At the Johnson County Schools Board of Education meeting Monday, Superintendent Thom Cochran announced that interim Principal Shawn Hall at Johnson County Middle School will be taking on the role permanently, following a decision by the school's Site-Based Decision Making Council.

The East Kentucky Gearheads held their first weekend Cruiz'N of the year Saturday, with a change of venue to the Mayo Plaza providing more space for the cars on display and more parking for the visitors. For more information on upcoming car shows, find the East Kentucky Gearheads on Facebook…

A River man was arrested in the Escom Chandler Park Saturday after, the Paintsville Police Department reported, he was found to be in possession of more than 4 grams of meth.

Volunteers across the county organized cleanup events and tackled the task of eliminating litter along Johnson County roadways through the month of April and beyond, as part of PRIDE Spring Cleanup season in Johnson County.

Thursday, the board of the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center met for its regular meeting outside the jail, at the Johnson County Fiscal Court, and the main topic discussed was balancing the need to keep the jail from being overcrowded versus the need to keep the jail’s budget intact.

Prime Diner and Grill began a process of soft opening this week in preparation for an official opening on June 1, and the owner of the restaurant, Keenan Powers, said he was unprepared for the influx of customers and that he and his staff are learning more and more from the process.

The Paintsville High School Alumni Association made three donations to the Paintsville Independent Schools Board of Education at the board’s regular meeting Monday, totaling approximately $10,500.

The Johnson County Jeep Club met up with members and other Jeep enthusiasts Saturday to take part in the third annual Kentucky State Police Memorial Trooper Island Poker Run in observance of KSP Fallen Trooper Memorial Week and raising funds for KSP’s Trooper Island summer camp for kids.

A group of Paintsville High School students continued their hands-on project this week to study the effects of an invasive species 'hydrilla verticillata' on various species of trout.

An East Point man was arrested on Apr. 25 following an investigation into an Apr. 8 burglary wherein the owner of a residence said he received a call that his grandson was in intensive care at Highlands Regional Medical Center and, upon finding that there was no one at the hospital by his gr…

With the help of a nearly $1.5 million federal grant, Eastern Kentucky University will open four technical school programs aimed at training aviation mechanics, including one through a local partnership with Big Sandy Community and Technical College.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information regarding a Louisville man who escaped from a transitional home and is suspected to be traveling to Staffordsville, according to a statement from Johnson County Sheriff Doug Saylor.

A public memorial service is being held Saturday after one of Johnson County’s most tireless ambassadors passed away last week at the age of 83.

Herman Webb, of Van Lear, is survived by four sisters, including Grammy-winning  country singers Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle, three daughters, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 

Webb frequently directed tours of the family’s famous “Butcher Holler” homestead, and managed the family-owned Webb’s Grocery.

Staff at Johnson Central High School and Flat Gap Elementary School came together Wednesday at the JCHS campus to take part in the Kentucky State Police’s Safe Schools Active Shooter Survival Program’s “level four” training, where staff sat in on a seminar and also took part in drills simulating what it would be like if they were caught off guard by a shooter in the halls of the school. 

According to Post 9 Squad Sgt. and Safe Schools Coordinator Jason Joseph, KSP troopers Sheldon Thomas, Jarrett Fields, Joe Weddington, Colt Stumbo and Jamie Rose were on-site to assist with the training. The program began with a seminar delivered by Joseph, which outlined likely scenarios and the responses that would be appropriate if a staff member found themselves in a situation where they heard gunfire while at the school. 

The 12 Baskets Food Pantry at the Paintsville First Church of God added an extra day to its usual distribution schedule to give away a truckload of fresh produce on Tuesday.

Pastor Dan Heaberlin said the pantry is usually only open on Tuesdays, but the produce arrived on Wednesday. The food was organized, bagged and given away with the help of HOPE, an American Legion Youth Group that operates from Paintsville’s Veterans Center.

Local singer and songwriter Waylon Nelson held a release party for his new album, ‘Appalachian Sound,’ Friday at the Historic SIPP Theatre in downtown Paintsville.

Appalachian Sound released in June, according to Nelson, and has been steadily gaining momentum. Nelson, of Pikeville, said many of the songs have been written for years, but the hard work and gracious contributions of several musicians since August in the studio at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg made it possible.

More than 100 professional and amateur golfers took to the links in Paintsville over the weekend for the annual Paintsville Invitational Tournament.

Adam Crum, with the Paintsville Golf Course said this marks the 78th year of the tournament, with 114 participants gathering to play in a two-day tournament following a Friday Pro-Am.

Crum said participants this year came not just from Johnson and surrounding counties, but other six states including Ohio, Maryland, Florida, Indiana, West Virginia and South Carolina.

The Paintsville High School Alumni Association announced a new format for its annual All-Alumni Weekend event and also announced a Hall of Fame wall at the Paintsville Independent Schools’ central office building in a statement Monday.

According to the statement, three new PHS alumni will be inducted into the association’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame during the All-Alumni Weekend event, including Jayme Runyon, class of 1975, Marty Preston and Scott Bradley, both of the class of 1992. The event will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 1 in the ballroom of the Ramada Inn in Paintsville.

Two licensed Johnson County professionals are bringing a big-thinking new aviation company to serve the entire region — but they are not based out of any airport.

The Paintsville Rotary Club’s first Trivia Night is in the books after Kim O’Bryan’s team, Les Quizerables, took home a victory over 16 other teams registered for the event, earning themselves $170 and bragging rights until next month’s event.

The event brought in a much larger turnout than originally anticipated, according to Rotary Club President Brandon May, who said they had originally told the staff at JB’s Sports Lounge to prepare for 15-20 patrons for the night and thanked them for seeing to an actual attendance of nearly 70 competitiors.

Businesses in the Mayo Plaza in Paintsville came together Saturday with the support of Paintsville Tourism to host a “sidewalk sale” where several vendors set up outside and invited the community to come out and shop and get child fingerprinting done by the Paintsville Police Department, acc…

With tanker manufacturing facility SilverLiner set to open its doors in Pikeville in November, the combined efforts of Big Sandy Community and Technical College, the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program and Big Sandy Area Community Action Program are making sure the company will have a full staff of skilled employees.

The various agencies and company officials joined together Thursday celebrating as the first 12 students of the SilverLiner program at BSCTC’s Mayo Campus were celebrated with a graduation ceremony..

The Johnson County Jeep Club held its first National Jeep Day event Saturday and lined the streets of downtown Paintsville with more than 70 Jeeps as participants braved the heat to enjoy the company of other likeminded enthusiasts, according to a statement from JCJC Vice President Connie Blevins.

The event included a show with prizes, vendors and a family atmosphere that welcomed Jeep clubs from anywhere to celebrate with the Jeep enthusiasts of Johnson County, the statement said.

Saturday at the University of Kentucky, Johnson Central sophomore Savannah Ratliff earned the state championship in her category of the 4-H Communications Contest.

Johnson County UK Cooperative Extension 4-H Agent Dianna Reed said Ratliff worked her way to the state contest after county and district competitions. At state, she earned the championship for the 15-year-old’s speech category. 

Paintsville Tourism has recently begun a project to bring music to Main Street, with the first phase placing speakers above the awning of The Historic Sipp Theatre and already complete, according to a statement from Tourism Director Josh Johnson.

“If you are on Main Street around the SIPP you will hear oldies music playing. Phase two work will start soon as we will be expanding out further into downtown,” Johnson said.