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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
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Christmas: The light the darkness could not hold
Christmas arrives again with its familiar quiet magic, but at its heart this is more than a season of lights and gatherings. It is the celebration of the birth of Christ, the moment when God stepped into the world in humility and love. The Gospel of John proclaims this truth: “The light shines in the
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Martin County Water cannot afford another miss in Frankfort
Kentucky’s new WWATERS program was created for communities like Martin County—places where decades-old infrastructure, chronic underinvestment and limited local resources make safe, reliable water and wastewater service an everyday challenge. Yet last year, when Kentucky lawmakers awarded more $75 million to distressed utilities across the state, Martin County received nothing. Not one project. Not one
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Thanksgiving reflection: 35 years of community and gratitude
Thanksgiving offers a moment for communities to pause, reflect and take stock of the blessings that shape our lives. For us at the Mountain Citizen, this week carries special meaning. It marks 35 years since this newspaper came under its current ownership and management. Three and a half decades of service, struggle, growth and commitment
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Sunshine only stings when it lands on something never meant to be seen
Public officials carry many responsibilities, but one of the most essential is accepting scrutiny. When decisions are made with public money, on public time and in public office, the people deserve clear, truthful answers. That is not persecution. That is democracy. To suggest that accurate reporting is an attack is to undermine the public’s right
