Hellos and Goodbyes
We’re thrilled to welcome Lauren Essick to our staff as Distribution Manager of The Appalachian Voice and as Appalachian Voices’ Operations and Outreach Associate. Lauren will manage the distribution of the publication — which involves 61,000 newspapers and nearly 100 volunteers — and help coordinate our volunteer and outreach activities. She started with Appalachian Voices as a volunteer back in 2009, helping to raise awareness of mountaintop removal coal mining, and has helped us distribute The Appalachian Voice in Asheville, N.C., for the past four years.
We also bid a fond farewell to Kara Dodson, who served as our Field Coordinator for the past year and as an intern for three summers. Kara brought incredible passion and enthusiasm to her work with residents affected by environmental threats. We wish her well during her next endeavors, and are glad that she will remain part of the Appalachian Voices family as a volunteer!
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The Washout and Rebuild
For nearly two years, residents of Unicoi County, Tennessee, have had to make do without a hospital after Hurricane Helene destroyed the rural hospital. Ballad Health, which owns the hospital, broke ground on a new location — in another floodplain — in August 2026.
The Shenandoah Salamander
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‘Foraging Is a Way of Connecting’
Foraging has experienced a modern resurgence, partly because of social media, online groups, the pandemic and people wanting to connect with nature. It also builds community, whether in person or online.
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