A New Voice In Town

By Mary Ellis
You’ve heard the old saying, no news is good
news. Here at The McCreary Voice, we’re
pleased to announce a change of ownership
which came about on Monday, August 29th.
Our new owner is President of Adair Progress,
Inc., Mrs. Donna Hancock of Columbia, Kentucky.
Donna has been affiliated with ‘hot off the
press’ operations since she was seventeen and
founded her very own newspaper, the Adair
Progress in 1987 at the age of twenty seven.
Now after thirty five years, Donna is semi-retired.
She’s proud of her awesome staff and
looks forward to them moving forward with
this new venture in McCreary County. Jessica and Steven Thomas
will manage The Voice
and oversee day to day operations,
just like they do at
the Adair Progress in Columbia,
Lake Cumberland
Current in Russell Springs
and The Wayne Weekly in
Monticello.
Jess wears many hats. She
was a stay at home Mom
from 2008 until 2019, then
her three children were older
and she started to work at the
paper. Whatever you need to
know about, Jess can help or
point you in the right direction.
When interviewed, she
spoke a little bit about our
newspapers in Russell and
Wayne County. Jess said,
“The Lake Cumberland Current
was founded in October
of 2019 in Russell Springs
to give Russell County a local
paper with a community
feel.”
She added, “The Wayne
VOICE
from 1A
Weekly started from scratch
in February of 2021 and this
was done to bring a paper
back to the people of Wayne
County who lost their one
hundred year old original paper.”
When talking about herself,
Jess further stated, “I
was hired into the company
in April of 2019 as a parttime
pressroom hand. By
June, I had the opportunity to
move to the composition department
and was basically
thrown in the deep end.”
Jess had no previous newspaper
experience, other than
being in the pressroom.
She became General Manager
in December of 2020
and then took on the Publisher’s
position at the Lake
Cumberland Current and The
Wayne Weekly in September
of 2021, and will also be
Publisher of The McCreary
Voice.
Jess is plain spoken and
one of the most down to
earth individuals you would
ever hope to meet. It’s important
to her that we all live
up to expectations within our
local communities.
What folks want most from
their hometown newspapers
are the things that drive Jess
to go the extra mile. Each
individual and all businesses
(not just a select few) will
play important roles as The
Voice moves forward.
Steven (Jess’ husband) was
hired in as printer in 2020,
again with no experience. He
had previously been an over
the road truck driver, having
his own truck for eight
of those years. Staying away
from his three children for
four days at a time took its
toll and led to Steven selling
his truck, but still making
short hauls for a local company.
Steven is now responsible
for not only printing
The McCreary Voice, but
all of our other publications
(the Adair Progress, Lake
Cumberland Current and The
Wayne Weekly, along with
the Casey and Adair Russell
Shoppers.)
He also serves as production
manager for this small
corporation’s main office in
Columbia. When you actually
observe one of our
newspapers being printed ‘in
house’ at home office, it’s a
sight to see for the eye of the
beholder.
One of the first things
you’ll notice in this week’s
‘Change of Ownership’ issue
is an old fashioned feel. Yes,
your ‘hands on’ newspaper
is bigger. It has increased in
size. We want you to feel
free to voice your opinions
and ask you to contact us.
Walk-in’s, calls, texts and
emails are welcomed. Tell
us about your ideas and make
suggestions on content you
would like to see added to
your hometown newspaper.
Expect us to hit the ground
running. In no time at all, we
will show you what we bring
to the table and have to offer.
We’re here to provide every
one of you with the kind of
service you deserve. Now’s
the time for you to help us
give your paper a community
feel.