Chapter: Rowan County

If you believe “what we do to the land, we do to the people,” then you’ll find friends in KFTC’s Rowan County chapter.

Members from Rowan and surrounding counties work together to address problems and have a say in policies and actions affecting the land and people here in our own communities and throughout the state. We raise awareness about mountaintop removal, air quality, water quality, tax fairness, clean and affordable energy, and other issues important to our members.

Our monthly chapter meeting is a great way to learn about our local and statewide work, share your own ideas and get involved.

Recent Activities

Great resources and videos from Appalachia's Bright Future conference now online

KFTC Staff on May 8, 2013 in New Energy and Transition, Appalachian Transition, Floyd County, , Harlan County, , Letcher County, , Perry County, , Rowan County

The Appalachia’s Bright Future conference, held in Harlan, KY April 19-22, brought together more than 200 people for conversations about shaping a just transition in eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia.

Appalachia's Bright Future

KFTC is pleased to now make available a large number of videos, presentations, notes, media coverage about the event, suggested next steps, and other documents that were shared or created during the weekend.

The collected information can be found here.

We appreciate all of the speakers, workshop presenters, artists and conference participants who shared stories and provided important information and perspectives. Even a brief review of the conference web pages makes it clear that this was a pretty extraordinary gathering and conversation.

As KFTC chairperson Sue Tallichet said during her opening remarks, “…it is difficult to envision more than a coal-based economy in our region. But I believe we have the opportunity, today, to build a diverse and healthy economy here in the mountains. Eastern Kentucky has many assets. We have a rich culture, an abundance of natural resources, and innovative, serious-minded, hard working people. Those things give us a foundation on which we can build.”

Justin Maxson, president of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, underscored the point. “…if you take anything away from what I say here today, I hope it is this: We know a lot more than we think we know. We have many more assets to build from than we often believe. And despite our many challenges, including rapid changes to our local and regional economy, there are innovative people providing hopeful examples all around us. What we need now is to knit these pieces together with a vision for Appalachian renewal and help grow them to scale.”

KFTC members and many of our allies in the region are spending time this month reflecting on the conference and developing key next steps. We encourage all KFTC members to bring your ideas and questions to the next chapter meeting in your area. You may also leave comments and questions on the conference web pages. And conference participants are invited to join a phone call on May 30th to discuss ways forward.

Together we can build Appalachia’s Bright Future.

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Remembering Bob Sloan

KFTC on April 24, 2013 in Coal and Water, Mountaintop Removal and Strip Mining, Rowan County

Appalachian author Bob Sloan – a passionate voice for protecting the land and culture from the destruction of mountaintop removal – died on April 17. He was 65 years old.

“He was a fine ally and fine company, so it’s a double loss,” said Wendell Berry, whose invitation to a Kentucky Authors mountaintop removal tour with KFTC in 2005 provided Bob with the experience that fueled his commitment to stopping the destruction.

“This has been a life-changing experience for me. I keep going back and forth between rage and wanting to cry,” Bob said after listening to the stories of eastern Kentucky residents and flying over Perry County.

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More illness in mining areas, new research finds

KFTC on March 18, 2013 in Coal and Water, Community Science & Public Health, , Enforcement, , Mountaintop Removal and Strip Mining, Floyd County, , Rowan County, Air Quality, , Water Quality

A new study has affirmed what most people in Floyd County already know: living in an area where there is coal mining is bad for one's health.

The study published last week in the Journal of Rural Health found that Floyd County residents were more likely to report higher incidences of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, illnesses involving multiple organs, and general illness than residents in non-mining communities. Residents also reported more serious illness and cancer deaths in family members.

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Growing Appalachia On WMMT

Kristi Kendall on March 7, 2013 in New Energy and Transition, Appalachian Transition, , Sustainable Energy, Floyd County, , Letcher County, , Rowan County

Growing Appalachia Mt. TalkOn Monday, members of the Growing Appalachia planning committee appeared on WMMT's Mountain Talk- a weekly program that covers a wide range of topics pertaining to life in the mountains. Knott County member Fern Nafziger and Rowan County member Cody Montgomery appeared as in-studio guests on the show hosted by Sylvia Ryerson and Mimi Pickering. The show also featured call-in guests Paul Wiedeger of Au Naturel Farms and Will Bowling from Old Homeplace Farm both of which are presenters at Growing Appalachia this Saturday. The guests gave listeners a preview of the workshops they can attend on Saturday and had a great discussion about local food systems, season extension, foraging and more. You can listen to the podcast by visiting WMMT's website.

Growing Appalachia is an event sponsored by the Floyd County chapter and offers a day of free workshops around do-it-yourself energy efficiency, small-scale farming, beginning organic gardening and food preservation. Join us this Saturday, March 9th at the Jenny Wiley Convention Center in Prestonsburg. Lunch will be offered and is locally sourced. You can register for Growing Appalachia by going to kftc.org/growing. You can also join the conversation on Facebook. You don't want to miss this!

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Rowan members setting the record straight on coal use and highway alternatives

Annie Adams on March 4, 2013 in New Energy and Transition, Rowan County

The Rowan County chapter has been raising public awareness about the debt the coal industry owes to eastern Kentucky and the voice citizens should have in making decisions that affect local residents.

On February 26, members of the chapter had published two substantial commentaries in The Morehead News that urged residents to take control of the resources and processes that are rightfully theirs.

Responding to an editorial that erroneously claimed that “Kentucky coal has taken a beating from the federal government and environmentalists and, as a result, statewide production is down sharply,” Sue Tallichet rightly countered that the production of relatively cheap natural gas, the depletion of “‘economically recoverable’ coal in central Appalachia,” and the abundance of “surface-mined coal from the West’s Powder River Basin” have all “resulted in a sharp decline in the  demand for central Appalachian thermal coal used for generating electricity."

Instead of worrying how the “last gasp of eastern Kentucky’s coal mining” benefits the industry and its “friends,” Tallichet argued, we should be focusing on the people and the land that will remain long after the companies have gone.

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Regular Meetings:

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St. Alban's Episcopal Church
145 E. 5th St
Morehead, KY 40351
Monthly chapter meeting:

Third Thursday of the month, 6:30 p.m.

© 2013 Kentuckians For The Commonwealth