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Pike County grand jury indicts 16
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PIKEVILLE — The Pike County grand jury returned 16 true bills March 31. Charges ranged from drug trafficking and strangulation to assault, burglary and other felony offenses. Chester Akers, 38, of Jenkins, was indicted on one count of first-degree possession of a controlled substance. Kamron Anderson, 26, of Pikeville, was…
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Lawrence County grand jury returns indictments in drug, organized crime, sex abuse cases
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LOUISA — The Lawrence County grand jury returned 24 indictments March 12. Cases ranged from alleged child sex abuse and organized fraud at a Louisa bank to drug trafficking, burglary and assault. Teresa Blunt, 64, of Fort Gay, West Virginia, was indicted on possession of a controlled substance, first degree…
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VANISHED: Six years later family still searching for answers in Jonathan Coleman disappearance
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Six years after Jonathan Coleman vanished his family is still searching for answers — and still waiting to bring him home. Coleman, an Inez man with deep ties to the Wolf Creek community, was reported missing Jan. 24, 2020. Known as “Red” to family and friends, he would…
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Williamson fire chief placed on administrative leave after his arrest
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Williamson Fire Chief Joey Michael Carey has been placed on administrative leave after his arrest Friday night for allegedly firing a handgun round into a neighboring apartment in the building where he lives. Carey, 49, was taken into custody at about 9 p.m. at the fire department…
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Martin County native republishes ‘The Two Promises’
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WARFIELD — A Martin County native who has returned home to the hills of Eastern Kentucky recently republished a Bible prophecy-based book that he originally wrote 10 years ago. Roger Fluty, a 1985 graduate of Sheldon Clark High School, has spent the last 40 years in retail management, residing in…
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Williamson fire chief arrested on wanton endangerment charges
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Williamson Fire Chief Joey Michael Carey was arrested Friday night after a roughly three-month investigation into allegations that he fired two handgun rounds into a neighboring apartment in the downtown Williamson building where he lives. West Virginia State Police took Carey, 49, into custody at about 9…
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Murder trial set May 4 in killing of West Virginia trooper
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — A Matewan man accused in the 2023 killing of a West Virginia State Police sergeant is scheduled to stand trial May 4 in Mingo County Circuit Court after a case marked by delays, a failed venue-change effort and a mistrial last year. Timothy Kennedy Jr., 32, has…
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Family still seeks answers in unsolved homicide of Melissa Wolford
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PHELPS — More than two years after a hunter found 42-year-old Melissa Wolford slain near her burned pickup truck in a Pike County hollow, her family is still searching for answers. In the quiet, close-knit community of Phelps, where homes in the hills can sit a mile apart and generations…
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Lenore VFD Easter egg hunt draws crowd, honors chief with award
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LENORE, W.Va. — More than 100 children and their families turned out Saturday for the Lenore Volunteer Fire Department’s annual Easter egg hunt, an afternoon packed with prizes, food, family fun and a surprise honor for the department’s longtime chief. According to Assistant Chief Skipper Farris, the event drew a…
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Wildfires scorch hundreds of acres across Martin County
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Sunday turned into a grueling, nearly around-the-clock fight for volunteer firefighters across Martin County. Departments joined the Kentucky Division of Forestry to battle multiple wind-driven wildfires that spread rapidly and threatened homes, roadways and utility infrastructure. Inez Volunteer Fire Department Chief Lee Gauze said about 14 volunteers from…
