Appalachia needs strong leaders

The Hazard Herald of Hazard, Ky., wanted to know in this editorial where the leadership in Frankfort has beenhiding while coal jobs in eastern Kentuckycontinue dropping, leaving thousands out of work without viable alternative opportunities. "We don’t know what Gov. Beshear has up his sleeve, or how much he had to do with any of the positive job creation we’re seeing in other parts of the state, but he can’t expect to put his name on those successes while washing his hands of the declining economy in Eastern Kentucky. We’re hearing next to nothing from Frankfort about creating a new economy beyond coal. We need a new vision." We agree that the region does need a new vision, and it seems like it will come from within before those without will take action. The Mountain Association for Community Economic Development has recently developed what could be a good series of steps folks in the region could take to create a new vision to diversify the economy and move the region forward into a bright future. You can read a bit about their plan in this editorial from MACED’s Executive Director, Justin Maxson. Basically, they give four strategies: Better support local entrepreneurs and enterprises. Grow key sectors that build on Central Appalachia’s great assets. Provide workers with financial support, retraining and job matching tied to growing sectors. Better invest financial resources already available, and actively search for more. They say these four strategies should be supported by increased conversation about the issues...

“Focus on how we can move forward”

We often lament here the lack of political leadership in preparing Appalachia for a low-coal future, so it was refreshing to read an op-ed from Kentucky state Rep. Leslie Combs that called for less fighting over coal and more support for a more robust Appalachian economy. "We need to be talking about the new reality of less mining because we've known this day was coming," she wrote. Combs, along with another Eastern Kentucky coalfield legislator, pre-filed a bill that would return all coal severance taxes back to the counties where the coal was mined (currently they get less than half). It's a bill that is unlikely to pass, as Combs admits, but if it's a catalyst to get the legislature talking about Eastern Kentucky's economic development, then that's a start.  In response to Rep. Combs' op-ed, the Herald-Leader wrote its own editorial, praising Combs for "her eagerness to lead on this challenge," and stating that "Combs' bottom line — 'focus less on placing blame and more on how coal-mining regions can move forward' — is unassailable." But it also pushes some of her ideas farther: "We could also support returning more of the severance tax to coal counties, but only if there is a smart plan based on sound economics and governance that would be democratic, transparent and accountable with quantifiable measures of success and failure." Comprehensive, participatory strategic planning is absolutely crucial to Appalachia's transition. How many news stories have been written about a huge new investment into a project that fails to...

Wendell Berry Asks…”What Else?”

Legendary Kentucky author, farmer and academic Wendell Berry contributed the following piece to the Appalachia-focused issue of the Solutions Journal: For more than 100 years the coal-producing counties of eastern Kentucky have been dependent on the coal industry, which has dominated them politically and, submitting only to the limits of technology, has come near to ruining them. The legacy of the coal economy in the Kentucky mountains will be immense and lasting damage to the land and to the people. Much of the damage to the land and the streams, and to water quality downstream, will be irreparable within historical time. The lastingness of the damage to the people will, to a considerable extent, be determined by the people. The future of the people will, in turn, be determined by the kind of economy that may come to supplement and finally to replace the economy of coal. Contrary to my own prejudice and sense of caution, I am going to yield here, briefly, to the temptation to talk about the future. In talking about the future, wishes have a certain standing. My wish for eastern Kentucky, as for the rest of the state, is that the economies of the future might originate in the local use of local intelligence. The coal economy, by contrast, has been an imposed economy, coming in from the outside and also coming down from the high perches of wealth and power. It is the product of an abstracting industrial and mercenary intelligence, alien both...

Grooming Our Own Leaders in Appalachia

From Kentucky’s Berea College: This summer, Entrepreneurship for the Public Good (EPG) is training students in both business and community leadership. The program supplies young entrepreneurs with the abilities to strengthen their local communities. The work they are doing promotes a sense of pride in our region while also boosting the economy. EPG has been bringing Berea students, faculty, and community members together for the past eight years. During the summer months, the program’s summer institute promotes learning, engagement, and achievement in promising young entrepreneurs through an intense eight-week program. Students must participate for two summers. At the end of their second, those who demonstrate development in applying what they have learned are awarded the distinction of EPG Fellow. This summer, one team of EPG Fellow candidates is working to expand and promote the local food system economy. They are doing this by looking into food security, healthy living, farmers markets, and helping local farmers see the value of the food they produce. They are also incorporating different community assets like entertainment and art along with food. Using Kentucky’s rich agriculture, students hope to use what the state already has to offer for the benefit of communities and the economy. This group, consisting of both Appalachian and international students, is currently working in Hazard, Ky. to help establish a more efficient local food system in the region. The remaining three EPG groups are working on promoting tourism within the state, which is one of Kentucky’s largest industries — the...