Expo Drops Lawmaker Name

Officials in Corbin, Ky., have stripped part of the name from the city’s expo center that houses the Corbin Arena.

The David L. Williams Southeastern Kentucky Ag & Expo Complex will no longer be named after the former state Senate president, who recently resigned from his position to accept a judicial appointment.

Williams has been on the outs with officials since earlier this year, when he failed to support the city in a tax dispute that could reportedly cost Corbin $600,000 annually.

City Commissioner Joe Shelton supported naming the arena after Williams in 2005, but changed his mind after the tax dispute.

“Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess,” Shelton told the Corbin News Journal. “At the time he had been very supportive and he was helpful as far as getting the arena and working hard on it.

“We weren’t happy in the support we got from Williams over the Knox County Occupational tax situation. … He wasn’t aggressive enough.”

The building will still contain Williams’ name in official documents, but all visible signage is being removed.