Of 36 newly announced POWER Initiative grant awards, Central Appalachia will receive 22...

The Obama Administration announced yesterday new federal grants totaling more than $14 million for partnerships in 12 states and tribal nations. The money comes from the POWER Initiative, which the administration bills as the down-payment on the POWER+ Plan, and addresses immediate need created by the collapse of the coal industry. The POWER+ Plan proposes an almost $10 billion investment in coal communities to help them transition into a new economy.  Of the 36 total awards, Kentucky is getting 14. With those 14 factored in, Central Appalachia is getting 22. That’s a lot of federal money making its way into the mountains, and it’s definitely going to help move the region forward. Some highlights of projects being funded with these grants: $200,000 EDA grant to Appalshop, in Whitesburg, Ky., for Mines to Minds: The Southeast Kentucky High Tech Workforce Certificate Project. Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is also awarding $75,000 to this project. The project will develop a one-year IT workforce certificate program targeted to communities affected by the reduction in coal employment. $100,000 EDA grant to Perry County Fiscal Court in Hazard, Ky., for the Southeastern Kentucky Economic HUB Opportunities Diversification Implementation Project. This project will fund a position that coordinates implementation of the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy across targeted industry clusters, while leveraging existing resources to invest in skills development and job placement for dislocated workers. $80,000 to the Kentucky River Area Development District in Hazard, Ky., to fund a first-ever inventory of existing businesses in the region. $274,500 to...

IG2BYITM Conference reaffirms one Appalachian’s hope for the future...

It’s been nearly two weeks since the It’s Good 2 Be Young in the Mountains conference in Harlan, Ky., and still it’s ripples are growing outward. (Photo courtesy of IG2BYITM Facebook) The “festival that breaks out into a conference,” as it was billed, was quite unlike any other conference about or for young people that’s I’ve been to in the region to date, for a few key reasons: It was wholly organized and carried out by young people; It’s social media presence was pervasive and effective in the weeks prior to the conference; And of the couple hundred or so people that attended, there may have been 10 people over 40. What’s also significant about IG2BYITM is the level of commitment and dedication flowing throughout all aspects of the conference. Commitment and dedication to place, that is – Central Appalachia, to be exact. This commitment and dedication is not to be confused as a love-fest for our mountain home. While much adoration and appreciation for our place was shared and talked about and embraced, much talk was had about the challenges we face as a region – challenges that are not small or insignificant by any measure. But while those challenges were in everyone’s minds as the conference chugged along, they were not necessarily the focus. The spotlight was reserved for what’s next – the collective future we are all building together and how we don’t want to be mired in or by the past – past mistakes, past failures, past romanticized –...

Local support for POWER+ Plan growing like wildfire

Support for the POWER+ Plan is picking up steam in Central Appalachia, as several localities have now passed resolutions in support of the plan. The Norton, Va., City Council became the first in the nation to pass a resolution supporting the POWER+ Plan in July. They were joined shortly after by the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission and the Wise County Board of Supervisors in Virginia. City Councils in Whitesburg and Benham, Ky., passed similar resolutions last week, and have been followed this week by the Kentucky Fiscal Courts of Letcher and Harlan Counties, and the Campbell County Commission in Tennessee. In each case, the resolutions passed unanimously, which goes to show that local leaders have no qualms about accepting assistance for their communities when it is desperately needed. They live with the reality of coal’s collapse surrounding them every day, and they know the billions of dollars being offered to Central Appalachia through the POWER+ Plan would be an enormous help in bolstering their local economies. Mountain people might be prideful, but they also aren’t too proud to accept help when it comes, no matter from where it derives. The resolutions being passed are worth quoting: “The POWER+ Plan includes programs that would disburse $1 billion in funding for Abandoned Mine Land (AML) projects that create long-term business and economic opportunities; would invest millions in workforce development and job training programs in communities impacted by the decline of the coal industry; and would strengthen the health and pension plans of 100,000 retired...

MACED’s statement about the U.S. Department of the Interior’s new stream protection rule...

The U.S. Department of the Interior released new rules for the protection of streams from the impact of surface mining – rules which haven’t been updated in three decades. We’re happy about this update because we know that in order to have economically thriving and sustainable communities in the mountains, having clean water will be essential. You can read a full statement from the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development about the new rules,...

People who are poor should be central in SOAR leadership

Former War on Poverty anti-poverty worker, Robert W. Shaffer has some advice about how to improve upon past efforts at economic transition in eastern Kentucky: Let people who are poor have seats at all tables where decisions about the future of the region are being made. From Shaffer: Poverty statistics will once again be used to bring millions of dollars to Eastern Kentucky to be spent by those who are not poor. What is never considered is the enormous price poor families pay to produce these statistics. They are, after all, the expert witnesses. Who has a greater stake in SOAR’s success? It makes common sense that poor people should have seats at the table where decisions are made about how those funds will be spent. But it is an open secret that many in leadership do not want poor people to acquire the confidence to participate at the highest levels in programs designed to enable them to rise out of poverty. The Shaping Our Appalachian Region Initiative has been key to shifting the overarching conversation about transition in the region, and has helped bring in millions in federal investments. However – as we’ve written about previously on this blog – the entire initiative has a long way to go before all eastern Kentuckians are equally represented among it’s leadership and participants. As Shaffer points out: “SOAR’s present leadership consists of the one percent of the population accustomed to controlling all federal and state funds available to the region. The executive board...

Economic transition advice from a seasoned EKY grassroots leader...

Gwenda Johnson has some advice for modern-day eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia about how we move our economy forward, and she talked about it recently with Making Connections News. From MCN: Johnson grew up on a family farm in Elliot County, and has worked as a county extension agent for family and consumer sciences. Recently, she was asked by her county judge to focus her efforts on community economic development. She spoke with MCN and WMMT-FM about her hopes for the region in a piece created for the “Appalachia Speaks” series – short videos featuring voices and visions of grassroots leaders. “It’s time for us to gather our people,” Johnson says. “Maybe it’s time for a revolution. What can we do? What are the strengths of this mountains and the hills? What so we have that we can use?” Watch Johnson’s full interview...

AML white paper gives recommendations to make program work better for Central Appalachia’s economic transition...

UPDATE, 7-9-15: The full text of the AML white paper can now be downloaded at the link to the press release. Scroll to the bottom for the link to download.  The AML Policies Priority Group – a multi-stakeholder group examining the abandoned mine lands fund – released a white paper today that assesses the opportunity for the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program in Central Appalachia. From a press release about the white paper’s release: The paper provides recommendations for specific policy changes that would provide distribution of special funds to states based on criteria such as number of remaining abandoned mine lands sites, unemployment rates, and opportunity for economic development, rather than rates of coal production as the current law mandates. The central aim of the research paper, which includes input from a broad range of stakeholders across the region, is to analyze the AML program and identify potential improvements. Some of the paper’s key findings include: The AML program supported 1,317 jobs in Central Appalachian states, and delivered a value-added impact of $102 million in these states. It will take at least $9.6 billion to remediate the remaining 6.2 million acres of lands and waters ravaged by abandoned mine problems. AML funding is not distributed according to need. Congress should enact legislation that replaces all AML sub-funds with a single distribution mechanism based on a state’s percentage of the updated federal AML inventory. AML funds are a big part of President Obama’s POWER+ Plan proposal, and this paper aims...

More news of local food success in Kentucky

Kentucky leads the way in federally funded local foods projects at 1,659. That latest number comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with this one: local food sales topped $11.7 billion last year – that’s billion, with a “b.” That is a huge figure, and one that further proves local foods is one sector upon which communities can capitalize, something we’ve been saying for years. Not only are local farmers, et al, making a big economic impact through the local foods sector, but farmers’ markets and direct-to-consumer outlets are quickly becoming cornerstones of small communities and helping to develop a broader and deeper sense of community among locals. In Kentucky, 73 farmers markets and DTC outlets now accept SNAP, and last year, almost $80,000 in SNAP benefits were redeemed at Kentucky markets. That is huge news for eastern Kentucky where many locals rely on SNAP each month. Such locals would have been excluded from using SNAP at many farmers markets just 5 years ago. The Letcher County Farmers’ Market (LCFM) in Whitesburg, Ky., is a shining example of an innovative approach to eastern Kentucky farmers’ markets. Not only does the market accept SNAP and run a successful summer feeding program for local children, but the market now works in partnership with the Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation to provide “prescriptions” for locally-grown, organic food. Patients who qualify for the Farmacy program receive $1 per day per family member, which are later totaled and written on a voucher that can be...