FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is heading to the state Court of Appeals in an effort to keep more than 240 convicted felons behind bars. At issue is a portion of the Safer Kentucky Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2024 that was struck down by a Franklin Circuit judge last month. The measure broadened the offenses that would classify someone as a violent offender. That matters because under Kentucky law, violent offenders must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, whereas other offenders are eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of their sentences. […]

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WHITESBURG, Ky. — Special Judge Christopher Cohron will remain on the Shawn Mickey Stines murder case. Stines is the former Letcher County sheriff charged with murder for the Sept. 19, 2024, shooting death of Letcher District Judge Kevin Mullins in the judge’s chambers. Back in December, defense attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to recuse himself from the case, after they received information that Cohron and Mullins sat next to each other at a judicial conference just seven days before Mullins’ death. But on Friday, Cohron denied the motion and vouched for his impartiality in the case. “To be […]

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The son of a former Paintsville doctor who pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge in 2024 now has a criminal conviction of his own, after a jury found him guilty of all charges in a federal drug trial. Jeremy Bryson was found guilty conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to use the DEA registration of another, monetary transaction derived from unlawful activity and six counts of distributing controlled substances on Wednesday, following an eight-day trial in Frankfort. Court records show Jeremy Bryson owned the Appalachian Family Medicine in Paintsville, while his father, Don Bryson, owned the […]

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by RODERICK MULLINS CLINTWOOD, Va. — Clintwood Fire Department personnel were notified on Wednesday of a reported apartment fire on Caney Ridge within the department’s first due area. The first arriving unit at the apartment fire located on DC Caney Ridge road reported moderate smoke showing from the second division of the apartment building and based on the conditions, countywide alert tones were activated to bring in additional manpower from surrounding agencies. Crews conducted primary searches of the structure, which proved negative for civilians but positive for one animal. Upon locating the animal, it was removed from the structure safely. […]

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by ZACH AKERS PRESTONSBURG, Ky. – After nine seasons at the helm of the Prestonsburg Lady Blackcats, Brandon Kidd will be hanging up the whistle. “Nine years ago, when I accepted this position, I was told by many that it couldn’t be done, that I could not win here, that I should coach boys instead, or that I should somewhere else.” Kidd wrote in a statement Friday. “But my family and I believed in this program, in this school, and most importantly in the young women who would wear the Prestonsburg jersey. Kidd who is a graduate of Betsy Layne […]

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