The County Line

About Us: Welcome to The County Line at adair-russell.com, a new venture aimed at providing news, sports, entertainment, education and local interest content to the communities of Adair and Russell counties.

As this site’s owners and founders, we — John Overby and Wes Feese — could not possibly be more excited to connect with our people in this new and exciting endeavor. We are each award-winning journalists who bring more than two decades of combined experience into our new roles.

The County Line’s goal — first and foremost, and always above all else — is to tell the truth. We believe in the constitutionally protected right and responsibility of journalism to speak truth to power and that citizens in this great nation deserve to know as much as possible about the goings-on in their communities, counties, states and country.

Other goals are to inform the public; promote local business, entrepreneurship and tourism; and shine a spotlight on this community’s vibrant, rural culture and achievements both cooperative and individual.

Each of us have an extensive background in newspapers, and previous positions include editor, assistant editor, sportswriter, photographer, composition manager, and general manager at newspapers across central Kentucky, in addition to freelance work.

In the coming days, weeks, months, and years, this website will provide a steady, daily stream of text, video and audio posts that we believe will be of value to the great people of these two counties, as well as those unfortunate, unlucky souls who have a connection to the area but do not live here. As lifelong residents of Adair and Russell counties, and graduates of Lindsey Wilson College, we love this area and look forward to providing our own small contribution to the community and culture that raised us.

Contact Us By Phone
John – (270) 566-0764
Wes – (270) 250-1726
Send us an Email: countyline@adair-russell.com

Staff

John Overby – Owner/General Manager John Overby makes up one half of The County Line’s owners and founders. Overby, who grew up in Creelsboro and currently resides in Russell Springs, most recently served as general manager-editor at the Central Kentucky News-Journal in Campbellsville and has also served as sports writer, assistant editor and editor at other papers across central Kentucky, including The Adair County Community Voice, The Adair Progress and The Springfield Sun. He’s won more than 40 awards from the Kentucky Press Association during his time as a professional journalist. For The County Line, Overby will oversee website strategy and operations; write news, sports, and local interest stories; and serve as the primary advertising contact for Russell County businesses. He graduated from Russell County High School in 2009, from Lindsey Wilson College with a bachelor’s of arts in media studies in 2013 and earned a master’s of arts in sport management from Campbellsville University in 2018.

Wes Feese – Owner/Editor-in-Chief Wes Feese is one of The County Line’s owners and founders. Feese has worked in journalism for more than 10 years and is a former editor at The Adair Progress in Columbia, where he was in charge of all written and photo content and won several Kentucky Press Association awards. He will supervise content production and write, edit, and publish news, sports, and featured content for The County Line. Additionally, Feese will contribute editorial commentary and opinion pieces, which are sure to be unpopular. He is the primary advertising contact for Adair County businesses. Feese was born and raised in the Egypt community of Adair County and graduated with a communications degree from Lindsey Wilson College a long time ago.

Blake Spires – Columnist  Blake Spires, best known as the proprietor of the locally famous @RealFakeBlake Twitter account, is a high school English teacher, former journalist, and contributor to The County Line. Spires, an Adair County native and Lindsey Wilson College graduate, was named Teacher of the Year at Metcalfe County High School in 2018, and served as assistant editor of The Adair Progress in Columbia before beginning his career as an educator. In his role on this site, Spires will write commentary about sports, culture and general nonsense. Readers who do not like Spires’ jokes are encouraged to harass him via email at cameron.spires@windstream.net.

Shayla & Burgess Brown – Mental Health Correspondents Shayla & C. Burgess Brown are a husband-and-wife writing team who are each accomplished Licensed Mental Health Clinicians, holding bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Lindsey Wilson College. Their contributions to this site center on mental health & wellness. They will educate and inform readers based on their extensive education and professional experiences in their field. They hope to normalize the topic of mental health and remove the stigma of discussing it publicly.

Craig Clark – Editorialist/Feature Writer

Craig Clark is a born-and-raised Adair Countian and proud holder of many opinions of which he is not afraid to share. A self-described political junkie, Clark’s beliefs are best classified as libertarian, but he holds views across the spectrum. He contributes written content on modern politics and culture as well as interviews with local figures. You can let him know how right or wrong you think he is by emailing him at cclark77@protonmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @CraigIsSoRight.

Jordan Willis – Entertainment Curator

Jordan Willis is a Columbia native and The County Line’s resident expert on all things entertainment, specifically movies and television. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Lindsey Wilson College and a master’s degree in student affairs and counseling from Western Kentucky University. The “Television Connoisseur” writes a weekly column, “The Art of Binge Watching.” Email him at jordanwillis5393@gmail.com to let him know what you think of his what-to-watch recommendations.

Eric Overby – Essayist/Critic

Eric Overby, hailing from Russell County, is a poet, essayist, literary critic, and author. He has published several books of poetry, and writes The County Line’s weekly “Note to Self” column. He also contributes book reviews and recommendations.