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Community cornerstone returns: Welcome back, Warfield Market
Nearly seven months after floodwaters rose more than 5 feet inside its walls, leaving behind nothing but ruin, Warfield’s only supermarket is coming back. On Sept. 1, the store will reopen under a new name — Warfield Market — restoring groceries and a vital cornerstone of daily life for families across Martin, Mingo and Wayne
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Martin County Water Board should not add to residents’ burden
Martin County families already face some of the highest water bills in Kentucky. Now, the water board is proposing to raise charges on meter disconnections, reconnections and service calls. It also proposes to raise the rate on leak adjustments. All of these extra costs would hit hardest those who can least afford them. Water board member
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The Mic and the Mirror
They gather in chambers with polished intent, With smiles rehearsed and their posture unbent. One eye on the vote, the other on rent, For space on the screen, for a headline well-spent. They whisper in corners, they shout on the floor— Each word is a weapon, each phrase a decor. Not truth, but attention, their
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Come home to Inez for the Appalachian Artist Festival
On Saturday, Aug. 2, the heart of Martin County will beat a little louder. Downtown Inez will fill with music, color, conversation and community as the Appalachian Artist Festival transforms Court Street into a celebration of everything that makes our region special. To our neighbors near and far, we issue this invitation: Come home. Whether
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Why Kentucky should help restore the Martin Himler House
Hidden in the hills of Martin County, Himlerville (now Beauty) stands alone in Kentucky as the only location with a direct and authentic connection to Holocaust history and Jewish immigrant heritage on Kentucky soil. It deserves a prominent place in Kentucky’s cultural memory—and as efforts continue to restore the Himler House, the Commonwealth of Kentucky
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The most important reading skill we never teach children: Public notices
We teach children to read poems and plays, recipes and road signs. We guide them to decode Shakespeare and summarize “Charlotte’s Web.” But there is a crucial kind of reading that we rarely teach and it shows: public notices. You have seen them. Maybe you have skimmed past them. That block of dense text at
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AmeriCorps and national service: Common ground for the Commonwealth
BY JOE BRINGARDNER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SERVE KENTUCKY In a time when division dominates the headlines, national service offers rare common ground. Across Kentucky, AmeriCorps members are showing up – not for headlines, but for neighbors. They tutor students, support families, and help communities rebuild after disasters. They reflect the values that define the Commonwealth: compassion,
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Legislative Update: Protecting what is rightfully yours
BY BOBBY MCCOOL In Kentucky, property ownership has long been a cornerstone of personal freedom and economic stability. However, many property owners face the ongoing challenge of protecting their investments from the act of squatting—when a person occupies an abandoned or unoccupied space without legal permission. This practice has become a significant and often contentious
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Cutting LIHEAP is a deadly blow to Eastern Kentucky
BY CHRIS WOOLERY By any measure, the economy of Eastern Kentucky and the wider Appalachian region is struggling. The collapse of the coal industry, the opioid crisis, and the recurring natural disasters have left scars that are slow to heal. Families and individual households trying to make ends meet rely on an array of federal
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The right thing should be the bare minimum
The residents of Martin County have endured enough—especially when it comes to their water infrastructure. In a county where water infrastructure failures are a painful routine, the latest crisis—the budget deficit caused by the stalled raw water intake project—feels like a betrayal. Nearly four years after the project’s groundbreaking, the water district is staring down
