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Kentucky lawmakers should not rewrite rules to deny Martin County
The General Assembly created the Kentucky Water and Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems program by statute. Lawmakers defined its purpose, established its eligibility criteria and set its scoring framework in Kentucky law. In December 2025, the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority applied those criteria and finalized the rankings for the second round of funding.
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Tourism, talent and trust all begin with clean water
Martin County has spent years talking about growth. We have talked about tourism, beautification, workforce development, small-business incubation and reversing population loss. We celebrate our students, athletes, artists and entrepreneurs. And we take pride in our mountains, rivers and resilience. But there is one question that refuses to go away: Can we promise clean, reliable
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Brown water, clearer picture
Sometimes the water runs brown and so do our thoughts. When faucets across Martin County turned rust-colored last summer, frustration filled kitchens and laundry rooms alike. People wanted answers, and for a long time all we had were questions, suspicion and a lingering sense that something was being hidden. What we learned this winter is
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When power forgets kindness
“He did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted.” That line from Scripture reads like a modern indictment. It describes a style of power the country is watching again: authority exercised without restraint, policy stripped of compassion and enforcement elevated above human consequence. President Donald Trump has made
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Sewer money is welcome. Clean water cannot wait.
Martin County is right to joyfully welcome the $4.8 million in federal funding announced last week to modernize the long-troubled wastewater treatment plant in Inez. After years of breakdowns, foul odors and limited capacity, the project represents real progress for public health and quality of life. Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty is correct to call it “a
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Editorial: Our future should not be decided without us
In Martin County, decisions have a way of being discussed after they are made, not while they are still being shaped. That reality has bred frustration, distrust and a sense among many residents that their voices do not matter. Now, for once, the order is being reversed. In the coming weeks, Martin County residents will
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Editorial: ‘Get over yourself’
There are phrases that land like a slap and others that arrive like a long-overdue intervention. “Get over yourself” belongs to both categories, depending on who is saying it, why and when. It is rarely spoken gently. “Get over yourself” carries impatience and, at times, contempt, usually delivered when someone believes another person has made
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New Year’s resolution for Martin County
A new year always arrives carrying two things at once: the weight of what we have endured and the quiet promise of what might still be possible. For Martin County that promise matters. We have known hardship, frustration and long stretches of waiting. Yet we enter this new year with resolve to move forward with
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2025: A year defined by water, weather and resolve
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — If 2025 had a shape in Martin County, it was uneven ground. The year rose with moments of promise and dropped without warning into loss and disruption, forcing people to find their footing again and again. Water told much of the story. It fell as snow and ice,
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Whitt wins newspaper search contest
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT INEZ — Martin County resident Curtis Whitt is the winner of the Mountain Citizen Christmas Nativity Search Contest and a $100 prize. Over the course of 10 weeks, Whitt successfully found each of the hidden Christmas Nativity figures placed throughout the pages of the Mountain Citizen, recording the correct page numbers on
