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Spring wildfire hazard season begins
Kentucky’s Spring Wildfire Hazard Season took effect Feb. 15 and runs through April 30, restricting outdoor burning during daylight hours. During this period, burning is prohibited between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. in or within 150 feet of any woodland or brushland. The Kentucky Division of Forestry responds to more than 1,000 wildfires each year
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KY utility gets Trump administration funding for smog controls at coal-fired power plant
by Liam Niemeyer Kentucky Lantern February 12, 2026 Kentucky’s largest electric utility will share in $175 million the Trump administration unveiled to modernize and extend the life of coal-fired power plants in six states. Louisville Gas & and Electric and Kentucky Utilities will use the money to upgrade smog controls at its 53-year-old Ghent Generating
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EDA response raises new questions about asbestos in 78-year-old building
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Economic Development Authority’s response to an open records request raises new questions about whether adequate asbestos testing was performed before demolition of a structure in downtown Inez. The building at 21 East Main Street was built in 1947, an era when asbestos-containing materials were heavily
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Football team recognized for PRIDE cleanup
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Magistrate Cody Slone brought members of the Martin County High School football team to the October fiscal court meeting for recognition of their participation in a PRIDE community cleanup. “We had 32 kids join in with us,” Slone said. “We picked up garbage alongside the road for 22
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EDA awards demo project to contractor not licensed for asbestos abatement
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Economic Development Authority voted Oct. 8 to award a commercial building demolition project to a contractor who lacks asbestos certification, prompting concerns about compliance with state and federal law. The project involves tearing down the building at 21 East Main Street in Inez. The EDA
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Letter to Editor: Dredging streams might prevent future problems
Editor: Twenty years ago I worked as a newspaper reporter in Logan, West Virginia, which suffered from a seasonal flooding problem. After much discussion a dredging project was approved. Because of this project the county went for about seven years before that area flooded again, where it used to flood annually. We recently had a
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Volunteers pull 311 tires from Tug Fork River at Nolan
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT NOLAN, W.Va. — The Friends of Tug Fork River led a major waste tire recovery project Thursday in short shoal on the upper end of Nolan, removing 311 tires from the Tug Fork River with help from local volunteers. “This area had a high concentration of tires in a small section but
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‘We didn’t choose this:’ Mingo locals voice frustration, worry to WV DEP over proposed power plants
by Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch September 22, 2025 GILBERT, W.Va. — At a public hearing last Thursday for two proposed natural gas plants in Mingo County, resident Pam Surber had a message for regulators from the state Department of Environmental Protection: “We were here first.” At 63 years old — and turning 64 in
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Public meeting on proposed plants in Mingo County set for Sept. 18
BY KYLE LOVERN MOUNTAIN CITIZEN GILBERT, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will hold an in-person public meeting Sept. 18 at the Larry Joe Harless Community Center in Gilbert on two proposed off-grid electric generating facilities in Mingo County. The meeting, scheduled from 4:30 to 8 p.m. with doors opening at 4
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More tires removed from Tug Fork River
BY KYLE LOVERN MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Volunteers waded into the Tug Fork River this month to haul out hundreds of discarded tires. Their efforts continue a very successful program that has transformed stretches of the waterway over the last few summers. Friends of Tug Fork River organized two recent “Tire Tug of War”
