another thing that makes this particular topic somewhat difficult...

Over time, it has become somewhat of a cliché to refer to a public servant as a man, or woman, of the people. However, in the case of Eugene Siler, Sr., it is most definitely not lip service. For decades, Siler’s name was synonymous with both Whitley County and the old Whitley Republican newspaper that served the area. The News Journal, of course, traces its lineage back to the days of the Whitley Republican, meaning in 2024 we will be celebrating our 115th year of publication. During the 50’s and 60’s, Whitley Republican front pages commonly included coverage of the exploits of Congressman Eugene “Gene” Siler, Sr. During his time in...

June 10, 2023. That date will surely be etched into the hearts and minds of the people of Whitley County for decades to come. It will be remembered, now and forever, as the day that the 2023 Colonels baseball team came together one last time to achieve the impossible and secure a Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship title. What else can be said about this group that hasn’t already been said? Let’s start with Head Coach Jeremy Shope… Shope’s arrival at Whitley County back in 2018 breathed new life into a Colonel baseball program that, at that time, had gone 12 years since making an appearance in a 13th...

This time last week we were wishing the Whitley County Colonels baseball team good luck as they set off for Lexington to compete in this year’s Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Championship Tournament. Now, a week later, we are once again sending them well wishes as they return to Lexington as one of the final four high school baseball teams left standing in the state. Although it is absolutely true, simply calling the Colonels’ 2023 season “history-making” is kind of an understatement. This team has not only made history, but they have set the bar for future teams at Whitley, as well as across the region; that statement will...

It’s a debate that has been waged for years in Corbin… “Why do we have to close Main Street when events are being held downtown?” I should make clear right out of the gate that not every downtown event results in Main Street being shut down. In fact, most of them don’t. After reviewing the calendar of events for 2023, I think there are eight-or-nine that typically require Main Street to close while festivities are in progress. I am including Downtown Trick-or-Treat and the Annual Christmas Parade on that list, which, in my book, don’t really count due to the fact that one occurs near the end of normal business...

If you have traveled through downtown Corbin in recent days, you have likely noticed the ongoing construction that is taking place at the corner of Main and Monroe streets, at the site of the new Hometown Bank Farmer’s Market Pavilion. It is great to finally see an actual structure beginning to take form, especially considering all of the setbacks that the project has experienced. It has taken a lot of hard work and perseverance to get to this point, and many folks should be commended for their contributions in helping to bring downtown Corbin what is sure to be a beautiful facility once it is finally completed. At the top...

I was excited to see an e-mail arrive in my inbox earlier this week from America’s Newspapers, an advocacy group that is dedicated to, as they put it, “providing research, education and practical information aimed at optimizing newspapers’ business operations, deepening their community engagement and enhancing the quality of their journalism.” I get e-mails from America’s Newspapers regularly, but this one really caught my eye as it contained the results of a recent national study about newspapers and their readership. The study, called the 2023 Local Newspaper Study, took into account the responses of 5,000 people that were contacted by an independent research firm. Here are some of the most...

I have found myself doing a fair amount of research in recent days after attending last week’s Corbin Rotary Club meeting at David’s Steakhouse. The special guest speakers were Debbie Moses, and Timm and Theresa Martin, who were there to speak about the ongoing efforts to convince the U.S. Forest Service not to clearcut a roughly 5,000-acre piece of land that is located in the Jellico Mountains section of the Daniel Boone National Forest. I was already somewhat familiar with this situation, as our managing news editor, Mark White, had written a front-page story on it back in November. Specifically, the story covered a town hall meeting that the Martins...

Every now and then, a two-or-three-day period comes along where there is so much going on it is just about impossible to keep track of it all. This coming weekend is definitely one of those occasions, so I thought that I would try to condense most of it into a column in order to make it easier for folks to know when and where to be if you’re looking for something fun to do between April 20-23. First, we have Colonel Fest in downtown Corbin, and the Whitley County Extension Office’s 9th Annual Earth Day event in Williamsburg. Both of these events are taking place this Saturday, April 22, and...

On Monday, Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Monhollen made the exciting announcement that the boys’ and girls’ statewide All “A” Classic basketball tournaments will be coming to the Corbin Arena in January of 2024. In case you missed it, the press release read, “Gary Munsie, Chairperson of the Kentucky All ‘A’ Classic, is pleased to announce the organization will be conducting the 2024 statewide basketball tournament at the Corbin Arena in Corbin, Kentucky. The tournament dates are January 24 through January 28. This is made possible through cooperation between the City of Corbin, The Corbin Arena, Corbin Tourism, and the Kentucky All ‘A’ Classic.” This is huge news, and while I...