Mountain News & World Report: Recent Episodes
WMMT/Appalshop
A bi-weekly news magazine from WMMT, the 24-hour voice of mountain people’s music, culture, and social issues. WMMT provides broadcast space for creative expression, community involvement, and discussion of public policy to benefit coalfield communities and the Appalachian region as a whole. Find us online at www.wmmt.org! We're also on facebook, instagram, and twitter as wmmtfm, and you can reach us by email at wmmtnews {at} appalshop.org!
In this episode, we hear stories about the importance of clean water, a Letcher County walking program in conjunction with the Farmer’s Market that may help prevent Type 2 Diabetes, and in honor of Women’s History Month, from the Appalshop Archive we bring you audio from a Headwater’s episode circa 1980 featuring The Reel World String Band – an all women band.
In this episode we’ll hear about The STAY Project's Appalachian Love Fest in Harlan, KY on February 15th, 2020. Then, we’ll learn about how community groups in Wise County, VA are working with Montgomery Alabama based Equal Justice Initiative to acknowledge the history of lynchings in their county through research and public markers. And last, from the Ohio Valley Resource, we’ll learn about a recent report citing the Ohio Valley region as home to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country.
In this episode we bring you a medley of local, regional, and national news: from voting predictions as caucus season begins, to an inaugural meeting between mine agencies in an attempt to tackle black lung. And, from the Appalshop Archive, in honor of Black History Month, we’ll bring you audio from the late blues musician, Nat Reese, performing live at the Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival in 1993.
In this episode (from August 22, 2019) we bring you the personal story of one miner living with Black Lung who recently travelled to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to uphold the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.
Then, from the Ohio Valley Resource we learn how HIV rates are on the rise in counties hard hit by the opioid epidemic while some community members still remain skeptical of harm reduction programs meant to curb the spread of infectious diseases.
And, from WEKU’s Eastern Standard we hear about the history of the proposed Bunches Creek Dam that would have been situated just above Cumberland Falls.
In this episode (from July 25, 2019) we bring you updates and stories about changing regional & federal policies that could impact working families in central Appalachia.
First, WMMT’s Sydney Boles speaks with Virginia congressman Morgan Griffith over his recent participation in a hearing on the black lung epidemic.
Then, WMMT’s Mimi Pickering interviews Dustin Pugel, a policy analyst at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. Pugel talks about the potential impact that changes to state and federal food assistance programs could have on families in eastern Kentucky.
In this episode (from July 11, 2019) we bring you a medley of local & regional news stories.
First from the Ohio Valley Resource - Reporter Liam Neimeyer brings us a story about shifting federal law around “ephemeral waterways” and how that may impact waterways throughout the Ohio Valley. Then from OVR Reporter Becca Schimmel, we’ll hear about how laid-off employees of the now bankrupt Blackjewel coal company are seeking answers and back-pay.
Then we’ll hear about Pikeville’s upcoming Pride Prom event, a fundraiser for Pikeville’s second ever Pride festival happening in the fall of 2019. We wrap this episode up with WEKU’s Tom Martin interviewing Brent Hutchinson, the director of the Hindman Settlement School about his recent selection as an Obama Foundation Fellow.
In this episode we explore environmental & economic pressures in the region, as well as learn about pre-diabetes and diabetes prevention. From the Ohio Valley Resource we learn about new communities where toxic fluorinated chemicals have been found in the water, how crashing hemp prices have some farmers worried, and about the challenges faced by some rural groceries in coal communities. Then, we'll hear about prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes prevention and about economic development efforts in Pound, VA.
In this episode we bring you stories about economic development initiatives in Harlan County, KY and Pound, VA. And, from the Ohio Valley Resource we’ll learn about innovative approaches to addressing the addiction crisis in our region.
In this episode we bring you stories on regional history, and innovative new approaches to meeting the healthcare needs of east Kentuckians.
First, from Ohio Valley Resource Reporter, Brittany Patterson, we look back on Two Decades Of Resistance to Mountain Top Removal with the Coal River Mountain Watch. Then, WMMT's Sydney Boles brings us an interview with Bella Black about a project that gave young people in Letcher County, KY cameras to document potential causes of lung disease. And finally, Parker Hobson brings us the second in his series on diabetes and prediabetes in eastern Kentucky.
Music on this episode features Jean Ritchie with a tune called Stream of Time from her album Sweet Rivers. Sweet Rivers was released by Appalshop’s own JuneAppal Recordings in 1981.
In this episode we’re talking about coal company bankruptcies, creative uses for abandoned mine lands funds, and diabetes prevention.
First, we hear WMMT’s Sydney Boles interviewing Cornell University professor Josh Macey about the ways coal companies use bankruptcy to avoid cleaning up the land and paying employees.
Then, from Ohio Valley Resource Reporter Becca Schimmel we learn about how Murray Energy’s bankruptcy could bring a collapse of coal miners’ pensions. And, from OVR Reporter Brittany Patterson we learn about Harlan County, Kentucky’s Portal 31 Coal Mine Tour.
And last, for National Diabetes Month Parker Hobson brings us a story about pre-diabetes, and diabetes prevention.
In this episode we bring you stories about WV Senator Joe Manchin's pledge to defend coal miners' pensions, Bev May & Nell Fields' research into respiratory health in eastern Kentucky coalfields, and an interview with Geonovah - a 23 year old hip-hop artist from Big Stone Gap, VA.
In this show we learn about the history of Letcher County’s Bookmobile. And, we’ll celebrate American Archives Month by listening back to an oral history interview from the Appalshop archives. Last, but not least from the Ohio Valley Resource & the Center for Public Integrity we’ll hear about the intersection of pollution, climate change, and floods in Central Appalachia.
In this episode we’ll hear stories of eastern Kentucky’s second ever pride festival, hemp growers in the region forming cooperatives, a memorial dedicated to miners who’ve died of black lung in Letcher County, and some results of a survey by a group called “What’s Next EKY."
This episode is chock full of local & regional history! We’ll hear about a celebration of Carr Creek Kentucky history through a dinner performance based off a poem by Margaret Humes Collins. Then, we’ll hear historian Ron Eller’s thoughts about what works and what doesn't in terms of development in the region. And finally, we’ll learn about a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Johnson City Sessions recordings by Columbia Records taking place October 2019.
In this episode we bring you stories about challenges to rural healthcare in the region, the last Neon Days Festival, and mine lands sitting idle across the country.
First, Appalshop's Tayna Turner & Taylor Pratt spoke with women leading the 141-day-long-and-still-going-strong 24/7 peaceful protest outside Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, TN. They are there to publicly oppose Ballad Health’s decision to close the neonatal intensive care unit (or NICU) and to downgrade other services.
Then, WMMT's Rachel Garringer spoke with Dr. Sam Quillen at Neon Days 2019 about the history of the festival, the town, and the uncertain future of small-town festivals.
And finally, from Ohio Valley Resource reporter Britanny Patterson we learn about mine lands sitting idle across the region.
Music on this episode features Music on this episode features Anna & Elizabeth with a tune called “The Very Day I’m Gone” from the JuneAppal Album by the same title which features songs of Addie Graham performed by contemporary musicians.
In this episode we hear from Director Jenifer Hixson of The Moth about their upcoming live-storytelling event on the Appalshop stage September 13, 2019. Plus, we'll hear Jacob Carruba of Harlan County telling a story live at The Moth's Appalachian Debut also on the Appalshop stage in May 2018.
Then from the Ohio Valley Resource we learn about a rare plant that’s making a come back by moving OFF of the endangered species list. Glynis Board brings us the saga of the Running Buffalo Clover.
And last, but not least, Sydney Boles brings us an interview with Scott Shoupe - a former Harlan County miner who quit mining to receive training in the energy efficiency industry instead. Shoupe shares reflections on the mining industry and the Blackjewel bankruptcy situation.
In this episode we bring you interviews from the Blackjewel Miners Blockade in Harlan County, KY, an interview with Kentucky artists Ken Swinson & Lacy Hale about printmaking & collaborative zine-making, and in honor of International Cat Day on August 8th... a story about...CATS!!!
In this episode we bring you stories about Benham, KY’s recent re-launch of an energy efficiency program “Benham Saves"; the Hemphill Community Center & Black Sheep Bakery's June 21, 2019 celebration of their brand new solar panels! And updates about Central Appalachian organizing around the RECLAIM Act - proposed federal legislation that would more rapidly release funding from the 2.5 billion dollar Abandoned Mine Lands Trust Fund for regional reclamation & redevelopment projects.
In this episode we're exploring local history and regional news. First, WMMT’s Ohio Valley Resource Reporter Sydney Boles sets out to learn the history behind the RC Cola signs around Whitesburg. Then, from the WMMT archives, we revisit a story about the Houndog Hookers, rug makers from Blackey who grew to national notoriety during the 1950s and 60s. And finally from the Ohio Valley Resource, some recent regional news.
This episode previews multiple upcoming events in Letcher & Perry Counties in late May and early June 2019:
-a film screening of "Coal's Deadly Dust" followed by a panel discussion hosted by long-time NPR Reporter Howard Berkes at Appalshop on May 31st -a Healthy Communities Forum hosted by the Foundation For a Healthy Kentucky at CANE Kitchen on June 6th, -a weekend of free healthcare in Hazard, KY June 8-9 with the Remote Area Medical Clinic - and Appalshop's 33rd annual Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival, June 7-8, 2019 under our brand new solar pavilion!
In this episode we bring you recent news from the Ohio Valley Resource, an exploration into some curious billboards scattered around eastern Kentucky, some youth produced audio from the Appalachian Media Institute Library, and a story about this year’s free Levitt Amp concert series!
This episode begins with a celebration the craftsmanship of southwest Virginian musician and instrument builder Wayne Henderson, whose birthday is May 3rd.
Then, we hear excerpts from an interview with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson just days after a fire destroyed the main office building at the historic Highlander Center in New Market, TN on March 29, 2019. Henderson talks about the legacy of southern movements' resistance and resilience that Highlander has witnessed over its 87 year history.
And finally, we visit the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's Fire Summit in Pikeville this April, where high school students from across Eastern KY shared their inventions and ideas for economic and environmental changes in the region.
In this episode we’re remembering the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster in Raleigh County, WV in 2010, celebrating the life and musical legacy of Addie Graham with her grandson Rich Kirby, and reviewing some federal bills related to land and health here in the coalfields.
In this episode we’re talking about artistic collaborations, as well as the various ways people come to experience the unique culture of southeastern Kentucky. Whitesburg has hosted artists from all over the country and all over the world this month, and as more and more visitors come to eastern Kentucky, some Knott Countians are developing a visitors center and regional tourism website to welcome folks to our mountains and help them plan their visits.
First, we’ll hear sounds from earlier this March when a group of international and national musicians and artists visited Whitesburg for a week of musical and cultural exchange through the Mosaic Interactive Project. Then, we visit the Carr Creek Community Center in the old Carr Creek High School, for a recent press conference announcing the launch of a regional tourism initiative and visitors center. And last, we bring you a brief interview with Natalia Zuluaga, the Great Meadows Foundation’s 2019 Critic in Residence. Zuluaga will spend two months in Kentucky researching arts in the commonwealth, and as part of her fellowship she visited Appalshop to learn more about the organization’s history.
In this episode we bring you a variety of stories about research, events, and solutions to issues facing eastern Kentucky and the Appalachian Region.
First, Bev May and Nell Fields talk about their work with the Mountain AIR Project - researching and treating respiratory health issues in Letcher and Harlan Counties. Then, from the Ohio Valley Resource we’ll hear three regional news pieces exploring: new online approaches to providing therapy for survivors of domestic violence in rural areas, updates on new federal funding to expand broadband to rural communities, and questions around the economic relationship between state prisons and county jails in rural Kentucky counties. We’ll wrap this show up with a short interview with Crystal Kinser about TEDxCorbin, which is taking place on Saturday March 9th.
In this episode we bring you stories - past and present - on health, the economy and education in the mountains. We begin with four pieces from the Ohio Valley Resource and wrap up with the fourth in a six-part series from Michael & Carrie Kline with Talking Across the Lines about race and class in Mt. Hope, WV in the 1960s.
In this episode we bring you two stories highlighting how the economic decline here in eastern KY is being talked about at a national level. Then, in honor of Black History Month, this episode wraps up with the third in a 6-part series from Michael & Carrie Kline, exploring the history of desegregation in Mount Hope, WV.
In this episode, we bring you stories of sickness and health in Appalachia. First, from WMMT’s own Ohio Valley Resource reporter, Sydney Boles - we’ll hear from widows of miners with Black Lung about how effects of the deadly disease ripple out into the community. Then, also from OVR we’ll learn about a vaping company that in marketing products to teenagers, is creating a major health risk for youth.
While the first two stories focus on challenges to health in the region, we’ll finish this episode on a positive note with the second in a 6 part series from Michael and Carrie Kline. In this edition Fayetteville, WV residents Bernice Clayton and Nathan Shelton, describe their older family members’ ability to make do from scratch, from the land, with local and healthy home grown foods.
In this episode we bring you recent news from the Ohio Valley Resource on a proposed bill to shore up miners pension benefits and reinstate the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Then, WMMT’s Mimi Pickering takes us back a gathering of business women in Harlan County KY in November 2018. We finish this episode with the first in a 6 part series. Hope Shorts: Wit & Wisdom on Race Class & Community Survival from Mount Hope WV - was produced by Michael and Carrie Kline.
In this episode we bring you a range of stories past and present about some of the joys and challenges of life in Central Appalachia. WMMT reporter Sydney Boles brings us two recent stories: first about the struggle for clean drinking water in Wyoming County, WV in a community with lots of Mountain Top Removal mines, and then about a new LGBTQ+ safe space in Pikeville, KY.
In the second half of this episode, we bring you two youth-produced stories made during the 2007 Appalachian Media Institute's Audio Lab. "Aunt Carol" celebrates a dear family member, and "Bluegrass Loving Girl" explores what it was like for a young woman to love bluegrass even when her peers didn't.
This episode features stories centering the land we live on, and how we craft healthy lives for our families and communities on that land. From the archives we’ll hear a delightful story produced during the Appalachian Media Institute's 2009 Audio Lab. Sarah Craft recorded her family on hog-killing day.
Then, WMMT reporter Sydney Boles brings us an update on Letcher County’s CANE commercial kitchen.
Last, we’ll hear three pieces from the Ohio Valley ReSource. The first focuses on state policies across the region that restrict the expansion of renewable energy sources like solar. In the second, we learn about record breaking rates of Sexually Transmitted infections across the U.S. And last, we’ll hear about some ideas for how to clean up and re-purpose abandoned mine lands throughout Central Appalachia.
Photo of Letcher County Farmers Charlie and Joyce Pinson at the CANE Kitchen, by Sydney Boles.
It's been a heavy week in national news, so in this episode of Mtn. News we’re bringing you a hopeful story about the first ever pride festival in eastern KY, which took place in Pikeville on October 20th. And, from the Ohio Valley Resource, How is Healthcare shaping this mid-term election?
First, in this episode we bring you an update on the water crisis in Martin County, from WMMT’s new Ohio Valley Resource reporter, Sydney Boles. Then, from OVR, a piece about Dr. Rahul Gupta - Chief Health officer for the State of WV. And last, but not least, we’re in the midst of our Fall 2018 Fund Drive, so we wanted to share some clips from WMMT’s history with our listeners. We’ll hear an excerpt from a 2012 Mtn. Talk featuring stories of the early days here at the station.
In this episode we bring you two recent stories from the Ohio Valley Resource, and, we dust off a piece from our archives.
First, we learn about a recent lecture at West Virginia University by David Zatezalo - Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Administration. Zatezalo lays out the Trump Administration’s priorities for MSHA. Then, we learn about the challenges facing one West Virginia woman in recovery. Wendy Crites was stopped for driving under the influence of suboxone - even though it’s a prescribed medication aiding in her recovery.
And last, from the archives, we’ll hear a 2014 interview that Sylvia Ryerson did with Tom Brown - an apple grower from Clemmons, NC who has saved hundreds of varieties of Heirloom apples.
In this episode we bring you stories of Letcher County events aimed at supporting local community members. First, we'll hear audio from the recent Black Lung Town Hall hosted by the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center which brought together researchers, health care providers, lawyers, and community members affected personally by Black Lung to discuss the current epidemic, and strategies towards gaining government support for miners and their families.
Then, we'll learn about the recent opening of a brand new commercial kitchen run by Community Agricultural Nutritional Enterprises, Inc. or CANE. The kitchen is located at the old Whitesburg High School and aims to support local farmers in producing value added products to expand their economic possibilities.
In this episode we bring you two stories about local efforts to invest in our towns and communities, both recorded by WMMT’s Mimi Pickering.
First we’ll learn about the recent Naloxone Training held at the Letcher County Health Department, which provided attendees with a free training on how to spot and respond to an opioid overdose, and upon completion of the training a free Naloxone nasal spray.
In the second piece we learn about the first ever Great Mountain Mega Mural Fest held in Harlan County, KY in early August.
In this episode we bring you stories, history, and dreams for the future of the STAY Together Appalachian Youth Project. STAY is a regional youth network that has been working to create mountain communities where young Appalachians can and want to stay for the past 10 years. In July of 2018, STAY celebrated it’s 10th birthday at the Highlander Center in New Market, TN. We spoke with STAY members, and alums about what STAY means to them and to the region. Join us for the next hour as we celebrate the power and vision of mountain youth.
In this episode we bring you four stories exploring challenges to community health in our region. First we hear about the ACLU of VA's recent report on the use of solitary confinement in VA Prisons. Then from the Ohio Valley Resource we hear three stories about: Pension Problems, Spiking Black Lung Rates, and Climbing Hepatitis A cases in the Ohio Valley.
In this episode we bring you two stories about families in crisis. The first from right here in KY focuses on Governor Bevin’s cuts to Medicaid Vision and Dental Benefits which has left nearly 500,000 Kentuckians without coverage. The second features audio from a recent rally in Big Stone Gap VA, where nearly 60 community members came out in protest of the Trump Administration’s separation of immigrant children from their parents at the border.
In this show we bring you stories of historically marginalized communities creating space in the mainstream. First, WMMT’s Rachel Garringer brings us along for the opening of Letcher County, KY’s first ever LGBTQ Safe Space. Then from the Ohio Valley Resource we’ll learn about the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, and, the UN’s report on Poverty in the U.S.
First, in this episode, we'll hear recent news from the Ohio Valley ReSource on the new Appalachian Regional Commission appointment, and an outbreak of Hepatitis A in the region. Then, we hear audio from a 2017 ARC health roundtable presentation about "diseases of despair" in the mountains. Finally we'll hear audio from the "What's Next EKY?" gathering in Hindman, KY last week.
This episode of Mountain News focuses on caring for our communities past, present and future is now up over on the website.
Give it a listen for stories about #ChildAbusePreventionMonth, community efforts to clean up a historic Black cemetery in SWVA, & a cross-cultural conversation on empathy between Letcher County's own Gwen Johnson and Milmon F. Harrison - Professor of African-American and African Studies at the Univeristy of California in Davis from the Imagining America StoryShare Project.
This episode of Mountain News and World Report begins with a remembrance of the Buffalo Creek Disaster, which took place 46 years ago on February 26. Then, we hear two stories from Ohio Valley ReSource about the Black Lung Epidemic and Data Analysis of the WV Drug Overdose Epidemic. Finally, Rich Kirby brings us a story of a new restaurant and hotel in St. Paul, VA aiming to increase tourism to SWVA.
It’s been a big week in Kentucky, from right here in Letcher County all the way to Frankfort-- stories happening in our communities have been making waves and getting national attention. From the KY teachers rally in Frankfort on April 2nd to local efforts to feed students while teachers strike. From the U.S. Bureau of Prison's record of decision signaling plans to move forward with construction of a Federal Prison in Letcher County, to KY state lawmakers passing legislation that makes it harder for miners to access treatment for black lung. April is in with a bang.
On this episode we’re exploring issues in education. First, we’ll hear from Letcher County Teachers who rallied in support of public education and in opposition to Governor Bevin’s proposed pension reforms on Monday, March 19th. This episode ends with a piece about students organizing against gun violence in the wake of the Parkland School Shooting in Florida last month.
This week on Mountain News & World Report we hear interviews with WV Teachers about why they went on strike. Then, we hear 3 pieces from the Ohio Valley ReSource about issues in rural community health: pesticides, HIV, and water.
Photo by Greenbrier County Teacher, Emily Haas.
In this episode we remember tragic news from our region’s past, and we explore current news about public health crises in our mountains, and of new economic development projects. February 26 marks the 46th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Disaster in Logan County, West Virginia. We begin our program with a piece from the WMMT Archives produced by Mimi Pickering.
Then, we bring you two pieces from the Ohio Valley Resource. The first focuses on the unprecedented Black Lung Epidemic in Central Appalachia today. The second brings us information about a new data analysis system being used to address the opioid epidemic in West Virginia.
Finally, Rich Kirby brings us the story of a new restaurant and hotel in St. Paul, Virginia which aims to increase economic development through tourism in the region.
In this episode of Mountain News we bring you multiple pieces with a theme of reflecting on the past. First, we hear from current & past members of the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project, a Central Appalachian regional youth organization celebrating its 10th anniversary this year! STAY members joined us to talk about their upcoming Appalachian Love Week - which aims to lift up stories of our complex active love for the mountains we call home. Then, we bring you a series of four pieces from the Ohio Valley Resource - which focus on Trump’s first year in the White House - measuring his campaign promises against outcomes.
This week we bring you stories about community health, from the ground up! First we’ll hear about a new bakery which aims to provide Letcher County residents with healthy, locally sourced breads and baked goods while supporting Drug Court participants in their journeys to recovery. Then, we’ll hear Whitesburg’s own Dr. Van Breeding speaking on a panel presentation at Appalshop last week, in which local media makers, lawyers, and healthcare providers talked to students with the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance about healthcare needs in EKY.
In this week's Mountain News and World Report we look forward towards possibilities for economic development in the region, and we look back, remembering two great writers, readers, and supporters of justice and education in Appalachia.
Our first story features a new workforce training and economic development program called the Southeast KY Revitalization Project. Then, we’ll hear two remembrances of great mountain writers who’ve recently passed away. The first, of Paul Nyden - a journalist at the Charleston Gazette for over 30 years who is infamous for holding those in power accountable to the people. And the last, of Anne Caudill - best known as the wife of writer Harry Caudill - but also a writer, thinker, and lover of learning herself.
On this episode we bring you two stories from the Archive. One was produced by Kelli Haywood in 2016 and features the history of Joe Packs - a Letcher County favorite restaurant in Isom, KY. The other - produced by Beth Bingman - is an exploration into the history of the Fellowship House Day Camp, an integrated summer camp hosted in Knoxville during the 50s and 60s. But first, we bring you a recent news story from the Ohio Valley Resource about the possibilities of marketing rare earth elements in acid mine runoff.
This week's program brings together stories that question what comes next for our region. As coal jobs decline throughout Central Appalachia - communities, scientists, and schools work to develop innovative approaches to economic transition.
First, we’ll hear a story from the Ohio Valley Resource about the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative’s work to provide relevant, effective education in uncertain economic times.
Then, we’ll hear an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Jeremy Richardson from the Got Science Podcast. Richardson is a senior energy analyst in the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists - and he speaks about his research on economic diversification in the West Virginia coal fields.
And finally we bring you an interview with Brett Ratliff and Abby Huggins at the Hindman Settlement School about the upcoming 3rd annual Dumplins and Dancin event- a weekend celebration of the rich food and traditional dance communities in our mountains.
This week on Mountain News & World Report we hear stories of communities throughout Central Appalachia speaking out against injustice, documenting important stories and perspectives, and organizing to create change.
This edition brings you stories of: -LGBTQ+ organizing in the mountains through the Appalachian Community Fund's Out in the South Project, -young women documenting reproductive healthcare through the All Access EKY Program, -and Letcher and Pike County State Representative Angie Hatton speaking out against KY Power's proposed rate increase.
On this edition of Mountain News & World Report we’re talking about healing ourselves. It’s no secret that Central Appalachia faces a devastating drug epidemic, or, that our economy is struggling. These challenges call for creative solutions, and in this episode we hear about local, regional, and national projects aimed at creating healthier communities and economies in Central Appalachia. First, is a story about the new Netflix Documentary "Heroin(e)" which follows three women - a fire chief, a judge, and a street missionary as they battle Huntington, West Virginia’s drug epidemic. Next, the Ohio Valley Resource brings us a story about Trump's newly declared "Opioid Emergency." And lastly, we learn about the Herb Hub: a new project based in Duffield, VA which aims to support Appalachian farmers in growing and selling wild medicinal plants.
*Photo is 11 year old Magnolia Huish harvesting cohosh on her family farm, submitted by her father Ryan Huish - one of four growers participating in the first season of the Herb Hub in Duffield, VA.
On this week's Mountain News & World Report: Appalachia has long been known as a home to traditional music and crafts, but less well known is our thriving digital arts scene. We'll hear from WMMT's Rich Kirby about the history of the guitar and the Crooked Road Heritage Music Project, an excerpt from Malcolm Wilson's 2016 Interview with WV born musician Glen Simpson, and WMMT's Rachel Garringer shares a piece about Appalachian Media Institute youth filmmaker Oakley Fugate - who was recently selected for an exciting fellowship!
It's been a big year for internet in the coalfields, and across rural Appalachia. In this episode: stories of people who have internet access and others who don't, communities organizing to get better access, and projects that use the internet to create new jobs.
Appalachian health is continuing to fall behind the rest of the nation, a government study into the health effects of surface mining was suddenly stopped, and Appalshop's Alex Gibson reflects on the rural-urban divide.
On this week's Mountain News & World Report: Painting and hiding rocks is hugely popular new pastime in Letcher County, the idea of giving a prescription for fresh produce from the farmer's market is spreading, and leaders like Coach Calipari, Governor Bevin, and Congressman Rogers share the ideas they want to spread at this year's SOAR Summit.
This episode features a July news roundup of some of the top stories from the Ohio Valley ReSource and the Public News Service. Listen to hear about pesticides and bees, water quality in the Ohio Valley, the energy sector's switch from coal to natural gas and what that means for the environment, and more.
This episode is dedicated to youthful insight. Listen to hear about a partnership between Kids On The Move - Perry County Wellness Coalition and the non-profit Go Give Yoga to bring yoga to the children of Appalachia. Also featured are stories about making old-time music modern, and the tale of how a ghost's testimony was used to convict a husband of murder in West Virginia.
The extent of the opioid crisis in Central Appalachia is not a secret. It has been covered extensively by national media in terms of statistics and the degree to which pharmaceutical companies are to blame. However, the solutions to the problem springing up within the communities themselves, and the current ramifications of having lost a generation of community members to addiction have long been overlooked. Communities throughout the coalfields are grappling with statistically significant problems when it comes to meeting the needs of preschool and school aged youth being born to addicted parents. This episode of Mountain News & World Report takes an in depth look at the reality and the solutions being tried.
Image courtesy of patrisyu at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This episode looks deeper into the struggle that many Appalachian people experience with wanting to remain in the place they came from to live, work, and raise their families. With fewer economic opportunities, many are choosing to leave the region they call home simply to find work. Yet, there's always the pull to face the struggle and stay home come hell or high water. West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Inside Appalachia, and the Ohio Valley ReSource with WMMT contribute to this episode. Additional music is "Oh Girl" by The Chi-Lites as played by Kentuckian Issac Boone Davis.
In this special edition episode, Mountain News & World Report takes a look at some of the pieces of the "silver buckshot" theory of economic diversification for coalfields Appalachia, trying all the ideas to see which ones work. Some of the most tangible ideas are farming, tourism, reclamation, and cultural arts. Join us for a look into the region's reality, history, and future for each of these endeavors. Segments for the show this week were produced by Ohio Valley ReSource, Allegheny Mountain Radio, The Allegheny Front, and Folk Life Fieldnotes.
-Visit Wirt Co., West Virginia with Ohio Valley ReSource reporter Aaron Payne to see why it is among some of the counties in Central Appalachia that is beating the statistical odds with better than expected health outcomes. -Three regional reporters from the Ohio Valley ReSource offer their analysis of possible new ideas to bring jobs and well being to mining country. -WMMT's Randy Wilson pays tribute to Knott Co., Kentucky author and artist Verna Mae Slone. Slone is best known for her memoir - What My Heart Wants to Tell.
-Malcolm and Jennifer Wilson of Humans of Central Appalachia speak with Dock Frazier, owner of the Farm House General Store in Ermine, Kentucky about connection to the land and the entrepreneurial spirit. -Dr. Stephanie (May) Lang of the Kentucky Historical Society stops in Prestonsburg, Kentucky to listen to the community's reasons for loving Kentucky, problems they feel Kentuckians face, and what we can do to make things better, as Kentucky celebrates 225 years as a commonwealth.
-Ohio Valley ReSource's Glynis Board, reports on new companies in the region that are creating jobs by restoring properties disturbed by mining and other large scale development activities. -OVR's Mary Meehan brings us a picture of what President Trump's 21% proposed cut to agriculture funding would mean to those who need nutritious food, and those farmers who provide it. -WFPL of Louisville's Erica Peterson shares the story of a coal company working with a renewable energy partner to create Kentucky's largest solar panel array on a former strip mine in Pike County, Kentucky. -For Wade Mainer, the Grandfather of Bluegrass, a birthday tribute from Appalshop Archive.
-Mimi Pickering and Benny Becker report on how the digital divide is affecting one east Kentucky community and how they’re working to remedy the situation through working toward access to true broadband internet services. -The Kentucky Homebirth Coalition is a grassroots organization who have been working diligently to pass legislation to license certified professional midwives to fill some of the void when it comes to access to prenatal and birthing care throughout the state. Kelli Haywood shares the story.
- The Ohio Valley ReSource explores how the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) expanded substance abuse treatment for thousands, including recovering addict Wendy Crites. Producers Glynis Board and Rebecca Kiger bring us the story of Crites’ struggle for sobriety, told in her own words. -Crime statistics show human trafficking is on the rise, including here in the Ohio Valley region. Now, some former victims of trafficking are raising awareness, and they've teamed up with some unlikely allies. -Tim Sanders and his wife Becky have moved back to Tim's boyhood home here in eastern Kentucky after 45 years to live the self reliant lifestyle, but quickly found they were part of a new economy building itself in coalfields Appalachia.
This is an episode dedicated to the Ohio Valley ReSource, a regional news collaborative of seven radio stations across three states. WMMT is one of those stations, and our reporter Benny Becker represents eastern Kentucky in the OVR. - Benny Becker has the story of the troubled past of water quality in Martin County, Kentucky and how many have lost trust in their water and their government. (This piece was recently picked to air on NPR.) - Aaron Payne delivers the startling statistics and stories behind the region's infants born to addicted mothers in - Born Addicted: The Race to Treat the Ohio Valley's Drug Addicted Babies. Payne is based in Athens, Ohio at WOUB. - WMMT's Kelli Haywood speaks with Jeff Young who is the managing editor of the Ohio Valley ReSource and works from WFPL in Louisville, Kentucky, about the importance of regional journalism and the OVR model in these questioning times.
Hazard, Kentucky: Boom or Bust? Take an in depth look at community efforts to revitalize downtown Hazard with WMMT's Kelli Haywood. An entire half hour devoted to the voices of Hazard sharing their dreams, disappointments, bumps in the road, and successes as they try to rebuild a livable community through food, arts, culture, and more.
-Kentucky River Community Care's Sapling Center in Whitesburg offers transitional youth a safe place to access basic necessities, technology, mental health services, and support for transitioning into independent living. -The Boone Youth Drop-In Center (Appalachian Media Institute) also in Whitesburg offers a safe and sober place for those ages 14-22 to spend time, access technology, create art, play music and games, take workshops, learn creative skills, and be fully themselves. -Stephanie Chernyaskiy (aged 24) a Letcher County native shares her optimism about the next 4 years with Donald Trump as president. Hannah Adams (aged 18) also of Letcher County shares what those of us living in small coalfields towns do with divided politics and no place to hide from them.
-Mary Meehan of the Ohio Valley ReSource finds changing opinions in one eastern Kentucky community toward the increased risk of HepC and HIV outbreak due to IV drug use and needle exchange programs. -WMMT's Mimi Pickering talks to healthcare service providers and economy experts regarding the boost the Affordable Care Act has given to the health of the people and the economy of eastern Kentucky, and what its repeal might mean for the future. -Glynis Board with the Ohio Valley ReSource speaks with photographer Rebecca Kiger about documenting the transitioning economy of coalfields Appalachia.
-NPR's Howard Berkes delivers the final segment of his two part investigative reporting collaboration with WMMT's Benny Becker with the Ohio Valley ReSource on the resurgence of complicated black lung disease among miners in Central Appalachia. -West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Jessica Lily interviews Howard Berkes on the making of his newest radio series on black lung disease. -WMMT pays tribute to former West Virginia Democratic Congressman, Kenneth William Hechler who passed away on December 10th, 2016.
-Benny Becker of WMMT and the Ohio Valley ReSource highlights the struggle and immense strength of the Branham family of Pike County, Kentucky whose father at the age of 38 was diagnosed with the most severe form of black lung disease and rendered unable to work. -Howard Berkes of NPR in collaboration with Benny Becker and the Ohio Valley ReSource reports on the data revealing an alarming increase of the form of black lung Mackie Branham Jr. is experiencing across all of Central Appalachia. -WMMT’s Kelli Haywood shares the progress of The City Built on Coal Project funded in Jenkins, Kentucky by the National Endowment for the Arts – Our Town Program, and the unveiling of a new mural at one entrance to Jenkins.
-With regional obesity rates some of the highest, Ohio Valley ReSource reporter Mary Meehan explores a new way of thinking about food – mindful eating. -Russell Huff of Harlan County, Kentucky tells the story of the late building of access roads from many of our eastern Kentucky hollers to the major roads and highways in his contribution to the Humans of Central Appalachia Project. -Central Appalachia Wonders (CAW) welcomes Mike Hansel, a local Environmental Manger for a Regional Energy Co., and Jason Forson, an Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, answering our very first listener question submitted by John Skaggs about the condition of our roads in coalfields Appalachia.
-How do regional rates of opioid misuse affect the potential for transitioning the economy of coalfields Appalachia? Report Kelli Haywood speaks with business owners, healthcare providers, and government officials about employment and addiction. -Carrie Mullins, author of debut novel Night Garden, speaks with Kelli Haywood about the crisis of addiction and the humanity in the midst. -Aaron Payne of the Ohio Valley ReSource gives an update on the use of the overdose drug naloxone. Kelli Haywood shares a special public service announcement for all persons and families navigating active addiction.
- Reporter Kelli Haywood visits the small community of Hemphill, Kentucky to learn how volunteers are turning a circa 1943 elementary school into a happening place to be on Friday nights. -Jeff Young of the Ohio Valley ReSource interviews authors J.D. Vance and Nancy Isenberg on their respective works on the issues facing the white working class. -Gwen Johnson of Neon, Kentucky tells the town of how her oddly named hometown received its moniker
-NPR's Howard Berkes reports on West Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice being the nation's top delinquent mine owner, owing millions in back taxes and safety violation fines. -With WMMT and OVR, Benny Becker reports on Justice's most troubling debts and damaged lands in eastern Kentucky. -WVPB's Ashton Marra interviews Howard Berkes on the process of reporting on Jim Justice and why such reports are pertinent around election day.
- Contributor Beth Bingman shares the story of the first successful racially integrated summer camp in Appalachia - Fellowship House Day Camp in Knoxville, TN.
- Eula Hall (healthcare activist and founder of the Mud Creek Clinic) shares the harrowing story of her mother's brush with death during childbirth due to lack of medical care.
- Citizens in Prestonsburg, Kentucky speak out about their concerns over Governor Matt Bevin's proposed changes to Medicaid.
-Mary Gail Adams tells the story of her mother and the Hound Dog Hookers, a group of wool rug makers in Blackey, Kentucky established in the 1960s as part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty effort. -The Administrator of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, Jay Williams, speaks on the correlation between the economic difficulties of eastern Kentucky and that experienced in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio with the collapse of the steel industry. -Along with the Humans of Central Appalachia project, WMMT pays tribute to Whitesburg, Kentucky’s beloved artist, restaurateur, volunteer, and grandmother – Judith Vermillion.
-Former WMMT reporter and DJ Sylvia Ryerson (aka Sly Rye) speak on WNYC’s nationally syndicated program The Takeaway. She along with story contributor Michelle Hudson and host John Hockenberry discuss her project Restorative Radio which connects those incarcerated in prisons across Central Appalachia with their loved ones at home. -The National Academy of Sciences is launching a comprehensive study of how mountaintop removal coal mining affects the health of those who live nearby. WMMT’s Benny Becker reports for the Ohio Valley ReSource, on how past efforts at research ran into roadblocks and delays. -WMMT’s Kelli Haywood spoke with two community college professors in southeastern Kentucky about ways the Kentucky Community and Technical College System is working to prepare their students to adapt to a changing economy in eastern Kentucky through the STEAM model of education.
In this episode of Mountain News & World Report, learn how the Farmacy program started in Letcher County, Kentucky is becoming a model for health and economic transition nationwide. Hear youth from Appalachia talking about their perceptions of their eastern Kentucky home and whether or not they can stay. And reporting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership by Becca Schimmel of the Ohio Valley ReSource.
-Joe’s Drive-In Chicken (aka Joe Pack’s) is celebrating 50 years as a Letcher County, Kentucky business this year. How does a family business survive 50 years in a boom and bust economy? This story was created with Malcolm J. Wilson of Humans of Central Appalachia. -A community health forum was recently held in Whitesburg, Kentucky including representatives from the University of Kentucky, Kentucky Homeplace, Mountain Comprehensive Health Care, and the federal agency – National Institutes of Environmental Health and Sciences. The forum’s goal was to collect the information about what the community views as its top health concerns. WMMT reporter Benny Becker highlights the forum.
-WMMT reporter Kelli Haywood explores the impact that the region’s opioid addiction problems are having on our ability to transition the economy now and the ramifications for the future. -Aaron Payne, from the Ohio Valley ReSource, gives the latest update on CARA (Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act). -In celebration of what would have been the 92nd birthday of Kentucky Civil Rights activist, Anne Braden, filmmaker and reporter Mimi Pickering shares stories of Braden’s early work and experiences from the film she made along with Anne Lewis – Anne Braden: Southern Patriot.
-To celebrate the 108th birthday of Appalachian writer Harriette Simpson Arnow, hear an excerpt from the 1987 Appalshop Film by Herb E. Smith - Harriette Arnow 1908-1986. -WMMT's Rich Kirby interviews Appalshop filmmaker Herb E. Smith, maker of the 2000 film - The Ralph Stanley Story, on the life and passing of bluegrass great Dr. Ralph Stanley. -From the Humans of Central Appalachia project and Malcolm J. Wilson, we feature the story of Morgan Canty, a 21 year old young man of color from Bristol, TN who encourages us all to act out what we know best - getting to know our neighbors. (And, he has the voice of an angel!)
-Kara Lofton, health reporter for West Virginia Public Radio, speaks with UMWA members and others about the recent rally in Lexington, Kentucky and what the stalemate in Congress surrounding shoring up retirement benefits for miners and their families will mean for their future. -Hear audio recordings of the late balladeer and organizer Sarah Ogan Gunning and those close with her and her family from Mimi Pickering’s 1988 Appalshop Films release – Dreadful Memories. -The Cowan Creek Mountain Music School just ended its 15th year with a record attendance. WMMT reporter Kelli Haywood covers how the music school, Cowan Community Center, and others are exploring a new way of organizing the community for the greater good of all – the Letcher County Culture Hub.
This episode of Mountain News & World Report considers the efforts of central Appalachians to create resources to address critical public health needs. From our very beginnings, we have had to develop our own way of caring for our communities. As illustrated in the audio for the third segment of this show, through trial and error, and a little ingenuity, we have found remedies that work to bring better health to the people. When John Long and Elizabeth Barret released Nature’s Way in 1973 through Appalshop Films, many mountain folks were still going their entire lives without ever seeing a doctor. Babies were born at home. Fevers were sweated out. Pain was treated with a poultice of herbs. Effort was put behind the troubleshooting of the communities’ healthcare needs and the successes were adopted and passed down through generations as tried and true.
The need to give an effort to the crises of our people is evident in the story of our second segment – Beldon Scott Mullins. He is a twenty year veteran of law enforcement in Wise, Virginia and shared his story with Malcolm J. Wilson as part of the Humans of Central Appalachia Project. Mullins has seen the use of drugs change in his community over his years in the force, and he grieves about the impact on the people.
In our first story from WMMT reporter Kelli Haywood, you will hear of the year long effort of public health professional and Whitesburg, Kentucky resident, Danielle King, to see a clean needle exchange program created for Letcher County. Recent reports from the CDC has placed 54 Kentucky counties at the highest risk in the nation for an epidemic of HIV and Hepatitis C brought on by the use of intravenous drugs. King and her colleagues have worked to investigate what operating a needle exchange to address this problem might entail and they have put forth a public education campaign to move the need for a program along to a reality. However, it seems like a needle exchange is still far from an actuality for Letcher County. Haywood also speaks with Dr. Rafael Rangel, Director of the Pike County Health Department, who’s experience in finding support and funding for creating a needle exchange program in neighboring Pike County is in deep contrast to that of King and her colleagues. Dr. Rangel’s program begins July 6, 2016 in Pikeville. Jon, a recovering addict, describes to Haywood the first time he was subjected to intravenous drug use at the age of twelve when his true informed consent was not possible.
In this episode of Mountain News & World Report, we highlight two regional happenings-- the Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival here on the grounds of Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky starting Friday June 3rd and going through Saturday, June 4th, and the SOAR Innovation Summit which will be held at the Pikeville Exposition Center on Monday, June 6th. In the Seedtime rundown you will hear a clip from the Tom Hansell film, After Coal which compares the Appalachian coalfields experience to that of the coalfields of South Wales who have already had to transition their economy away from mining. Also, in that segment, Appalshop Archive shares with us a clip of a 1981 Headwaters film of Lee Sexton and his former fiddle player, the late, great Marion Sumner.
Then, to end the show, WMMT reporter Benny Becker discusses the future of the SOAR – Shaping Our Appalachian Region with Jared Arnett-- SOAR's executive director, and with Willa Johnson who works with youth through the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) and an online learning platform called The Holler.
Having access to life saving healthcare in the eastern Kentucky mountains as in all of rural Appalachia has always been a struggle. Obstacles to receiving proper healthcare are numerous including lack of doctors and especially specialty doctors, transportation issues, no insurance or low income, and no childcare. Because of these barriers, eastern Kentucky is among some of the poorest in the nation for health outcomes. In this episode of Mountain News & World Report, we examine how eastern Kentuckians have made a life within the limitations of this reality, and how sometimes we take our health into our own hands. Not only this, but we see how healthcare has been a support to the economy in eastern Kentucky and how our old and new ways of receiving it cannot be ignored for our future.
An act of marking one’s pleasure at an important event or occasion by engaging in enjoyable, typically social, activity… that is the formal definition of a celebration. As we know, sometimes the need for having a celebration precedes the cause. In this episode of Mountain News & World Report, we are looking at – Reasons to Celebrate. Our show begins in Harlan County, where Benny Becker met George Ella Lyon, a native East Kentuckian, who is currently serving as the state’s poet laureate. Her works spans many genres including poetry, novel, picture books, and children’s literature.
For our next segment, we visit the small towns nestled along the banks of the Clinch River in Virginia. WMMT Contributor Rich Kirby takes us there to note the celebration of the Clinch River Valley Initiative. A coalition of public and private groups sought to have a patchwork of land spread across 130 miles of the Clinch River declared as a state park in spite of its unconventional layout to help the area realize its potential as a major tourist attraction.
Documentary filmmaker, Sellus Wilder, who is running for the democratic nomination for Kentucky’s U.S. Senate seat, visited WMMT studios during his recent driving tour of eastern Kentucky. His new documentary, “The End of the Line“ tells the story of how grassroots organizing defeated the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline, and the film celebrates the power of everyday people, working together. WMMT does not endorse political candidates, but as a public service, we welcome interviews with anyone running for political office. Kelli Haywood spoke with Sellus Wilder on April 25th when he passed through Whitesburg to meet with local citizens and community leaders.
For the final piece, we add the voice of Elizabeth Ramey as part of WMMT’s ongoing collaboration with Malcolm J. Wilson and Humans of Central Appalachia. Elizabeth’s story brings our exploration of celebration home to family.
Being a region in transition, it is inevitable that we will not always agree on what is the best way to move forward. At times, we have seen that we aren’t at odds with outsiders, elusive government officials, or big corporations, but we are at odds with ourselves. As residents invested in the future of the region, we each have a right to have our voice heard and our opinions considered when addressing the future economy and current need to make ends meet. How much is too much? How far is too far? When do we end up shooting ourselves in the foot? For the first story in this exploration, WMMT’s Benny Becker interviews the key players in the recent addition of the Russell Fork River to the American Rivers 10 Most Endangered listing by the group Appalachian Voices. It seems some citizens in Elkorn City, a town we recently featured on Mountain News & World Report, believe that the move could be detrimental to their efforts to maintain the current tourism boom they are seeing around the river and their hopes to increase it. When both partners at the table have a similar goal, but a different idea on how to get there, who is right? Does it matter?
Recently, Kentucky state politicians put forth two bills in the legislature that received support from the governor and the Kentucky Coal Association, that would have rolled back some of the safety regulations that had been put into place to protect miners after years of public push for such measures. In our second segment, Kelli Haywood seeks to find out if such cut backs will actually be of any benefit the jobs miners, the financial integrity of struggling coal companies, and the state budget, or will it put miners’ lives at undue risk.
And finally, from Appalshop Archive and the late Buck Maggard, we present an interview with “The Grandfather of Bluegrass” – Wade Mainer, who would have celebrated his 109th birthday on April 21st. From Buncombe County, North Carolina, Mainer’s innovative 2-finger banjo picking style is considered the precursor to the 3-finger playing style used in today’s bluegrass music. Mainer plays a few tunes with his wife Julia, discusses his favorite song, and his take on environmental stewardship.
It seems everything in our mountain home is in a state of transition. Change can be hard, but also good. It is a time to take the bull by the horns and stop beating the dead horse — to use some commonplace phrasing. This week on Mountain News & World Report, we are looking at a few of our Traditions in Transition. What traditions are worth putting time, money, and effort toward preserving? What time honored traditions might serve us as we transition into a new economy and which ones should we release in order to make room for new thoughts and ideas? WMMT’s Kelli Haywood begins this episode asking just those questions as she explores the efforts of the Letcher County Culture Hub in introducing squaredancing to a new generation and attempting to reinvigorate the tradition in that generation’s parents and grandparents. What she found might surprise you. Be sure to let us know what you think as well by commenting.
In our second story, Benny Becker attends the 4th Annual Appalachian Seed Swap and speaks with Joseph Simcox and Joyce Pinson who participate in the event. Simcox has traveled the world collecting and swapping seeds and along with Pinson believes that Appalachia can be a hub for the revival of small scale, sustainable agriculture. Not only does Simcox share some of the seeds of knowledge he’s collected from his world travels, but puts forward his idea for how Central Appalachia can use agriculture to transform our economy and reclaim our mined lands.
And, to end the show, we include the story of Brian Fields as interviewed by Malcolm J. Wilson of Humans of Central Appalachia. Fields works in retraining former miners for a variety of careers. He also comes from a long line of musicians and farmers. His story illustrates how it is just second nature at times to take on tradition as part of your own identity.
This is a mind bending edition of Mountain News & World Report, as we attempt to imagine the (im)possible – a real, just, economic transition for the mountains. In exploring what it means to have faith in our abilities to create something out of little to nothing, we discovered that this faith is the legacy of our mountain ancestors. Mountain people have been “making do” since time immemorial, not only to simply survive, but to thrive and find joy in the least obvious of places. For this episode, we begin in 1950s Knoxville, TN at the Fellowship House Summer-Day Camp, one of the first successful attempts at racially integrating activities for children. This effort was dreamed of by community members and brought to fruition by those same people. WMMT contributor Beth Bingman attended the camp as a child, and brings us this story.
In our second segment, we take a leap into the future with KVEC’s FIREShare podcast producers Willa Johnson and Tanya Turner as they bring us a report on The Holler. University of Pikeville professor Bruce Parsons details the efforts of The Holler – a website and physical space geared toward opening a dialogue about technology in the region while serving as a tool for those who want to learn to use technology more effectively and develop technological skills as a personal asset. Those working on The Holler believe ” using technology in this way shows that the people of Central Appalachia can utilize the same tools as those around the world and put it to use for our own purposes and betterment of our own communities.” As Parsons and other believe, projects like The Holler show that technology could be a real key to our future ability to stay, work, and live in the mountains.
Finally, we feature the launch of the newest player in the coined “Silicon Holler,” – Mountain Tech Media (MTM) in Whitesburg, Kentucky. MTM is a diversified technology and media services company that prides itself on being a “creative cooperative” by encouraging the professionals working for MTM to own the company they are helping to build. Companies like MTM hope to be the future employers of these tech savvy mountain folks. We are actively working together to make the impossible possible. It is innovation in action. A true mind expansion from the depths of the deepest night to the light of what will be tomorrow.
This edition of Mountain News & World Report brings us the complicated legacy that coal is leaving in the mountains of southeastern, Kentucky. While on one hand we are proud to be miners and the children of miners, and we are grateful for the good paying jobs the industry has brought to the region, on the other hand, we are left wondering what now. In this time when the coal industry is in decline, we are reminded that the changes brought about by over a century mining coal aren’t easily adjusted. The first segment of this episode shares the story of Phillip Johnson and his family whose land has been strip-mined without their consent in recent years not unlike what was seen in the days of the Broadform Deed. While use of the broadform deed ended in 1988 through popular vote, the Johnsons found that there continues to be means by which a company can mine for minerals underneath the ground of a landowner who has not agreed to mining. Not only can they, but they can do so perfectly legally in Kentucky. WMMT contributor, Parker Hobson, brings us the story in collaboration with Tarence Ray of Appalachian Voices who has provided the photo of the Johnson property for this post. You can read Ray’s article and see more photographs at this link.
Then, we revisit coverage from WMMT’s Rich Kirby in 2010 of the dedication of a permanent marker in remembrance of the Scotia Mine Disaster. March 9, 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of two mine explosions in Letcher Co., Kentucky. Dr. Greg Wagner gave an informative and thought-provoking commemorative speech revealing the complexities and sorrows these tragedies leave behind. And, finally, we have the story of Jeremy Brock of Evarts, Kentucky in our ongoing feature with Humans of Central Appalachia. Brock is an underground miner, father, and competition barbecuer. Like all of us, he’s wondering what happens when the mining jobs are all gone. Will his passion for barbecue be enough to carry him and his family through?
In this episode of Mountain News & World Report, we go a little deeper with two very important news stories that point to the fact that our way of life in the Kentucky mountains is changing drastically and it all boils down to money, or the lack thereof. We begin this broadcast with a story from WMMT reporter Benny Becker. He looks at how the current state of the economy is affecting the senior citizens of Letcher County, Kentucky. Shrinking income from coal severance taxes have led to budget shortages, and just recently, that led to a big reduction in services for seniors when all of the senior citizens centers across the county closed doors and the Meals on Wheels program discontinued. For us here at WMMT, that raised a question– Are we letting the economy change how we take care of our elders?
And finally, Kelli Haywood reports on the February 12th visit of Governor Matt Bevin to Hazard where he addressed the concerns of economy that we are facing in coalfields Kentucky. Bevin addressed a substantial crowd at Hazard Community and Technical College, but did he bring along any hope? What could our future look like in these mountains and in Kentucky in general? Bevin speaks to the decline in coal production, education, technology, prisons, and the strength of will among eastern Kentuckians.
•Can Hindman, Kentucky overcome a sense of despair to work together to create new economic opportunity and revive their town? (In Part II of the Hindman series, Kelli Haywood speaks to representatives of the Hindman Settlement School, Appalachian Artisan Center, and community artist Sean Starowitz.) •High speed internet is already bringing new jobs— and the FCC Chairman— to Eastern Kentucky (New WMMT Reporter Benny Becker Brings the Story) •The RECLAIM Act Explained! – (As introduced in the House by Congressman Hal Rogers on Feb. 3)
•Hindman awakens new opportunity to revitalize the economy through a rich cultural heritage in arts and music •Humans of Central Appalachia (Doug Naselroad – Master Lutheiry in Residence at the Bolen Woodworking Studio in Hindman,KY) •“White Highways” written and read by James Still from Appalshop Archive