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Martin County Water elects new chair, reports record-low water loss
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Water District reported encouraging improvements in its meeting Oct. 22, including the lowest water loss rate recorded in the last several years. In a unanimous decision, the board elected Tim Thoma as its new chair. “I moved to this community two years ago and I…
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Barefoot Festival to debut in Lovely
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LOVELY — Get ready for the Barefoot Festival to debut in Martin County on Nov. 1 and 2, bringing music, community and culture together on a reclaimed strip mine on North Wolf Creek Road in Lovely. The two-day event promises to be like nothing you have experienced. With live performances…
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Heritage Day set for Oct. 19: Event pays homage to old ways of Appalachia
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County residents come together each year to celebrate roots, culture and community at Martin County Heritage Day. The event pays homage to the old ways of life, honoring the grit and traditions of ancestors who called these Appalachian hills home. Set for Oct. 19, Heritage Day will…
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Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society hosts scholars for coal mining research collaboration
INEZ — On Sept. 24, the Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society welcomed Anna Fenyvesi from Hungary and Briane Turley and his wife Anne from West Virginia State University. Professor Turley has done extensive research on the effects of coal mining in rural areas of Kentucky and West Virginia. He has also examined the influence…
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Spotted in Inez: The photographer reframing Appalachia
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County’s Fiscal Court took a moment Thursday to recognize a local artist who is flipping the script on how Appalachia is seen. Freelance photographer Andrew Gess—known for his stunning shots of local landscapes—has had his work splashed all over town. You have probably seen his images on…
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The Rural Americans Too Poor for Federal Flood Protections
A data-driven disaster tool shows “bias” against rural communities. by Claire Carlson and Elizabeth Miller / Climate Central, The Daily Yonder August 12, 2024 On the day he would become homeless, Wesley Bryant was awoken by his wife, Alexis. This story was produced through a collaboration between the Daily Yonder, which covers rural America, and…
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How We Owned a Mine, or A Brief History of Kentucky’s Mining Cooperative
A Hungarian immigrant created a collectively owned coal mine that, for a brief moment, proved an alternative to ruthless and exploitative mining operations of Appalachia in the early 20th century. by Anya Petrone Slepyan July 10, 2024 For over 100 years, Himler House stood on a hill overlooking Beauty, formerly Himlerville, in Martin County, Kentucky. Once the…
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Former Inez lawyer climbed out of alcoholism, launched a recovery boom
BY DEBORAH YETTER KENTUCKY LANTERN LOUISA — Around the office at Addiction Recovery Care, Vanessa Keeton is still known as “Client One” — marking her status as the first client of the first recovery center ARC opened as a group home in Lawrence County. But her official title is vice president of marketing, where she…
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Eastern Kentucky towns fight to recover from opioid epidemic, with help from newcomers and recovering addicts, national author reports
BY SAM QUINONES REPUBLISHED BY KHN FROM THE FREE PRESS In early 2020, Mandi Fugate Sheffel, 42, opened a tiny bookstore in her hometown of Hazard. Everyone thought she was crazy. Downtown Hazard was a forbidding place to start any business, much less a bookstore. Most coal mines that once supported the area had closed.…
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What it means to have Appalachian roots
There is a certain bond between people born and raised in Appalachia and where they grew up. Most of us spent our childhoods in small towns or up a holler (hollow for you city slickers) and we have a special attachment to those communities and the people who live there. The place where we were…
Tag: Appalachia
