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One community group is helping children and their families by donating proceeds from local athletics. The Tri-County Sports Authority (TCSA) made donations to the families of Millee Kate and Cooper Jewell, two local children diagnosed with cancer.

Locally, there were a handful of election law violation reports concerning Tuesday’s General Election.  According to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, the 2026 General Election law violations and voting irregularities report, as of Nov. 3 at 4:24 p.m., lists violations in local counties. These violations and irregularities accrue from pre-election day complaints and the election day hotline. There were 129 pre-election day complaints and 165 calls in 54 counties on Election Day in Kentucky. Complaints are divided into three different categories: complaints received prior to Nov. 3., Election Day, and complaints received after polls closed. In Whitley County, there were no reported pre-Nov. 3 complaints. Tuesday, there was one hotline complaint of...

  The 2026 Music and Mud Festival occurred Oct. 23-24. It featured local musicians, a demolition derby, and a mud bog. 

Election Day is almost upon us, and it is time for Whitley County voters to cast their ballots for jailer, sheriff, United States Senator, Fifth District Congressman and a constitutional, which would place a temporary limit on the governor’s power to pardon and issue commutations. Whitley County Clerk Carolyn Willis is hoping for an overall voter turnout of 20 percent in her final election as clerk. She is retiring at the end of the year. Willis said she has not seen people expressing a lot of interest in the election this year. “That is what has me a little concerned,” she said. “I have just have not had a lot of people...

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the News Journal's booth at the 2026 SOAR Summit to learn more about our newspaper! 

The Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Summit 26 is upon us. The event, which is presented by the Appalachian Regional Commission and Appalachian Wireless, starts today and runs through Friday as more than 1,000 people will pour into Corbin bringing together a broad network of leaders, employers, educators, entrepreneurs, community advocates and others helping shape what’s next for Eastern Kentucky. SOAR is a nonprofit serving 54 Appalachian Regional Commission counties in Kentucky. SOAR was born from the economic fallout of the coal industry’s decline. It’s mission today is to solve deep-seated issues of population retention and growth in Eastern Kentucky, according to the SOAR website. The 2025 SOAR Summit drew more than...

The identity of man, whose body was found in a Whitley County creek Thursday afternoon, has been identified. Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley identified the man as Joshua Oliver, 42, of Little Spruce Creek Road. According to a post on the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page, Oliver was last seen Sept. 6 in the Little Spruce Creek area of Corbin. “It is reported that he walked away from the Little Spruce Creek Apartments. His direction of travel and clothing description are unknown. Mr. Oliver’s cell phone and other personal devices were left behind at the location of his departure,” the sheriff’s department Facebook post stated. Croley pronounced Oliver dead at 2 p.m....

A Whitley County Sanitation driver had to be flown out by emergency medical helicopter Tuesday afternoon after his garbage truck collided with a CSX train. “He was in pretty serious condition,” said Whitley County-Laurel County Emergency Management Director Jerry Rains. The crash happened at 1:03 p.m. at the Clarence Powers Road railroad crossing, which is off KY-26. Rains said he is unsure whether the garbage truck driver saw the CSX train, but the two vehicles collided. The garbage truck driver, whose identity has not been revealed, did not have to be extricated from the vehicle. “He was out and on the ground. When responders got to him, he was alert and conscious and talking,”...

Work to replace the flooring at Whitley Central Primary School is complete, tennis court replacement is underway and work to upgrade the Oak Grove Elementary School HVAC system to geothermal is starting. These were the messages officials with RossTarrant Architects delivered to the Whitley County Board of Education during its monthly meeting last Thursday. The board voted Thursday to pay $380,932.97 to Engineered Floors for floor replacement work at Oak Grove. Laith Ross, a RossTarrant senior principal, told the board this is the only invoice for the work, and the contract is ready for closure. Superintendent John Siler said this is the same surface the district previously had installed at Whitley North Elementary...

It took Corbin (pictured above) approximately 12 seconds to put up points this season. After returning the kick off for a touchdown, the Redhounds would score four more before the end of the first quarter against Western Hills (OH). Corbin Head Coach Luke Salmons said his team was not able to get a lot of film on Western Hills, but that did not stop them from taking care of business. “I was proud of our kids for coming out with a lot of energy,” said Salmons. The Redhounds downed the Mustangs 38-14. In Williamsburg, Head Coach Jerry Herron said early possessions led to the team’s success. “We got the ball early, was...