WWII veteran from Eastern Kentucky dies at 103

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - The results are in for the annual ‘Big Blue Slam’ blood drive. Big Blue Nation is victorious again! Kentucky fans rallied on the final day to win. The Kentucky Blood Center competed against the LifeSouth Community Blood Center in Florida. It’s a friendly rivalry between UK and Florida fans to help fill shelves during the winter months.

RICHMOND, Ky. (WYMT) - For the second year in a row, the Green Dragons are leaving Richmond with hardware. The Harlan cheerleading squad won the boys All “A” State Cheerleading championship.

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - We’ve got tons of All-A action from Richmond, plus rivalry basketball in the Cumberland Valley and history in the Big Sandy Valley. You can watch all the action in the playlist above!

HARROGATE, Tenn. (WVLT) - In 2011, officials at the Lincoln Memorial University had the idea to create a College of Veterinarian Medicine on the campus in Harrogate. The first class graduated in 2018, marking the 30th school in the United States to produce veterinarians. Today the school is the largest...

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - Dr. Elmer B. Ratcliff, of Hazard, died on Saturday at the age of 82. Ratcliff owned and operated Elmer Ratcliff Family Practice in Hazard for more than 45 years. He also served as the Chief of Staff at Hazard ARH and was a former Medical Director...

LONDON, Ky. (WYMT) - London-Laurel Rescue Squad officials said rescue units pulled a body from a lake in London on Saturday. Officials said, around 11:35 a.m., a fisherman called 911 after finding the body in the water. Rescue units used a boat and recovered the body from the lake. Whitley...

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - Saturday is the third-year anniversary for the Read Spotted Newt, a locally owned bookstore in Hazard. They celebrated with coffee and donuts, while customers got 50% off hard cover books. Owner Mandi Sheffel is proud the bookstore is still running after the Covid-19 pandemic and flooding from late July, but also said she can not take all of the credit for it.

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - The Garrett area of Floyd County was one of many communities across the region that were rocked by flood waters in July 2022. “Pure chaos,” said Garrett Fountain owner Amber Sparkman. “Everywhere you could look, there was people that were getting devastated. They lost their home, people lost their businesses, their place of work.”

RICHMOND, Ky. (WYMT) - The magic from the Cardinals’ nail-biting win over Harlan did not continue on Friday. Martin County fell in the All “A” quarterfinals to Evangel Christian 86-55 in Richmond. Evangel Christian will advance to play the winner of the Washington County-Owen County game on...

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - A Hazard entrepreneur and founding chief of the Lost Creek Volunteer Fire Department has died. According to Engle-Bowling Funeral Home, J.M. Smith died Wednesday at the age of 83. Smith was born in Lost Creek and was a U.S. Army Veteran, owner of Hazard Fire &...

BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - This week marks six months since the historic flooding in eastern Kentucky that took the lives of 44 Kentuckians and destroyed hundreds of homes. Rebuilding will take years, but the region has received lots of help along the way. Donors from across the world raised...

PULASKI COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Rescue squads were called after a car went over a bluff beside Highway 90 in southern Pulaski County. Somerset Pulaski County Rescue Squad officials said the crash happened shortly before 6 p.m. on Friday. According to police, Ralph Carrender was driving east on Highway 90....

WHITESBURG, Ky. (WYMT) - Water now sits below the creek banks, but the mental replay of it so many feet higher has changed perspectives. “Life has changed for everybody. Don’t take nothing for granted. Stuff is just stuff. Your life is more important,” Letcher County firefighter Wallace Bolling Jr. said.

WHITLEY COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Following a four-day jury trial, Commonwealth’s Attorney Ronnie Bowling said John Meadows was convicted of murder and tampering with physical evidence for the 2021 death of his girlfriend, Donna Lay. Lay was reported missing on January 27, 2021. Bowling added the jury utilized forensic...

BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - For the Dunn family of Breathitt County, July 27, 2022 started as a regular day, but as July 28 came, their lives would be forever changed. “We just never expected that it would flood here because I’ve lived here my entire life,” said Breathitt County native Chelsey Dunn. “I literally stayed late at work helping get all of our little clients from our homeless shelter to safety, and once I pulled up here, it was already too late to pull to my driveway.”

WHITESBURG, Ky. (WYMT) - Several organizations joined hands over the last several months, working to give Eastern Kentucky flood victims a place to call home. Friday, one Letcher County family celebrated its new space with a ceremony that invited the hands and feet that helped them get there. HOMES, Inc....

JEREMIAH, Ky. (WYMT) - Everything inside the Letcher Independent Baptist Church was damaged in the July 28 flood. Six months have passed since the historic flood, but another rainy day brings back memories of destruction. “Yeah we had people right here this morning that lost their homes, living in little...

PULASKI COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - On Friday, a semi-truck carrying 60,000 pounds of fertilizer was hit by a train after it pulled across tracks in Pulaski County. Officials said no injuries were reported, but the truck’s load of fertilizer was dumped on the tracks and the surrounding area. Somerset...

ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - Kentucky State Police Troopers are investigating a deadly shooting in Estill County. Officials said the shooting happened Sunday morning at a home on Richmond Road. Troopers responded to the scene and found Jeffrey Johnson, 43, dead inside the home. Johnson was pronounced dead at the...

INEZ, Ky. (WYMT) - For more nearly 33 years, the family of Ruvil Hale has been waiting for answers. Sunday, they will lay to rest the case of his disappearance. Hale, a husband, father, and former coal miner, was last seen at the Paintsville Health Care Center on July 3, 1990. Only 43 at the time, he had a host of medical issues, was known to have seizures, and had been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. Though officers had little leads at the time, reports claim he was believed to be traveling in a Ford Tempo that disappeared from the area the same day.