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Regional jail near financial collapse, will ask counties to pay higher inmate housing rate
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PAINTSVILLE — The Big Sandy Regional Detention Center is teetering on the edge of financial collapse. In what officials describe as a last-ditch effort to keep the facility operating, the regional jail board is preparing to ask its four member counties—Johnson, Martin, Magoffin and Lawrence—to approve an increase in the…
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Martin County keeps property tax rate steady
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Property owners will see no change in their county property tax rates for the coming year. The Martin County Fiscal Court voted unanimously to keep the real property tax rate unchanged at 12.1 cents per $100 of assessed value for the upcoming year. According to the Department for…
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Ayers appointed to regional industrial board, succeeds longtime chairman Mike Duncan
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Fiscal Court has approved Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty’s appointment of James Ayers to the board of the Big Sandy Regional Industrial Development Authority, following the resignation of founding board member and chairman Robert “Mike” Duncan due to health reasons. The Big Sandy Regional Industrial Development Authority,…
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Public library cuts employee medical insurance
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — With an auditor warning that the Martin County Public Library’s cash has fallen from nearly $1 million to just $48,000 in six years, board members voted Monday to eliminate health insurance for seven employees — a painful step in their struggle to keep the library solvent. During a…
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‘Revival on Main Street’ gives abandoned buildings facelift
BY ANNIE HOLLER MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Two abandoned buildings on Main Street in Inez are getting a facelift as part of Martin County’s “Revival on Main Street” effort. Local leaders say the structures at 42 East Main Street are too damaged to be restored and will eventually need to be torn down and rebuilt.…
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Government shutdown: A political stalemate with no end in sight
If you are like me, you have questions and concerns about the latest government shutdown. As I said recently, it feels like a political football, something both parties keep kicking back and forth while the country waits for resolution. Federal funding expired at midnight Sept. 30, 2025, when Congress failed to pass spending legislation for…
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Is Congress hypocritical?
The American government shutdown impacts about 1.4 million federal workers, with roughly 700,000 furloughed and another 700,000 deemed essential continuing to work without pay. This number does not include the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits. About 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 TSA officers are currently working without pay. Once the government shutdown…
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Florida company will buy Addiction Recovery Care, continue ‘core mission,’ says founder
by Deborah Yetter, Kentucky Lantern October 22, 2025 Addiction Recovery Care, or ARC, Kentucky’s largest provider of treatment and recovery services, has announced its pending sale to Ethema Health Corp., a Palm Beach, Florida-based behavioral health company. ARC reported the potential sale in a news release Wednesday, saying the two companies have “entered into a…
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Warfield sets property tax rates
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT WARFIELD — The City of Warfield set its real estate and personal tangible property tax rates at 11.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. That is an increase in real estate from last year’s rate of 10.1 and in personal tangible from last year’s rate of 9.55. According to City Clerk Rhonda…
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Inez reduces speed limit on Whickerfield Road
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Inez City Commissioners approved several measures this month, including reducing the speed limit to 5 mph on Whickerfield Road, funding for holiday decorations and a permit application for bridge cleaning. Commissioners authorized the purchase of five new 5 mph speed limit signs and two “Children at Play” signs…
