The Appalachian Voice
Come Celebrate the River
Watauga Riverkeeper Festival July 24 Appalachian Voices is hosting Watauga Riverkeeper Fest, an outdoor recreation celebration, July 24, at the Community Park in Valle Crucis, N.C. from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., rain or shine. “Outdoor recreation is healthy, wonderfully fun, and leads to resource stewardship,” says Willa Mays, Appalachian Voices’ executive director. “We need…
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E-nvironmental Kudos Appalachian Voices was recently honored by E Magazine when we were included in the magazine’s “5 Ways to Honor Earth Day.” The number one idea from E was to “Join the Movement,” and E listed Appalachian Voices as one of their favorite causes, among such notables as 350.org, Heartwood, and the Waterkeeper Alliance.…
Read MoreFreewheelin’ Across America
Story by Maureen Halsema Two friends hopped on two wheels and began a cross-country adventure with a flexible route that will transform as the weeks pass and a timeline that has no set dates. Seth Buller began his venture in Richmond, Va., zigzagged through Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina where he met up with…
Read MoreSouthern Representatives Introduce Efficiency Bill
Story by Jed Grubbs A bipartisan coalition of southern Representatives—along with members of the Senate and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association—have introduced federal legislation that promises to conserve energy, save Americans money on their power bills and create tens of thousands of domestic jobs. The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (H.R. 4785), a bill…
Read MoreAcross AV Shorts
A Quilted Memorial The Floating Lab Collective, an arts collective based out of Washington, D.C., is calling for submissions of quilt patches to commemorate mountains lost to mountaintop removal. The patch may be any size or shape, but they must have the name of the memorialized mountain on them. Submissions are due by July 1.…
Read MoreGrowing Community Agriculture
Story by Maureen Halsema A community vision, a team of volunteers and generous donations will transform a 90-year-old school into the new Agricultural Development Center for Polk County, N.C. Mill Springs School is a 40,000 square foot building that rests on six acres of pristine, viable farmland, and is the future site of the County…
Read MoreGET Going–Trekking the Great Eastern Trail
Story by Derek Speranza It is only fitting that poet Robert Frost took “the road less traveled by” in his poetry collection entitled Mountain Interval – and now long distance hikers everywhere have a new opportunity to do exactly that. The Great Eastern Trail is to be a 2,000-mile alternative to the well-worn Appalachian Trail,…
Read MoreThe Battle Over Blair Mountain Rages On
By Bill Kovarik The fight to preserve West Virginia’s Blair Mountain Battlefield has taken a new turn. Preservation advocates thought they had won in March 2009 when the site was formally listed on the federal National Register of Historic Places. However, the site was “de-listed” in December 2009 at the request of state authorities who…
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An Orwellian approach to Appalachian history By removing federal protection from the Blair Mountain Battlefield site, state and federal officials have abrogated a sacred trust. Even worse, by removing the protection in an underhanded manner, and ignoring evidence of skullduggery, they have set a scandalous, shocking and inexcusable precedent. No one questions the fact that…
Read MorePortrait Story Project Highlights Ties To Appalachia
By Jillian Varkas The Portrait Story project came to the southern highlands in March 2008 to continue a legacy of capturing images and stories to identify with the region through the eyes of its people. The artist, Francesco Di Santis, had recently completed a portrait project of Hurricane Katrina victims. Days after the hurricane devastated…
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