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Kiwanis Club donation to help flood relief effort

The Kiwanis Foundation, through the Kentucky-Tennessee District, awarded a grant for $16,541 to the City of Jenkins to help flood victims with unforeseen expenses related to the July 28, 2022, disaster. Pictured (left to right) are Kiwanis Foundation Executive Director Donna Ratliff, Jenkins Kiwanis member Wendell Boggs, Jenkins Kiwanis President Paul Thompson, Jenkins Mayor Todd Depriest, Jenkins Kiwanis Vice President […]

Woman’s murder comes after she spoke out about daughter’s death


Last October, Angela Roberts had no doubt whether her daughter’s death three months earlier was murder or suicide, even though the death certificate said the manner of death was unknown. “She wouldn’t do that to herself. She was murdered,” Roberts told The Mountain Eagle then. Now, five months after she began speaking up publicly about her daughter’s shooting death, Roberts […]

County government in dire financial straits


The cost of incarcerating people awaiting trial is breaking the county, officials say, but 1.5 percent occupational tax proposed by the Letcher Fiscal Court failed to pass the first reading, leaving open the possibility that the county will have to cut services or default on its debt. Only four of the five magistrates attended the special called meeting on Thursday, […]

Bad water lines are troubling F-N

Broken water lines in Fleming- Neon are putting a strain on the city’s resources to deal with long term problems. “Seems like every day we have some sort of disaster,” said Mayor Ricky Burke. Recently, a construction company building a wall broke a water pipe near a manhole cover. Burke said, while he is grateful for the work being done, […]

Firefighter who pulled driver to safety has strong family ties to Letcher County

The Kentucky firefighter who has received national attention for rappelling off a bridge in Louisville last Friday to rescue the driver of a tractor-trailer as it dangled precariously over the Ohio River has strong family ties to Letcher County. Louisville firefighter Bryce Carden is the grandson of the late Wendall and Monzell Brown Ison of Elizabethtown and great grandson of […]

Jenkins council can take neglected properties, city attorney explains

The Jenkins city attorney has told the city council it can take properties that are not being cleaned up by the owners. “Property owners should realize the city has that power,” said City Attorney Randall Tackett. Tackett explained the two ordinances that can be enforced by the city at Monday night’s regular city council meeting. The nuisance ordinance allows the […]

Students in another bus wreck near Eolia


A second school bus going to school has run off the road while meeting a large truck in a curve, and it was carrying some of the same students who were aboard a bus that rolled over after being hit by a coal truck in mid-January. The latest accident occurred one week ago on February 28 after the bus turned […]

Hearing set on prison plan

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has released another Draft Environmental Impact Statement naming a reclaimed strip mine at Roxana as the preferred location for a federal prison. The new report envisions a medium-security Federal Correction Institute with a capacity of 1,152 adult inmates and a second minimum-security Federal Prison Camp to house 256 more. The agency is seeking public comment […]

Internet costs to rise for many in Letcher County


More than a quarter of Letcher County households may have to pay more for internet access by the end of April because a federal program that supports affordable broadband for lower-income families is running out of money. Over 2,400 of Letcher County’s 8,400 households are currently receiving $30 a month from the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), according to data […]

Beshear returns to county with $6M in funding


Gov. Andy Beshear returned to Letcher County again Tuesday to give an update on the flood recovery and to announce more than $6 million in grants here. “Right after the floods, we promised to stand with eastern Kentucky until every home, structure and life was rebuilt,” Beshear said. “Through the awards we announced today and the progress being made on […]


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