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Letter to editor: Martin County’s future depends on clean water
Editor: I am now in my 80s, and the water in Martin County has had unnumerable problems for over 60 years. I love my hometown. The people here have done an incredible job in beautifying it, and I would love for it to become a wonderful tourist attraction. But before that can happen, there must
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Protective order lifted for Wayne water supply after mineral oil release
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN WAYNE, W.Va. — Town officials lifted the protective order on Wayne’s drinking water supply Friday following three weeks of disruption tied to a mineral oil release at an Appalachian Power facility. Wayne Mayor Danny Grace officially ended the order at approximately 2:30 p.m. Feb. 7, according to the West Virginia
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Martin County Water District asks PSC to end oversight
Opponents warn system remains fragile BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Water District is asking the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) to close a long-running oversight case and lift monitoring requirements imposed more than six years ago, arguing that the utility has made significant financial and operational progress under outside management. The
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Martin County rises in WWATERS ranking; lawmakers will decide funds
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN FRANKFORT — After receiving no funding last year due to scoring errors, Martin County returned to a competitive statewide process this fall with 12 water and sewer projects that ranked near the top for assistance under the Kentucky Water and Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems program. The
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What’s the drip?
BY MADISON MOONEY Hello Martin County residents. My name is Madison Mooney. I work for the nonprofit LiKEN Knowledge (short for Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network) as their community care coordinator. I have been doing water-related work with LiKEN for over four years here in Martin County. Between my time with LiKEN and the prior four
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Martin County still needs Alliance
BY NINA MCCOY In the wake of our most recent brown water event, people are rightly concerned and looking for answers, and possibly someone to blame. You can be assured the water board and Alliance are working with several entities to figure out what happened, and we will continue to report on what happened and
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Mural unveiled in Inez honors fight for clean water
Beneath a vivid mural of a woman strumming a banjo as water flows from her figure through green mountains and starry skies, community members gathered Saturday in downtown Inez to celebrate the new public artwork honoring Martin County’s fight for clean, reliable drinking water. Appalachian Pioneer Program founder Austin Shuck commissioned the mural and led
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Corrosive water ‘root cause’ of brown water in Martin County, chairman says
BY LISA STAYTON MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Water Board Chairman Tim Thoma says recent widespread brown water in the county is a symptom of corrosive water dislodging mineral buildup inside aging pipes. “This is the root cause,” Thoma told the board in a July 22 meeting, citing the county’s negative Langelier Saturation Index
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Brown water: Judge calls on PSC to rescind order requiring outside management of Martin County Water District
County fast-tracks weed-cutting BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty is calling on the Kentucky Public Service Commission to rescind its order requiring outside management of the Martin County Water District. He cited operational failures that have led to widespread brown-colored water and growing public frustration. In the same meeting
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$24M rejection: Martin County Water District threatens legal action
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ — The Martin County Water District is weighing legal action against the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority and Big Sandy Area Development District, claiming the flawed scoring of the county’s water and sewer project applications cost one of Kentucky’s most distressed districts $24 million in critical funding. The issue centers on
