This week, Letcher County member, Carrie Wells, helped to build our I Love Mountains Day pinwheel collection with her art classes in Knott County.  Students from 1st grade to 12th grade made pinwheels throughout the day, ending with a total of over 200 pinwheels! 

During the day of pinwheel making, a dozen Cordia high school students signed up to travel with "Ms. Wells" and other east Kentucky KFTC members to I Love Mountains Day in Frankfort on February 14th!  The theme of this year's rally is the community health impacts of living near mountaintop removal in Central Appalachia, which has been highlighted dozens of times in the past 2 years in regional, peer-reviewed studies.   Everyone is being asked to bring one pinwheel to the rally to represent 50 people living with cancer that has been linked to the pollution from mountaintop removal mining. A study that came out in July that found that 60,000 people living in Central Appalachia have cancer because of mountaintop removal.  So, 1,200 people expected to attend with pinwheels x 50 = 60,000. You can learn more about this data on our 'Health Impacts Fact Sheet' or by registering for our upcoming Webinar on the health impacts of MTR in preparation for I Love Mountains Day! 

Making pinwheels has proven to be a blast for all ages, so get started on your own!  As the pictures below illustrate (and more on our flickr), your pinwheel can be as unique as you!  One six year-old, Cash, said he made his pinwheel "yellow and blue for the sun and the sky".... 

Today, in celebration of the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., KFTC members from Perry and Letcher counties joined hundreds of folks from eastern Kentucky organizations, churches, schools, businesses and communities for the annual MLK Day Community Breakfast hosted by Hazard Community & Technical College.  This year's event, held at HCTC's main campus in Hazard, featured the theme 'Visions of Unity' and keynote speaker Renee Michelle Shaw of KET. 

Building on opening remarks, "Dr. King had more than a dream, he had a vision", Ms. Shaw drew parallels between the vision of King and the visions many communities in eastern Kentucky are working toward, including the eradication of poverty, educational attainment, and "transformative progress."  Shaw made specific note of the disproportion of "young black men in prison garb rather than graduation gowns." 

The event also featured a community service project with information tables from local organizations. The Perry County KFTC Chapter used this space to share upcoming legislative session events and talk with attendees about HB 70 , a Restoration of Voting Rights amendment, and our upcoming Voting Rights Lobby Day on March 8.

Russell Oliver said he was "glad to see KFTC front and center at a different kind of event."  We signed up two new Perry County members, sold two T-shirts, and collected several signatures on the Voting Rights petition, including new Cordia School boy's basketball coach and former UK basketball star, Rodick Rhodes.  Coach Rhodes, along with Perry Chapter member and Cordia director Alice Whitaker brought the Cordia boys basketball team out to the event.

During the ceremony HCTC Director of Cultural Diversity Elbert Hagans read aloud the names of Appalachian African-American teachers from several eastern Kentucky counties while local NAACP president, Ludrenia Hagans-Sheperd lit candles in their honor.  He later thanked the local organizations who participated in the community service project by reading each name aloud (including Perry County KFTC), while Letcher County Steering Committee Rep., Elizabeth Sanders volunteered with WMMT equipment to capture audio from the event. 

Shortly after, local KFTC member and HCTC professor, Jenny Williams presented this year's MLK March banner created by youth attendees of the ceremony.  After the breakfast and keynote event, this banner and youth from the event lead a musical and lively march into downtown Hazard to Consolidated Baptist Church for more speakers, a gospel choir performance and luncheon, all hosted by the church. 

Yesterday, about 20 folks from LaGrange to Hazard came to a lobby training sponsored by KFTC at the Capitol, then headed out to kick off another year of lobbying, or as Erika Skaggs from our Central Kentucky chapter put it, "one of the things that KFTC members do best."

Members were able to catch legislators in the halls coming back out of session for some lobbying, rounding up cosponsors for our bills in support of voting rights, clean energy, and tax reform. Then, after some pizza fortification, a crew of East Kentucky members stayed for the State of the Commonwealth Address.

Members shared reflections on the address on the way home. What did you think?

• Members were excited that the governor is committing to tax reforms that are fair, and that grow along with the economy, although we also recognize that these can be slippery words. KFTC supports tax reforms that are fair, meaning that the responsibility of paying taxes is shared equitably, and low- and middle- income Kentuckians shouldn't be asked to pay a larger share than the wealthiest citizens of the state; adequate to our state's needs and priorities; and sustainable (or elastic, able to adapt to the shifting economy).  Clearly, Governor Beshear is sharing our language about needing a tax structure that is "fair," and these words can be fuzzy but it seems like he's  advocating sustainability, too. That's a start!
  
• The governor, one carload reflected on the way home, would do well to think and talk more about root causes to Kentucky's challenges, and to think more deeply about a vision that addresses those root causes.  Prescription drug prevention programs are very important, but they fall short of addressing a vision for what's really needed to build a more diverse and dynamic economy in Kentucky. We need to invest in a vision: vibrant communities, access to quality education, and a commitment to the growing clean energy economy.
  

 Enjoy a couple of photos from the training and the evening:

Members from Letcher and Knott counties joined the Perry County chapter members Tuesday night in Hazard at the Perry County Public Library for a Holiday feast and screening of I Was There in the Library's theater.  Around 25 people brought family, friends, and food to celebrate the upcoming holidays, another powerful year of grassroots organizing in east Kentucky, and the 79th birthday of the 2011 KFTC Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, McKinley Sumner of Montgomery Creek, Vicco.  

During the party, the Perry Chapter sold two 30th anniversary DVDs, two green KFTC t-shirts, and 5 members renewed their dues to support our final fall fundraising push!  After folks filled their bellies with the spread of fried chicken, sides, and desserts, we filed into the Library theater for a group viewing of  I Was There: The First 30 Years of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.  For many, this was their first viewing of the film, complete with stove-top popcorn!  

With a group from three counties, ages 4 to 79, and from varying walks of life, this was a great finale to the Perry chapter's work this year, our 30th anniversary of action for justice.  See if you can spot any familiar faces below and see even more pictures on our flickr, here. 

Tonight Perry County members spent the last half of our monthly chapter meeting calling local members about voting, volunteering, and coming out to upcoming events!  

Election day is just a few weeks away so we started our voter turnout push with our local membership, who we already know vote far more often than the state percentage.   Tonight, exactly 3 weeks before election day, we have already contacted 50% of our chapter members!  

offered rides to get folks to the poles, and directed people to www.kentuckyelection.org.  More turnout calls are in store for the coming weeks and we hope to contact everyone our chapter registered to vote this year!

Last week the Perry Chapter was able to set up a voter registration booth in the cafeteria of Hazard Community and Technical College.  

In the few lunch-time hours Perry members sat asking passersby "Are you registered to vote?", they were able to register 12 students, encourage many more to get out and vote on November 8th, and let a few folks know which offices we are voting on this year in Kentucky.  We also shared the good word about www.KentuckyElection.org!  

We even caught up with students in the student lounge! 

This weekend the Perry County Chapter set up a voter registration booth at the annual Black Gold Festival in downtown Hazard.  Cody Montgomery, while working the booth said, “The Black Gold Festival is a celebration of the coal economy in east Kentucky, but the cool weather, concessions, and atmosphere of the festival lures so many, it also offers a chance to engage community members and highlight KFTC’s voter campaign and register voters.”

Perry County’s new Steering Committee representation Cleveland Smith also registered voters that day, at a festival he has attended his whole life.  He said of the festival, “Black Gold is a festival centered around the coal industry, so it’s important for us to use this space to introduce new and alternative perspectives.”

Among the sites, smells, and sounds of Black Gold was the worlds largest pinball machine (located right in front of our booth), blooming onions, and a large number of ‘Coal for Kids’ balloons.  But the Perry Chapter registered nearly a dozen voters, sold three t-shirts, and gained 2 local members.  Not bad for a Friday afternoon. 

Pictured to the right: Steering Committee Rep. Cleveland Smith, Organizer Tanya Turner, and long standing member Russell Oliver. 

Late last week, KFTC members and staff from Eastern KY chapters came together in the new Whitesburg KFTC office to hone our Voter Empowerment skills. 

We covered everything from analyzing the political landscape, learning about KFTC's long-term approach to Voter Empowerment, learning how to register voters, to planning outreach events over the next two months.

We prepared for outreach tabling at the Black Gold Fest (Sept 16th), Mountain Heritage Festival (Sept 23rd-25th) and the Apple Festival (Sept 30th-Oct 1st).   

This week we've been reporting to you on the Environmental Justice Listening Tour that KFTC members hosted for the Environmental Protection Agency. You've read the comments of members in Clay County, at the Cordia School, in Whitesburg, and in Harlan County here; and you've witnessed regular Kentuckians speaking directly to the EPA here and here.

Today we bring you one more inspiring voice from eastern Kentucky and a report on the false controversy that paid coal industry spokespeople and coal politicians have tried to cook up.

Ada Smith is a KFTC member from Letcher County. She spoke to EPA administrators during the community meeting held at the Appalshop theater in Whitesburg last Thursday. First Ada shared her concerns that that those living near mountaintop removal coal mines "can't turn their faucet on and get a drink of water, that they can't take a bath without being scared that there's arsenic in their water...There's been stories all this week of people's well water being on fire under the ground." Then, as if sensing the political backlash that had just taken place early in the day in Frankfort, Ada told the EPA: "My state is not going to respond to the concerns I have around coal mining." She said, "What I know is that...our state people are not going to do the job, but [the EPA] can."

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Earlier that day, in an Interim Subcommittee on Energy of the General Assembly meeting at the Capitol in Frankfort, politicians railed against the EPA's visit and the fact that the Agency had the opportunity to hear regular Kentuckians voice their hopes and concerns without being drowned out by the noise of coal industry. Media outlets who reported on the EPA's listening tour, and on the comments of residents, also picked up the story of the false controversy created by industry spokespeople and legislators--often without a response from KFTC or local residents.

Read some of the comments by the politicians that put the interests of the coal industry and elected officals before those of the regular Kentuckians dealing everyday with the impacts of the industry at the bottom of this blog post. Those politicians who blasted the EPA, who discounted the voices of the Kentuckians addressing the EPA during the tour, and who spoke up to protect the industry include: Rep. Leslie Combs, Rep. Tim Crouch, Rep. Myron Dossett, Rep. Rocky Adkins, Rep. Lonnie Napier, Rep. Fitz Steele, Sen. Robert Stivers, and U.S. Congressman Hal Rogers, among others.

KFTC couldn't let such irresponsible comments go unacknowledged or unchallenged and promptly issued a statement, highlighting the importance of the listening tour and the opportunity that Kentuckians had to speak directly to the agency charged with protecting them, as well as calling out the politicians for their silence when the deadly impacts of the industry are made known. WYMT printed this statement in full.

On Thursday and Friday of this past week, more than 150 eastern Kentucky residents participated in a tour with leaders of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At stops in Manchester, Vicco, Whitesburg and Lynch, the residents over and over asked the federal officials to enforce the law and help us create safe and healthy communities. Concerned mothers, teachers, students, retired coal miners, nurses, entrepreneurs, the unemployed and many others spoke directly to the EPA officials.

• We expressed our vision for a prosperous eastern Kentucky and shared our hope that by working together we could create economic opportunities so that our children won’t have to leave the region to find meaningful work.

• We expressed hope that those jobs would not put workers in danger, and would not do damage to our land and water.

• We asked for assurances that our drinking water not make us sick, and that those companies that are poisoning our water be stopped and held accountable.

• The mayor and residents of one small town asked that mining not be allowed to destroy the town’s drinking water source and future economic potential.

• One family asked that someone stop the dust and water pollution from a coal processing plant that a doctor told them is making their daughter sick.

• And we let it be known that one of the biggest obstacles to safe workplaces and healthy communities is systematic non-enforcement of the laws designed to protect our health and safety and inaction by the state and federal agencies.

As Kentuckians and members of KFTC, we thank and commend the EPA officials for coming to listen to the people most impacted by the decisions that they make regarding the issuing of permits and enforcing the law.

As if on cue, by Friday afternoon, the airwaves and the internet were filled with howls of protest from paid coal industry spokespeople (who had turned down a meeting with the EPA officials) and state and federal politicians, complaining that ordinary Kentuckians had the chance to have their concerns heard by the EPA. They claimed the EPA had no right to come to Kentucky to see and hear for themselves the dangerous and deadly impacts of the modern coal industry. They expressed outrage that EPA got an opportunity to hear, and the chance to value, the opinions and concerns of the people who bear the consequences of an industry that has no respect for the law – a reality these politicians won’t acknowledge.

But not one of these politicians expressed any concern about the families who are without safe drinking water; about the children who are sick because of the pollution in their neighborhood; about the damage to the homes and drinking water wells of families who live near mining operations, or our youth who must leave the region to find meaningful jobs while they do little to help create new job opportunities.

While these officials were howling against the one federal agency that has shown some inclination to enforce the law, their past silence is also of note:

When a study was released recently showing that people who live near mountaintop removal mines have an increased risk of cancer, we didn’t hear one word of concern for the people who are sick, only attacks on the scientists.

When a study was released recently documenting that children born in communities near mountaintop removal mines have a 26% higher incidence of birth defects, we heard not one word of concern or compassion from these same political leaders.

When it was demonstrated that specific coal companies had been filing fraudulent water monitoring reports and poisoning streams below their mine sites (violations the companies have acknowledged), we heard not one word of disappointment from these same politicians.

But when a federal agency – charged by Congress with enforcing the laws that protect our health, our water, our air and land – comes to talk with real people affected by these issues, Kentucky’s political leaders are beside themselves with fury over the very notion that an enforcement agency might actually make coal companies obey the law.

Have these politicians no shame, whatsoever?

In Kentucky, we still have a chance to help lead the nation toward a new power, clean energy economy with more and better jobs, healthier communities, and more affordable energy. But we have to stop the destruction being caused today by our old power coal industry and old power ways of thinking. And that requires leaders with vision, compassion, and political courage. The ones squawking about the EPA doing its job have shown, again, that they are not these leaders.

If your state legislator or Congressperson is one of the politicians listed below, please consider writing a letter directly to him or her. Also, send a letter to the editor of your local paper, especially if they've run a story about the EPA visit or the false controversy. You're encouraged to use points in KFTC's statement above, putting the voices of regular Kentuckians before the coal industry and its politicians.

There are tips on writing a letter to the editor here.

And you can locate your legislator here.

Let us know if you send in a letter by calling your local KFTC organizer or emailing info@kftc.org.

________________________________

Here are some of the comments by legislators and industry spokespeople, with a link to the news source for each comment:

• Rep. Rocky Adkins: “My problem with the federal EPA is that I think they have an agenda and I think they are tied to groups that have an agenda and I think that is flat wrong for a federal agency to have a drawn opinion without hearing a cross-section of views and opinions come from everyone.”
• Rep. Lonnie Napier: "I just want my fellow legislators from Eastern Kentucky and those in the coal industry to know that many of us have and will continue to support any efforts to protect our coal industry."
• Rep. Myron Dossett: "I pledge to...stand with my fellow legislators in Eastern Kentucky to fight any Federal restrictions on the coal industry."
• Rep. Fitz Steele: "[A] federal agency coming to our communities to conduct the people’s business in private? That does (not) pass the smell test.”
• Rep. Leslie Combs: "I continue to be disappointed by the EPA and their actions toward Kentucky’s coal industry...[T]o stage meetings and site visits with people sympathetic to only one side of this issue is mind boggling to me. It’s bad enough that the elected officials weren’t invited – to snub our people is just terrible. I do feel that in my position I have worked cooperatively to engage the coal industry with other businesses and industry across the state to meet common ground. This stunt of the EPA is a slap in the face to me, my constituents and all of Kentucky.”
• Sen. Robert Stivers: "I was shocked to have to read in the paper that the EPA was visiting my hometown. If they truly wanted to hear the impact that mining has produced, they could have, as a courtesy, invited legislators and other elected officials.

On August 18 and 19, Kentuckians had the opportunity to speak directly to key officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about their vision for Kentucky and, especially, about their concerns related to the devastating effects of mountaintop removal mining and valley fills. KFTC hosted Lisa Garcia from the Washington, D.C. office, who is a special advisor to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on Environmental Justice, and Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, administrator for EPA's Region 4, as well as seven other EPA directors and staff members.

EPA Region 4 Administrator Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming (left) listens to the concerns
of Anne Carr (far right) and other residents in Lynch.

The tour brought the EPA in contact with more than 150 Kentuckians, many of whom were able to share their stories and concerns. At stops in Manchester, Vicco, Whitesburg and Lynch, the residents over and over asked the federal officials to enforce the law and help create safe and healthy communities. Concerned mothers, teachers, students, retired coal miners, nurses, entrepreneurs, the unemployed and many others spoke directly to the EPA officials.

• We expressed our vision for a prosperous eastern Kentucky and shared our hope that by working together we could create economic opportunities so that our children won’t have to leave the region to find meaningful work.
• We expressed hope that those jobs would not put workers in danger, and would not do damage to our land and water.
• We asked for assurances that our drinking water not make us sick, and that those companies that are poisoning our water be stopped and held accountable.
• The mayor and residents of Lynch asked that mining not be allowed to destroy the town’s drinking water source and future economic potential.
• One family in Clay County asked that someone stop the dust and water pollution from a coal processing plant that a doctor told them is making their daughter sick.
• And we let it be known that one of the biggest obstacles to safe workplaces and healthy communities is systematic non-enforcement of the laws designed to protect our health and safety and inaction by the state and federal agencies.
  

As Kentuckians and members of KFTC, speakers also thanked and commended the EPA officials for coming to listen to the people most impacted by the decisions that they make regarding the issuing of permits and enforcing the law.

In Clay County, Anne Shelby described her community's efforts to protect their land and water through a Lands Unsuitable for Mining petition, which the state ignored and, as she says, often ridiculed. Listen to her passionate statement here (and check back on this blog throughout the week for more inspiring Kentucky voices speaking directly to the EPA):

After leaving Clay County, the caravan of Kentuckians and EPA officials headed to Knott County to hear from more community members.

 

The Hazard Herald printed a detailed article on this next stop on the EPA's visit, to the Cordia School in Knott County:

Ivy Brashear, [pictured above right] a Viper resident and graduate student at the University of Kentucky, thanked the EPA for changes that have been made to coal mining regulations recently. She said she believes that EPA officials have gone to bat for the environment[...]

“Thirty years is all we have left of the coal, 30 years and then they are gone,” she said. “They are going to leave here and we are going to be here with dirty water and dirty air and cancer clusters and birth defects.”

And to round out the first day, the EPA officials heard from a long list of folks from throughout eastern Kentucky. The Appalshop theater in Whitesburg was packed as KFTC members spoke about their concerns, including a barrage of recent studies that show the harmful impacts of strip mining and valley fills. Reporter Erica Peterson with WFPL-FM in Louisville followed along on the whole trip and had this to report on the Whitesburg stop:

Later that night, people packed into a theater in Whitesburg and testified about water pollution, the perils of an economy that’s too dependent on coal and the industry’s political influence.

“I want to talk for a moment about another insidious form of coal pollution," said former Kentuckians for the Commonwealth chair Doug Doerrfeld

“It is hard to overstate the degree to which the influence of coal has also polluted our democracy,” he said. “While coal mining provides just 1 percent of all jobs in the state and the industry contributes 2.5 percent of Kentucky’s economic output, the power of the industry’s money in our political system is overwhelming.”

The next day, the EPA wrapped up their trip in Lynch, in Harlan County. The Harlan Daily Enterprise reported on the story there:

“We have a beautiful area. Right now, it is virgin territory as far as surface mining goes, and we like to keep it that way,” said Stanley Sturgill, member of Lynch City Council and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

...

A statement by former council member Carl Shoupe captured what seemed to be the sentiment of many of those gathered.

“We’re not against coal, but we are asking the EPA to listen to us and help us preserve and save what we cherish. EPA is our last bastion,” said Shoupe.

Media coverage of the tour was extensive and came from a variety of sources. The local news station, WYMT, broadcast two reports on the tour, one on the community testimony in Whitesburg and one on the stop in Lynch.

Throughout the trip, Keyes Fleming and Garcia stated that environmental justice is important to the administration and that low-income and minority voices need to be heard in the decisions that affect them most, particularly as they relate to pollution. Keyes Fleming said the residents who spoke to them throughout the trip were heard "loud and clear."

By Friday, the internet and airwaves were full of complaints from the coal industry about the visit. In their wrap-up, WFPL reported on the controversy:

[Charles Baird of the Coal Operators and Associates] criticized the lack of advance notice to members of the media other than WFPL. But there were local media outlets at each event.

And two employees from the state Division of Water were present. Also, Bill Bissett of the Kentucky Coal Association confirmed that he was notified of the tour, and the EPA offered to meet with coal supporters for an hour on Friday.

But many members of the mining industry were at a conference in Lexington.

Soon, we will report more on the backlash from the coal industry and the coal politicians--and KFTC's response to their irresponsible statements.

Perry County resident Pam Maggard told EPA officials that if coal mining continues in Eastern Kentucky, there needs to be a bigger emphasis on safety and environmental issues.

“If they are going to mine then they need to do it with regards to miners’ safety and community health and safety,” said Maggard. “We need clean air; you can see how dusty it is here. We need homes left on their foundations. We need clean water. We can find another electricity source, we can’t find water.”
...
Tiffany Stiles, a 2011 graduate of Cordia, is currently a radiology student at Hazard Community and Technical College. She and her fiancé and hoping to build a home, but she fears the land they have may end up being negatively affected by coal mining.

“I don’t want to have to move away to build a life,” said Stiles.