A Fond Farewell

Appalachian Voices would like to bid a very fond farewell to our two Energy Savings AmeriCorps Project Conserve outreach associates, Katie Kienbaum and Becca Bauer, who both worked to bring energy efficiency to Western North Carolina. Katie worked with us for two service years, and leaves us for a full time position with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, Minn. Becca, who served with us for the 2017-18 service term, heads out on several travel adventures including hiking the 500-mile Colorado Trail.

We also say a tearful goodbye to Lydia Graves, our New Economy field coordinator based in Norton, Va. Lydia joined as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2017, and worked to build a new, sustainable economy for the Southwest Virginia coal region. She heads out on an exciting adventure to serve as an au pair for a year in a small town on the French coast.

We thank these three fantastic individuals for their devoted and passionate work, and wish them all the best in the future.

After 20 years, Letcher County prison proposal is still alive, though obstacles remain

A $605 million proposal for a federal prison on a former strip mine site in Letcher County, Kentucky, championed by U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, refuses to die, despite local opposition, a lack of support from the executive branch and numerous other obstacles.

Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Erwin, Tennessee. Photo by Abby Hassler

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.