Web Only

Over three months after resigning, former Knox County Board of Education Chairman Dexter Smith has cast himself back into the spotlight. On Tuesday, Aug. 9, Smith filed to run in the November election to again represent Knox County School Board’s fourth district. Knox County Clerk Mike Corey confirmed that Smith, along with his son, arrived at the Knox County Courthouse at approximately 1:30 p.m. on the last day of election registration. Smith resigned from his position on the Knox County School Board on Friday, April 22 after it was discovered that Smith did not possess the qualifications required to hold the position. Smith held a high school diploma from an unaccredited...

It took emergency workers about four hours to carry out a Wisconsin woman, who broke her ankle while hiking near Dogslaughter Falls Monday evening. Woodbine Search and Rescue Chief Rick Fore said emergency responders were called out about 6 p.m. to assist the injured woman. Jennifer Damron of Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, had been swimming and hiking near Dogslaughter Falls. She decided to hike out by herself but slipped and broke her ankle about 1.5 miles from Foresty Road 195, Fore said. In all about 30 emergency responders from Woodbine, Oak Grove, Goldbug and Williamsburg fire and rescue agencies assisted in the effort. Fore said the trail was too narrow so rescuers couldn't use the...

An abandoned doublewide trailer in Lily was destroyed by fire Monday morning. Lily Fire Chief Paul Collins said Lily and West Knox firefighters were paged to the trailer on Tackett Spur Road off of West Ky. 552 about 4:10 a.m. “A neighbor called it in,” Collins said, adding that the fire had been burning for about an hour prior to the 911 call coming in. Collins said the structure had pretty much burned itself out with firefighters working to insure any embers were extinguished. “Everything was completely burned up,” Collins said. “There is nothing left except concrete blocks and a couple of porch posts.” Collins said the cause of the fire is undetermined. One thing he...

Interstate 75 between Corbin and Williamsburg was shut down for several hours Friday night as emergency personnel worked to clear up a wreck involving a tractor-trailer truck and a pickup truck towing a trailer. Kentucky State Police Division of Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer Chris McQueen said the wreck occurred just before 10 p.m. near the 19-mile marker in the southbound lanes. The Dodge Ram pickup, driven by 52-year-old Donald W. Ray of Springfield, Ohio, ran off the left shoulder and across the rumble strip causing the trailer to begin swaying and strike the cable barrier. “Ray lost control of the vehicle and overturned sliding south on its side across both southbound lanes,”...

The renovation of the original gym floor at Whitley County Middle School is costing a little more than originally planned. During a special meeting last week, the Whitley County Board of Education approved an additional payment of $48,916.25 for replacement of the gym floor due to unforeseen problems with the underlying floor. During the meeting, Athletic Director John Siler noted that as the Signature Floors crew prepped the gym floor for a new overlay, they quickly determined that the old rubber flooring was coming loose in large areas in addition to a moisture problem below the floor. After consulting several people, Siler said it was decided that doing an overlay across the...

Corbin Police are asking for the public’s help to find a man who was seen peeking into cars at a local church and may be involved in a series of thefts. Corbin Police Detective Rusty Hedrick said the individual is described as a white male, 5’7” to 5”8, with a thin build and balding hair. Reports from residents indicate the man is driving a silver pickup truck, possibly a Chevrolet full-sized model. “We had at least four reports about this individual within a couple of hours yesterday (last Wednesday),” Hedrick said. According to Hedrick, the man pulled into the driveway of a residence on Poplar Street, asking the resident if a motorcycle was...

A federal magistrate judge has ruled that 39 images of child pornography and eight videos recovered from a zip drive found at a Gray man’s residence was lawfully seized and may be used in his child pornography case. Forty-eight-year-old Jerry Luke is facing one count of using and electronic storage media to possess one or more matters containing visual depictions of individuals under the age of 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct that were produced using materials that have been mailed, shipped and transported using any means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce. The charge stems from January 16, 2013 when Knox County Sheriff’s deputies took Luke to his home...

Donors are beginning to step up in an effort to make the Corbin Railroad Museum a reality. Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Kriebel told the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday that a potential major donation from a local private company is in the works. Though Kriebel could not go into exact details as to who is donating, the amount is at least four figures. “Pretty close to five,” Kriebel said. Details will be released once the contract is signed and official. In regards to the Railroad Museum, there were some questions raised by Kriebel on the potential depot lease agreement between the city of Corbin and the tourism...

Following a series of questions concerning the City of Corbin’s 2016-17 fiscal year budget and a severance package provided to former Arena Manager Connie Hunt following her recent resignation, the city’s attorney has stepped in. In response to an open records request for a copy of the city’s line item budget filed by The News Journal, City Clerk Roberta Webb responded that “we don’t have a line-item budget,” and provided a copy of the one-page budget resolution that was read when the commission passed in mid-June. The city has provided the News Journal a line-item budget, upon request, at least five times in the last six fiscal years. The document, which...

There have been more bear sightings reported than usual according to Whitley County E911. Over the past several weeks there has been reports of bear sightings all across the county. The Whitley Count Sheriff’s Department reported that the most recent were two sightings in the Woodbine and Bee Creek areas. Adam Sulfridge, who works in public affairs for the sheriff’s department, says there is a host of reasons why they can show up. He also stated that this is an opportunity to teach kids about importance of practicing safety when encountering such wildlife. “Definitely don’t feed them on purpose,” said Sulfridge. According to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife (KFW), most conflicts occur due...