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Martin County Fiscal Court handles bids, board appointments, business in special session
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Fiscal Court approved board appointments, awarded mowing contracts and advanced several other business items during a special meeting March 26. Magistrates approved Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty’s reappointment of John Hensley and Colby Kirk to the Martin County Utility Board. The court also approved Karen Thoma to fill
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Warfield backs caboose project tied to Himlerville legacy
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WARFIELD — The Warfield City Council approved an interlocal agreement Monday allowing Martin County Fiscal Court to install signage at the city’s caboose. The project is part of the county’s “Himler Heritage Caboose” initiative, a small step in preserving the legacy of Martin Himler and the immigrant coal town he
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Frontier Housing fails to deliver jobs, says EDA chair
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Nine months after Frontier Housing leased the speculative building at the Eastern Kentucky Business Park in Debord, Martin County Economic Development Authority Chairman James Ayers said the project has produced neither the jobs nor the activity the board was led to expect. Speaking at the EDA’s March 11
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Tomahawk man gets two-year prison sentence in stolen ATV case
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — A Tomahawk man was sentenced March 19 in Martin Circuit Court to two years in prison for his role in a stolen ATV case dating back to 2023. Rush Fraley, 49, pleaded guilty Feb. 5 to receiving stolen property valued at $1,000 to $10,000/complicity, a Class D felony.
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Lovely man draws six-year prison sentence in fentanyl case
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — A Martin County man drew a six-year prison sentence March 19 in Martin Circuit Court after pleading guilty to a fentanyl trafficking charge. Henry Butcher, 27, of Lovely, received the sentence after pleading guilty Feb. 5, 2026, to first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (over 2 grams of
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Coal truck spills load in Inez
Traffic control underway Monday at the KY-645 ramp near Coldwater in Inez after a coal truck lost some of its load on the roadway. (Citizen photo by Roger Smith)
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State awards replacement of Mollett Branch bridge
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN TOMAHAWK — A narrow one-lane bridge over Rockhouse Fork in Tomahawk that officials say is unsafe for emergency vehicles is slated for replacement at no cost to Martin County. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet notified Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty in a letter that the Mollett Branch bridge “has been awarded
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Library trustees advance two finalists for open seat
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Public Library trustees Monday forwarded the names of Heather Perry and Jason James to the state as finalists for one of two open seats on the library board. The board reviewed four applications for the vacancy created by the expiration of John R. Triplett’s term. Richard
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Wildfires keep Martin County crews on fireline for second weekend in a row
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — For the second weekend in a row, crews battled multiple wildfires in Martin County, responding to three separate blazes. The first of this weekend’s fires broke out Friday night in the area of Sansom Drive off Big Lick Road. The Kentucky Division of Forestry and the Inez Volunteer
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First State Bank Player of the Week: Braydun Ferris
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — Tug Valley senior star Braydun Ferris is the First State Bank Player of the Week. Ferris delivered one of the most dominant postseason runs in recent memory, leading the Panthers to a third straight West Virginia Class A state championship. Ferris was the driving force behind Tug
