By Molly Moore In 1978, student Doug Estepp was poking around in the West Virginia University library when he came across a newspaper headline describing the 1920 Matewan shootout — a violent episode in the dispute between coal companies and…
Kimber Ray
A native of New Jersey with an environmental policy degree from Rutgers University, Kimber served two terms as our AmeriCorps Communications Associate and the Associate Editor for The Appalachian Voice from 2013-2015 before leaving to pursue permaculture farming in Costa Rica.
Blog Archives
The Appalachian Voice
Virginia Tech Student Works to Keep Campus Green
By Nolen Nychay For Virginia Tech student Nneka Sobers, environmental activism is more than an interest — it is a passion that empowers her to promote positive change wherever she goes. Sobers became involved with her university’s Student Environmental Coalition…
Investigation Finds Fraud in Black Lung Cases
By Kimber Ray A year-long investigation revealed evidence this fall that the coal industry has supported fraudulent practices in order to block workers’ compensation claims for black lung disease. According to the investigation conducted by The Center for Public Integrity…
TAGS: Alabama Black Lung Center for Public Integrity Coal Coal Ash Duke Energy Environmental Integrity Project Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee Tennessee Valley Authority
Thousand Cankers Disease Hits East Tennessee
By Meredith Warfield Black walnut trees are dying in Morgan and Rhea counties of eastern Tennessee. The culprit, according to a Tennessee Department of Agriculture announcement made this November, is Thousand Cankers Disease. The disease is a recent phenomenon in…
TAGS: appalachia Bike paths fracking George Washington National Forest Hydraulic Fracturing Maryland National Heritage Areas North Carolina Senator Jay Rockefeller Tennessee Thousand Cankers Disease Water quality West Virginia
The Forest’s Bread and Butter
By Chris Samoray Bring down the mast. But hold on seafarers, leave the sails flying. In the forests of Appalachia, this lingo doesn’t refer to sailing. Instead, it’s used by outdoor folk to describe the fruits of plants and trees,…
Good Ole Rocky Top: Trail Repair in the Smokies
By Davis Wax Leaving I-40 South near Newport, Tenn., heading down Cosby Highway, I slowed down and leaned forward over the steering wheel, watching as the late September sky disappeared behind undulations of green and blue earth. The Great Smoky…
TAGS: appalachia Appalachian Trail Great Smoky Mountains National Park Hiking the Highlands Outdoor Recreation Tennessee trail building
On the Right Side of the Law
By Molly Moore From the gallery of the Kentucky State Capitol, lawyer Wes Addington and a group of women from eastern Kentucky — mostly widows of coal miners — watched the Kentucky House pass a bill expanding legal and safety…
