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From hayfield to hometown gateway: Airport terminal named for Gary Cox
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN DEBORD — Twenty-six years after Gary Wayne Cox took charge of an overgrown airfield that looked more like a hayfield than an airport, the community he helped build gathered Aug. 1 to put his name on its terminal. The Big Sandy Regional Airport board dedicated the Gary W. Cox Terminal…
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Martin County seeks $19.5M to expand flood buyout
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County is seeking nearly $19.5 million in additional federal funding to expand its flood-buyout program, potentially adding a Newberry Lane property omitted from the original list and five or six other properties. The Martin County Fiscal Court approved an amendment to the U.S. Department of Agriculture grant…
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Free voter ID cards available
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Residents who lack the photo identification necessary to vote can obtain a voter ID card from the state at no cost. Martin County Clerk Susie Skyles said the cards are available at any Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Driver Licensing Regional Office. “The same offices that issue driver’s licenses and…
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Martin County seals first time capsule for 2051
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — With the click of a lock and the words “God bless America,” Martin County sealed its first official time capsule Thursday. The capsule will preserve a snapshot of life in 2026 for residents to discover 25 years from now. You Matter Appalachia intern Garrett Lowe secured the capsule…
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Forest ranger warns of wildfire risks, outlines seasonal job opportunities
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County is among the areas most prone to wildfires in the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s 27-county Morehead branch, forest ranger James “Woody” Thomas told members of the Kiwanis Club on Thursday. “Martin and Magoffin counties are two of the hottest counties in the Morehead branch,” Thomas said…
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Martin, Johnson men arrested after KSP pursuit; suspected stolen AT&T line recovered
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PAINTSVILLE — A Martin County man and a Johnson County man were arrested Sunday after a Kentucky State Police pursuit ended with troopers disabling a pickup truck and finding suspected stolen AT&T communication line inside. Police identified the driver as Christopher Jordan Mollette, 38, of Martin County, and the passenger…
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Fatal driveway shooting leads to murder arrest
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN THEALKA — A physical altercation erupted into gunfire Saturday on Main Camp Branch in Thealka, leaving a River man dead in a driveway and a West Van Lear man jailed on a murder charge, Kentucky State Police said. Kentucky State Police Post 9 responded to a residence on Main Camp…
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Inez woman arrested in stolen bank card case
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — An Inez woman was arrested Thursday after law enforcement said surveillance video showed her using a Johnson County man’s bank card to make about $2,000 in unauthorized purchases. Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy David Adams arrested Rose Ellen Johnson, 54, at her Route 3 residence at 8:20 a.m. on…
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ARC to pay $16.2M in Medicaid billing case — a nearly $11.5M reduction
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN ASHLAND — Addiction Recovery Care and two affiliated health care companies have agreed to a $16.2 million civil judgment to resolve federal allegations that they improperly billed Kentucky Medicaid for behavioral health and medical services over a period spanning nearly seven years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District…
