Appalachia
New rule aims to limit miners’ silica dust exposure but still relies on coal company self-oversight
Correction: This story previously stated the Mine Safety and Health Administration was not holding a hearing on the new silica dust proposal close to Appalachian coal communities. MSHA announced Thursday it had added a hearing in Beckley, West Virginia on Aug. 10. We regret the error. Gary Harriston, 69, compares what it feels like to […]
A conversation with Silas House, Kentucky’s new poet laureate?
LOUISVILLE – Growing up in Eastern Kentucky, author Silas House saw early the power of representation in literature.? Lead character John-Boy in the award-winning television series “The Waltons,” for example, was his “hero.”? Here was a young country boy who, like House, dreamed of writing.? “I didn’t know anybody who wanted to be a writer,” […]
‘Neighbors, heroes and leaders’ step up after last summer’s record flooding
HAZARD — How does one of the nation’s poorest rural regions recover from the most disastrous flooding some of its communities have ever seen? “Neighbors, heroes and leaders.” That answer was the three-legged theme sounded repeatedly by Peter Hille, chair of the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation, at its annual conference in Hazard Thursday and Friday […]
Ashland to host Appalachian Regional Commission conference?in September
Representatives from across Appalachia will convene in Ashland Sept. 11-12? for the Appalachian Regional Commission’s annual conference.? Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear announced the location, theme and date at the Delta Hotel in Downtown Ashland on Tuesday. He was joined by the commission’s federal co-chair Gayle Manchin. The conference theme is “Appalachia Rises: Resilience, Strength & […]