The Appalachian Voice
A Story of Perseverence
Hiker Overcomes Medical Condition to Complete Final Leg of AT By Molly Moore Exploring the mountains wasn’t a part of Kenneth Bordwell’s childhood in Dayton, Ohio. His father read news clippings about Grandma Gatewood, a remarkable woman from southeast Ohio who hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine three times, but Bordwell didn’t step…
Read MoreTrek Across Georgia’s Rooftop
Story and photo by Peter Barr Two short hikes in northern Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains climb to the state’s highest peaks and reward visitors with its most stunning views. While the elevations of Brasstown Bald and Rabun Bald reign supreme in the Peach State, their picturesque scenery and fascinating cultural history are also difficult to…
Read MoreRegional Roundup
A Failure To Cooperate Over Wilderness Right-of-Way Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation filed a condemnation petition in January that would allow the utility to build power lines through Box Creek Wilderness, a 5,100-acre tract of preserved forest east of Asheville, N.C. REMC says the utility needs the line to supply power to members in McDowell County…
Read MoreTennessee Legislators Dodge Vote on Mountaintop Removal Although a bill to protect Tennessee’s mountains received broad citizen and political support — and media attention from around the world — state legislators chose to deny public testimony on the measure and instead let the Scenic Vistas Protection Act die without a vote. Appalachian Voices Tennessee Director…
Read MoreEPA Finds Impaired Streams Across Nation, Cites West Virginia
According to a recent report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than 55 percent of the country’s rivers and streams are in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures. The most widespread problem is excessive levels of nutrient pollution; high levels of phosphorus, found in detergents and…
Read MoreBuild-It-Up! Prepares Young Leaders
By Kate Cahow Tessa Gore’s passion for creating positive change in the Appalachian region was sparked during her time with Build-It-Up West Virginia. “My first summer, we traveled to several mountaintop removal sites, and I witnessed the impact on the environment and surrounding communities,” says Gore, a student at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky.…
Read MoreWilliamson, W.Va. – A Gateway to Sustainability in Central Appalachia
By Kate Cahow The Coal House, built in 1933 from its namesake rock, sits in downtown Williamson, W.Va., in the heart of Appalachia’s coal mining region. It is home to the Tug County Chamber of Commerce. Next door, construction of a high-tech “smart office” is underway in the lobby of the historic Mountaineer Hotel. The…
Read MoreEnvironmental Summer Camps 2013
The Evening Hour: Painting a Gripping Picture of a Gritty Place
Review by Paige Campbell Carter Sickels’ debut novel “The Evening Hour” is a study in contradictions, many rooted deeply in its Appalachian setting. The town of Dove Creek is a remote southern West Virginia community cloaked in the same desperate, static smallness that often characterizes the Appalachia of literature. At the same time, the setting…
Read MoreSafe Passage
By Matt Grimley Every fall and spring, an ongoing restlessness called zugenruhe begins to make some birds’ wings twitch at night. They will gorge on seeds and insects, fattening their bodies by as much as 10 percent per day. Solitary birds will even flock together for better predator avoidance, food finding and orientation for the…
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