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Onward and Upward, Mary Anne Hitt!
Appalachian Voices’ Executive Director Takes New Position With Sierra Club This November, Appalachian Voices’ executive director Mary Anne Hitt will begin a new job in Washington, DC, as the deputy director of the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign. Mary Anne has served as executive director of Appalachian Voices since early 2004. She oversaw the growth…
Read MoreThere’s No Place Like Home for the Eastern Box Turtle
By Bill Kovarik He was probably on his way to the creek. It had been a dry summer, and I heard him scratching down the hill, headed for water with speed and a sense of determination that seemed rare in a turtle. As I pulled out the camera and caught his indignant glare, I was…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Appalachian Voice welcomes letters to the editor and comments on our website. We run as many letters as possible, space permitting. The views expressed in these letters, and in personal editor responses, are not necessarily the views of the organization Appalachian Voices. Write to editor@appvoices.org. Article ignores benefits of natural gas Dear Editor, I have…
Read MoreEditorial
Carthage and Kentucky When Rome destroyed Carthage in 146 BC, do you suppose they tried to sell their citizens on the virtues of salty land? Did they tell them that the salt-laden fields of Carthage were just brimming with opportunities for new hospitals and businesses? If that sounds absurd, consider this bit of rhetoric from…
Read MorePrescriptions for an Enlightened Energy Policy
A Voice interview with Jay Hakes, director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, former head of the Energy Information Administration, and author of a new book: A Declaration of Energy Independence: How Freedom from Foreign Oil Can Improve National Security, Our Economy, and the Environment. Story by Bill Kovarik There is a moment in serious…
Read MoreIndian Trails of Appalachia
By Kathleen Marshall & Lamar Marshall This map is a snapshot of the major trails and roads centered around western North Carolina in the late 18th Century. (A New and General Map of the Southern Dominion Belonging to the United States of America, Laurie & Whittle, London, 1794. Courtesy of the David Rumsey Collection) .…
Read MoreFilm Festival to Showcase Environmental Shorts From Across the Nation
The Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, presented in joint effort by Patagonia, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, and Appalachian Voices, will be held November 11, 2008 at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Virgina. The event is a benefit for Appalachian Voices. Screenings will begin at 7 p.m and will include ten short films made for…
Read MoreACE conference starts needed conversation
At the first ever Appalachian Community Economics (ACE) conference held September 19-21 in Abingdon, VA, participants brought that old maxim “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” into contemporary context. The conference focused on developing sustainable, local economies that don’t rely on coal. Prior to the conference, participants had the option of taking a…
Read MoreTwelve Ghost Story Books of Appalachia
Compiled by Sarah Vig Appalachia has a long and rich folklore tradition, and as anyone knows who has ever sat around a campfire at night, or held a flashlight under their chin, ghost stories are one of the most thrilling parts of oral tradition. As our issue is coming out so near to the time…
Read MoreThe Story of Mysterious Martha
By Joe Tennis In the Bible, it is told, all things will return to dust. But for one little girl in Wise, Virginia, the vision of seeing dust turn into things that talked would prove so haunting that she would be too frightened to sleep alone. It happened on the campus of the University of…
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