Trevor Sherman

Last week, the 2025 Legislative Session got underway when the Kentucky General Assembly convened in Frankfort. The first 2-3 days were busy, with several bills being introduced by legislators in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Look elsewhere in this week’s edition for details on what some of those bills are proposing, and continue reading here for some details on others that caught my eye… The Republican representative from Kentucky’s 65th District (part of Kenton Co.), Stephanie Dietz, is sponsoring a bill that proposes creating a new section within the Kentucky Revised Statues, chapter 29A, that would “require the Administrative Office of the Courts, in cooperation with the...

For the past three weeks, stories have appeared in the News Journal offering a preview of what Kentuckians might expect to see transpire during this year’s meeting of the General Assembly in Frankfort. Thanks to our local state representatives, Nick Wilson and Tom O’Dell Smith, for taking the time to speak with us and shed some light on important discussions that they plan on being a part of in the weeks ahead. Last year’s legislative session was largely budget-driven. With that task already handled, 2025 promises to focus on policy, with existing laws getting revisited and re-evaluated, and new bills getting introduced in hopes of becoming law. As anyone, who pays...

In his column last week, Don Estep made the announcement that I will be taking on the role of publisher of the News Journal as we enter into the year 2025. Trust me when I say that I am not taking this appointment lightly. The reason that this newspaper has continued to be successful is because of the combined experience of the incredible staff that has been in place here for so many years. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the abilities of Managing News Editor Mark White, Office Manager Linda Carpenter, Circulation Manager Jennifer Benfield and Advertising Manager Melissa Hudson, all of whom have been responsible for...

I know it’s Christmas, and I’m not trying to rain on everyone’s holiday parade, but I did feel the need this week to briefly discuss some unfortunate recent developments, and ask folks to please remember those individuals who are now going through the difficult process of losing their jobs. Like many of you, I started seeing headlines last week about Big Lots stores going out of business. I drove out to our local Big Lots location in Corbin’s Trademart Center on Friday evening, and sure enough, the windows were full of signs notifying shoppers that a store closing sale was actively in progress. I asked to speak to a manager about...

All of the darkness and freezing cold temperatures this time of year can be quite depressing. At least, it is to me. Luckily, there are several high school basketball tournaments and classics taking place that provide great opportunities to escape the often-times dreary outdoor conditions. This Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14, the Whitley County High School basketball teams will present the Burr Haynes Classic, honoring Coach Haynes and the 1981 district championship squads with two days of competition. Fans can watch the Colonels square off against Jackson County Friday evening at 6 p.m., followed by the Lady Colonels taking on Madison Southern at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the boys will...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving last week. Now that we are officially into the month of December, that means it is a straight shot to Christmas. With only about twenty more days to the big day, let me suggest a few upcoming events happening in our local area that are sure to put you in the right frame of mind for what many consider to be “the most wonderful time of the year.” • This Thursday and Friday, Dec. 5-6, the Williamsburg Independent School Musical Theatre will present A Christmas Carol beginning at 7 p.m. both nights. Admission to the performance is $5 for an adult ticket, and...

There are about a million different boards that a person could serve on. There are city boards, county boards, fair boards, chamber boards, tourism boards, school boards, church boards, housing authority boards, charity organization boards… even cemetery boards. A big part of our job here at the News Journal is following along with the activities of boards, and then reporting on them in the pages of our weekly publication. As we go about the business of covering all of these board activities, a common theme seems to be a deep concern over the lack of individuals who are willing to step into board member roles so that the organizations that...

How does Corbin High School’s varsity football team stay so competitive year-in and year-out? Well, there are a few different answers to that question, but one of the most important has been the work of Corbin Middle School Head Coach Brent Jackson and his assistants. Jackson and company added another state championship to their already well-stocked trophy case over the weekend, defeating Paducah, 14-8, at Lexington Christian Academy in the finals of this year’s Division 2 tournament. It was the latest major accomplishment by a middle school football program that is truly second-to-none in terms of sustained success. I have spoken about this to people many, many times over the years,...

Every so often, a person passes away and it’s really just about impossible to put into words what they meant to the community in which they lived. In my opinion, Elmer Patrick is such a person. I am not a native of Williamsburg or Whitley County, but I have lived and worked around here long enough to know that pretty much everyone above a certain age has at least one Elmer Patrick story that they can share. Most who have had the chance to interact with him in some capacity or another seem to have several. I have a couple myself, and I would like to share one here in...

Last week, thanks to an invite from Whitley County Public Health Director Marcy Rein, I had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Al Smith Awards Dinner at Embassy Suites in Lexington. Rein was attending as a guest of Heather Bush, dean of the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health, and I was asked to tag along as a local media representative. The dinner was delicious, and getting to hear from the evening’s guests of honor was both humbling and inspiring. The recipient of this year’s Al Smith Award for Public Service was Bobbie Foust, who has contributed to the Eddyville Herald-Ledger, the Paducah Sun, the Calvert City Lake News,...