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Voices from the Field: Citizen activists speak about what inspires them to stand up and take action
Lorelei Scarbro is no stranger to the economic support coal mining has brought to West Virginia. Her grandfather, father, and husband were all underground miners. She is also no stranger to its downsides. Black lung made her a widow before she turned 50, and now the threat of mountaintop removal mining, slurry impoundments, coal dust,…
Read MoreHow Country Became Contra: The American Social Dance
Story by Sarah Vig To say contra is a dance craze would imply that it just came about recently or is going out of style. Neither of which seems to be true. Contra’s origins lie with the early American colonists who brought the popular English Country Dances with them when they hopped the pond to…
Read MoreDancing Appalachia’s Joys and Sorrows
Story by Bill Kovarik Dancers cling to each other and spread their hands in the air, like trees on an Appalachian mountainside. Then, explosions rock the stage, and erupt on a screen in the background. The dancers collapse, and, in a while — after a slow, sad dance of grief — a grinning man in…
Read MoreOperation Medicine Cabinet: Saving the River and Kids from Drugs
Donna Lisenby, our Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, has teamed up with organizations in Watauga County, NC to offer the first ever prescription drug take-back day on Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. to noon. Dubbed Operation Medicine Cabinet, the event is designed to safely dispose of drugs and keep them out of the hands of children…
Read MoreVirginia Office Helps The Town of Dendron
To speed the approval process of a proposed 1500-megawatt coal-fired power plant in the small town of Dendron, Va., the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) and the pro-coal Surry County Board of Supervisors presented an ordinance to the Dendron Town Council to have the Surry County Board of Supervisors serve as a planning commission to…
Read MoreAppalachian Coalfield Delegation Travels to Colombian Coal Region
(Part 1 of a 3 part series) Story by Sandra Diaz This June, I was fortunate enough to visit the Colombian coalfields with a delegation of people from across the U.S., including citizens from the Kentucky coalfields. The trip was organized by Witness for Peace, a group which sends delegations to bear witness and support…
Read MoreOn Pilot Mountain
Story by Joe Tennis Ask any fan of “The Andy Griffith Show” what mountain they remember hearing about most, and they’ll say Mount Pilot. Why, Andy Taylor and Barney Fife talked about going to Mount Pilot practically all the time. But where is it? Well, if we assume that Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mount Airy,…
Read MoreThe Firefly Phenomena
Story by Alison Singer For me, the mystique of fireflies began in childhood. We went outside with our mason jars, captured the beckoning lights with open palms. We held them under our blankets, or sleeping bags, and watched their flickering lights as we faded into sleep. I used to name all the fireflies I caught…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
More News, Less Fluff Dear Editor, A number of years ago while visiting the Southern Appalachians for birding and botanizing, I picked up a copy of your newsletter and I have been an avid reader of it ever since. It has encouraged me to take many trips to the area since, which, of course, helps…
Read MoreUnequal Justice in the Coalfields
In the long and troubled history of Appalachia’s coal fields, violence between the industry and its critics in the labor and the environmental movements is not unusual. What needs to be understood now, however, is that the cycle of violence is escalating with the strong encouragement of the coal industry. Just this summer, events caught…
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