Blue Ridge Echo

images/voice_uploads/BrushyMtnsCircle.gif Stop at almost any east-facing overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway in northwestern North Carolina and you will see layers of mountains retreating into the distance. Most people assume that they are looking at the Blue Ridge Mountains. While spurs of the Blue Ridge range do taper to the east, the most prominent peaks…

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The Healthy Air Industry

images/voice_uploads/MarshallSmokestackCircle.gif When Person County Manager Steve Carpenter talks about the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act (CSA), the enthusiasm in his voice is unmistakable. But the enthusiasm is not because of the much cleaner air that he and his constituents will soon be breathing as a direct result of the CSA. No, when Steve Carpenter thinks…

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Sue Daniel Memorial Fund Announced

Appalachian Voices is honored to be chosen as a recipient of donations in memory of Sue Daniels, a leading mountaintop removal activist from Blacksburg, Virginia, who passed away in November. As a leader of the Blacksburg-based organization Mountain Justice, Sue’s dedication to ending mountaintop removal was extraordinary. Sue took dozens of people to West Virginia…

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Give a Gift to the Mountains

Have you ever thought of a dollar as a vote? The average American will spend $800 on gifts this holiday season, and with each dollar, consumers have the choice to cast their vote for businesses that care about their communities and the environment. Appalachia is home to thousands of locally-owned businesses that have been sustaining…

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To Save the Land and People

Reviewed by Michael Hodges-Foret How can a land be so rich, and its people so poor? According to Chad Montrie, a historian at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, this is the “enduring paradox” of Appalachia. To Save the Land and People explores one aspect of that paradox, the opposition to surface coal mining in Appalachia. Montrie…

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Leaves of Three, Let it Be

images/voice_uploads/PoisonIvyCircle.gif My last article for the Appalachian Voice addressed the exquisite little inconvenience known as chiggers. I’ll continue on the theme of “itch” and explore the plant of myth and misery known as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). A member of the cashew family, poison ivy has close cousins in poison oak, and poison sumac. However,…

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The Garment of God

I once sat on a cement step leading to a sidewalk and watched an ant carry a tiny straw on its back. It came to a crevice between the cement slabs and had no means of getting across with the straw on its back. Faced with this dilemma, the tiny ant engaged in some practical…

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White-tailed Deer

Anyone with a farm, garden, or landscaped lawn is probably aware of the exploding population of white-tailed deer. Their browsing eating habits result in millions of dollars worth of damage to crops, vegetables, and ornamental plants. In one state, the Farm Bureau has threatened to sue wildlife officials for allegedly allowing deer numbers to get…

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For Our Members

Brenda Huggins, Awarded Outstanding Volunteer in Watauga County Appalachian Voices would like to congratulate and thank Brenda Huggins for her dedication and service. She has been honored by the State of North Carolina as an Outstanding Volunteer in Watauga County. Brenda is a great volunteer and is always lending a helping hand. She drives from…

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