The 4th Annual Berea Solar Tour will be held Saturday October 3 in conjunction with the National Solar Tour. Thirteen Berea homes and other buildings that use solar energy will be open for public viewing and conversation with the owners. A guided bus tour of some of the sites, a car caravan to a Garrard County off-the-grid home, and three public presentations on home solar energy use and energy conservation round out the day.

The Madison County Chapter of KFTC will be hosting a workshop as part of the event called "Clean Energy, Green Jobs."  The workshop will focus on KFTC's campaign to stop a coal-burning power plant and describe how an equivalent investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy could generate more jobs and great economic development to meet the area's energy needs.  The workshop will be from 4 to 5 p.m. at 302 Center Street.  Please join us if you can!

The Solar Tour provides an opportunity to learn from homeowners who are already using solar, and to consider whether some type of solar energy makes sense for your house.

Click here for more information and a copy of the Tour Guide with times and locations of the solar presentations and guided tours, and locations and descriptions of the solar open houses.

Members of the Madison County Chapter held their chapter annual meeting last night in Berea.  “The annual chapter meeting is a great opportunity to reflect on the previous years work and gear up to move the Commonwealth’s democracy forward,” said Madison County KFTC Chapter co-chair Jeff From.

The first hour of the meeting focused on business that all KFTC chapters handle once a year:  electing new chapter officers, setting issue priorities for the upcoming year, and more.  The second hour featured a conversation and questions with State Representative Harry Moberly (D-Richmond). 

The group talked to Rep. Moberly about everything from clean energy to voting rights.  Rep. Moberly had positive comments to make about KFTC’s work in interjecting our social and economic justice issues into the public dialogue.  He was also positive about many of the issues we raised and agreed to meet with us again before the session to dig even deeper into our issues.

“I always look forward to meetings when our local elected officials are speaking.  Not only does it give us a chance to talk about issues that are important to us, it also helps us develop a good rapport with our representatives in Frankfort,” said Berea KFTC member Toby Wilcher.  “During the legislative session, when KFTC members spend a great amount of time lobbying legislators from all over Kentucky, we have a built-in, cordial working relationship with our own legislators, which often proves to be very beneficial,” she added.

Almost 100 KFTC members and friends turned out on a rainy Saturday for the Madison County SpringFest. 

The event start off with a reading of the brand new book "Something's Rising:  Applachians Fighting Mountaintop Removal"  from authors Silas House and Jason Howard. 

Folks also enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner that featured locally raised meat and music from loved local band Mudpi. 

A friendly Derby pool and silent auction helped raise fun – and funds -- for KFTC.

"I enjoy having the chance to socialize with members and prospective members in a party atmosphere where there is a minimum of business to discuss.  I think that kind of outreach is as important as all the tabling, phone banking and chapter and committee meetings that we members do throughout the year."  -- Toby Wilcher, Berea.

The event was a great celebration of the strength and work of the nearly 500-member strong Madison County chapter.  Thanks to all who volunteered and helped make the event a success!

More than 40 people turned out in Berea on Friday for a Madison County KFTC Chapter event with a national energy efficiency expert who implemented numerous successful energy efficiency programs for utility companies.  In the presentation, “Making the business and ethical case for energy efficiency,” Mr. Cannon talked about how energy efficiency programs are good for utility companies from a business and economic stand-point.  

“The savings are real and persistent if the programs are designed and implemented well,” Mr. Cannon said.  “And there is no reduction or shift in customer value, comfort or output.”  He went on to talk about how the programs can save customers 10%, 20%, and 30% off their energy bills and only cost 2 to 3 cents per kWh.

Mr. Cannon’s audience included KFTC members, other members of the local community, and several local public officials including the mayor, city council members, and utility advisory board members.  The event was cosponsored with Sustainable Berea, Kentucky Environmental Foundation, and the League of Women Voters of Berea & Madison County.

During a 30 year career in municipal utilities, Glenn served as chair of the Board for the American Public Power Association and for 17 years, as General Manager of Waverly Light & Power, a small town utility just about the size of Berea’s.  Mr. Cannon has long been an effective champion of energy efficiency and renewable energy and currently serves on the Leadership Group of the Joint EPA & DOE Energy Efficiency Action Plan.  He spook about energy-efficiency programs designed by Waverly Light &Power that have resulted in less electricity use, savings for the town and its residents, and a strengthened local economy.  

As one of a dozen recent community education events aimed at restoring voting rights for former felons, the Madison County Chapter of KFTC organized a gathering earlier tonight, inviting former felon Tayna Fogle to speak to a crowd of community members and Berea College Students.

Over forty people turned out, and most signed postcards to legislators and took home call-in action alert sheets to use to call their legislators in the morning. 

"I made a mistake... but I'm not a mistake"

                                 - Tayna Fogle, KFTC Former Felon Spokeswoman

   

   

Earlier this week, we lost a wonderful member and extraordinary person. Berea College sophomore and Madison County KFTC member Zachary Sieben passed away Tuesday. Zack was a dedicated, hard-working member and will be greatly missed. Below is a piece written by Beth Bissmeyer, Madison County Chapter Co-Chair, who went to school with Zack.

We weren’t very close, but I counted Zack among my friends at Berea. Most of our time together came from sharing an interest in mining and environmental issues. I first met Zack last spring when we both went on a trip to Kayford, West Virginia, for a Mountaintop Removal witness tour. On that trip, Larry Gibson told us to talk to people about MTR, to do something, and Zack did just that.

Since last spring, Zack has been active with KFTC and the Madison County chapter, along with several justice-focused student organizations. Zack was an officer for Bereans For Appalachia (BFA), the club I’m most active with at Berea, and he was dedicated, helping plan different events and organizing tabling efforts. We organized together, and he was great at it. So many people express an interest in an issue, sign a petition, and then walk away, but Zack dove in and was passionate about making change. He was stoked about going to Powershift and I Love Mountains Day, helping organize people on campus to go to both events.

Zack managed to actively participate in BFA, Oxfam, Students for a Free Tibet, among other clubs, while studying Nursing and Sustainability, working and living at the Sustainability and Environmental Studies House, playing music, running, hiking, doing all this with a big smile. He really put most of us to shame.

We just hung out a couple weeks ago during the big ice storm that hit Berea and knocked power out for days. He was part of a small group that I pow-wowed with at the Appalachian Center, playing Apples to Apples for hours until the daylight was nearly gone. I wish I had more memories with Zack, but the times we did share were great ones: jumping into the lake after the end of the KFTC Annual Meeting, hiking the Pinnacle at night to put images of MTR on the trails, playing Frisbee, working on BFA, taking Intro to Sustainability, going to the Wilson Creek LUMP hearing, learning together, laughing together.

I Love Mountains Day is next week. Zack was pumped about going to Frankfort; it was going to be his first trip there (he's from California). He had just attended a lobbying training a few weeks ago so he could learn more about how to talk to legislators about the bills KFTC is supporting. Next Tuesday, I plan on standing tall in the march to the Capitol and chanting and yelling and singing twice as loud for the voice that should've been heard there, his.

We encourage people to use the comments section below to share their remembrances of Zack and to celebrate his life.

There are a few events today and tomorrow in Berea celebrating Zack's life.

REMEMBRANCE AND CELEBRATION OF
THE LIFE OF ZACK SIEBEN
Phelps Stokes Chapel, Berea College Campus
13 February 2009
Friday, 3:00 p.m.
In this ceremony, members of our community will share space, time, and spiritual expression in commemoration of and celebration for Zack's presence in our lives.  
 Please feel free to dress casually.

SHARING STORIES, SHARING MEMORIES
Eco-Village Commons House
13 February 2009
Friday, 4:00 p.m.
Zack’s Family welcomes you to join them for a simple meal and to share
memories, stories, and pictures.
If you cannot attend this gathering, the family asks
that you forward pictures or stories
to either of the following email addresses:
vernahaas@aol.com
siebenhaas@sbcglobal.net

WONDER, LOVE, AND COMMUNITY:
HIKING BRUSHY FORK
Meet at Alumni Fields
14 February 2009
Saturday, 1:00 p.m.
To commemorate Zack’s love for and wonder at the natural world,
friends will gather at the Alumni Fields
for a hike in the woods
of Brushy Fork.
For more information, contact Ruhiyyih Young:
youngr@berea.edu

Some of our members and organizers have recently been using the digital stories created by students at Berea college in cooperation with KFTC and requested that we re-post it on our blog.  Here they are.

The Berea neighborhood of West Ridges was built in the 1940s and '50s.  Over the last several years a new generation of families and children have moved into the neighborhood and are now sharing it with many of the original homeowners.

This second generation, including almost two dozen KFTC members, has revived the neighborhood association to create a sense of community and to address neighborhood concerns.

 On Sunday the neighborhood had its first KFTC Friendraiser, hosted by Carol and Tim Lamm and by Cait McClanahan and Martin Richards.  Existing KFTC members invited neighbors to learn more about KFTC and how KFTC supports communities all across Kentucky.

 There was several hours of great conversation, including a wonderful introduction by Carol Lamm of why KFTC is important to her. There also was plenty of food including Carol's much complimented chocolate mousse cake and Cait McClanahan's Walnut Feta dip.

 All in all, a great evening was had by everyone, including the children, with KFTC gaining new members, existing members renewing and the neighborhood creating deeper bonds.