Making Connections News

The 4th SOAR - Shaping Our Appalachian Region - Summit was held in Pikeville on August 4 and over 1,200 listened to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, Rep. Hal Rogers, and featured speaker UK Basketball Coach John Calipari as they each laid out their visions for eastern Kentucky's future and how to get there. WMMT reports with highlights from their comments.

Germany is well-known for its historical reliance on coal for energy, but most recently is recognized for its transition to cleaner energy sources, such as renewables. In this Mountain Talk, Dr. Timon Wehnert, an energy expert and researcher based at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy in Berlin shared insights on Germany’s energy transition in general, and specifically about the phase-out of coal, structural change, and transformation in German coal communities. Dr. Wehnert was joined by leaders working on economic transition in Central Appalachia, including: MACED (Mountain Association for Community Economic Development) Vice President Betsy Whaley and Eric Dixon with Appalachian Citizens Law Center.

The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) move to repeal Net Neutrality and classification of Broadband Internet as a Title II Telecommunications Service could have significant impact on rural America, where the digital divide is already the largest. In this edition of Mountain Talk, host Mimi Pickering explores potential impacts with economist Roberto Gallardo from Mississippi State University Extension Services and Christopher Mitchell, Director of Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. We also hear from a 2015 interview with Edyael Casaperalta, representing the Rural Broadband Working Group of the National Rural Assembly, on the 2015 reclassification of broadband as a Title II Telecommunications Service and its potential to reduce the digital divide, increase competition, and protect consumers. Finally, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn talks about her work on the FCC to increase access and affordability for people of color, low income, and rural communities. Her term at t

Could Whitesburg, long an east Kentucky coal town, become a "Green Healthy Town?" Five University of Virginia students in the Master’s of Urban and Environmental Planning Program presented their assessment of existing conditions within a roughly one-mile corridor of downtown at a recent Whitesburg community meeting. The students' report includes an inventory of assets and challenges, highlights resources, and offers a palette of design opportunities, and strategies for community directed corridor revitalization. The assessment lays out a foundation for Whitesburg to participate in the Environmental Law Institute’s BRIGHT program, and is a model for what other rural and coalfield communities could do.

The East Kentucky Leadership Conference celebrated its 30th anniversary with a keynote speech from Earl Gohl, federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission(ARC)for the past 7 years. Since 2015 ARC has awarded $92 million through the POWER Initiative to help coal-impacted communities in 250 Appalachian counties diversify and grow their economies. Gohl said that because people have overcome differences and come together to revitalize the region, Appalachia is the next great investment opportunity. Peter Hille, Executive Director of the Mountain Association of Community Economic Development (MACED), introduced Gohl and praised the ARC as partners sharing the vision of a bright future for Appalachia.

Despite a slight uptick in coal mining activity, most analysts do not forecast a large-scale reversal of the long, downward trend in coal production or employment. Many in the Appalachian coalfields believe we must continue efforts to diversify the region's economy. The Ohio Valley Resource reports on three bipartisan proposals now before Congress that could help miners and mining communities address economic, environmental, and health challenges.

Our region has incredible cultural assets, especially our music and dance, as well as traditional arts, crafts and foodways. In this episode of Mountain Talk Monday, we learn about the Mountains of Music Homecoming happening throughout Southwest Virginia June 9-17. Its a project of the The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, which came into being to provide economic opportunities locally through showcasing the region's distinctive music, venues and musicians. Host Kelli Haywood and guest host Rich Kirby from WMMT’s Deep in Tradition speak with the MOMH assistant coordinator and professor of Appalachian Studies at ETSU, Ted Olsen on the upcoming 9 days filled with wonderful traditional music and cultural events. Find out more at www.mtnsofmusic.com!

Once the largest coal producing county in the nation, Pike County in far eastern Kentucky may be embracing a whole new kind of energy. Erica Peterson from WFPL in Louisville reports on a proposal to build a massive solar farm on a former strip mine.

Tim Sanders and his wife Becky came back to his family's land on Indian Creek in Letcher County, KY, from Arizona to retire and live a self sufficient lifestyle. It wasn’t long, though, before neighbors and passersby were stopping and asking about the animals they were tending. And naturally, seeing the heritage breeds of pigs, cows, goats, chickens, and a single turkey, folks began to ask if there was meat for sale. So, the Sanders family became part of a growing number of coalfields Appalachians who are creating a burgeoning local food economy. WMMT's Kelli Haywood reports.

Lack of reliable broadband in this small Kentucky community costs people a lot, residents say: jobs, educational opportunities, real estate sales, and even time with their kids. WMMT reports on a meeting at the Campbells Branch Community Center where the Letcher County Broadband Committee came to gather information and gauge interest in a plan to lessen this community's digital divide.

Hope Hart is part of the new cohort of Appalachian Transition Fellows, a group of emerging leaders working with organizations and agencies in Appalachia to accelerate the transition to a diversified and resilient economy. For Valentine's Day, Hope asked Fellows to describe what love in the context of working in a community means to them. Here is their Valentine. After listening check out this playlist of songs Fellows chose to accompany their thoughts: https://youtu.be/CiGPbHnpQks?list=PL_mZuv_Pw1_MBJsk3KMpjDV31RMkv2XRH

A story from May 2016 about the impact of the ACA in Appalachia's eastern Kentucky and concerns at that time for its future --- Did you know that newly covered Medicaid recipients were responsible for bringing in an additional $22.8 million in health care spending in Letcher County, KY, over a 20 month period? And over $257 million in the ten hardest hit eastern Kentucky coal mining counties? In this story we visit with staff at Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation headquarters in Whitesburg to talk about the impact that the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare” as some call it) and Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion has had on patients, health care providers, and the community as a whole. We also hear from Jason Bailey from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy and Emily Beauregard, director of Kentucky Voices for Health, regarding concerns about Gov. Bevin’s pledge to dismantle KYnect and change Medicaid eligibility.

Appalachian Sustainable Development and Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmers’ Coalition members talk about the income generating potential of forest farming in the region, and describe the whys, hows, and whens of cultivating medicinal herbs, edible mushrooms, and more that is found under the forest canopy. They also discuss the development of the Appalachian Harvest Herb Hub in Duffield, VA that will allow forest farmers to clean, dry, package, and potentially sell their product to a worldwide market. Find out how to become involved at www.appalachianforestfarmers.org.

What is it going to take to revitalize our once thriving coal towns? In this edition of WMMT's Mountain News & World Report we take an in depth look at community efforts to revitalize downtown Hazard, in the heart of Perry County, KY. The entire half hour is devoted to the voices of Hazard folks sharing their dreams, disappointments, bumps in the road, and successes as they try to rebuild a livable community through food, arts, culture, and more.

What does it take to successfully build the economy of a small community once dependent on coal? Economic diversity. But why are some residents wary of business diversification and the entrepreneurial spirit? Can arts and cultural heritage play a critical role in that economic diversification? WMMT Mountain Talk host Kelli Haywood discusses small town economics with a group of folks reflecting a range of experiences and political opinions: Harry Collins, educator and CANE (Community Agriculture & Nutrition Enterprises) leader; Betsy Whaley from the regional economic development organization MACED; and Ben Fink of Appalshop and the Letcher County Culture Hub.

If you are a fan of cooking, music, and culture, listen in as noted writer Ronni Lundy reads and discusses her latest, "Victuals," a gorgeous book exploring Appalachia's intertwined foodways and heritage. This edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk Monday features her December reading at Appalshop, and an appearance on WMMT’s Honky Tonk Jukebox with hosts Elizabeth Sanders and Mimi Pickering. If you are interested in the role farming and/or artisan foods could play in our local economy, Lundy has plenty to say.

WMMT's Mountain Talk Monday brings you Anthony Flaccavento’s recent book talk held at the University of Virginia at Wise. Flaccavento is a small-scale commercial organic farmer and widely respected community development consultant from southwestern Virginia. His book "Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up: Harnessing Real-World Experience for Transformative Change" features six components to building a sustainable economy in regions going through economic hardship, including central Appalachia. Flaccavento highlights those six components in his talk and gives real world examples of effective development practices in communities across the country.

What role can a community center play in increasing residents’ well being and encouraging efforts to reimagine and revitalize the local economy? That’s the question WMMT Reporter Kelli Haywood was asking when she visited Hemphill, KY, a former coal company town, where a group of volunteers are working to bring people together and add some liveliness into their community. Keeping its doors open in order to serve its mission of providing low cost, family friendly entertainment and educational opportunities to the community has not been easy. But through its participation in the Letcher County Culture Hub, a collaboration led by Appalshop, Hemphill and other community centers, public and private organizations, and local businesses are coming together to strengthen Letcher County’s cultural assets and identify ways to use them to grow the economy.

In this episode of Mountain Talk Monday learn more about the EPIC Program – Enhancing Programs for IT Certification that is being offered through the KCTCS community colleges in our area! Guest host Mimi Pickering speaks with Tracie Davis, David C. Dixon, and students Heather Smith and Mary Wilson who describe the many opportunities available to get job training and further your education.

Keynote speaker Jay Williams, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director of the Economic Development Administration, compared similar efforts to rebuild his hometown - Youngstown, OH, where the steel industry cratered in the 1970s - with the exciting developments he sees throughout central Appalachia. "You have convened the stakeholders that are essential. The solutions are on the ground, right here in east Kentucky," he told the crowd of over 200 people attending the first “Big Ideas Fest: Education, Workforce, and Economic Development” in Hazard, KY. on September 16, 2016. Another 250 persons from eight states watched the broadcast live. The KY Valley Educational cooperative (KVEC) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) sponsored the conference which can be viewed in its entirety in early October on www.theholler.org.