Urgent Work on Dismantling Racism Continues
We are urging folks to come out today, June 30, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. for a Call to Action for Racial Equality in WV, to be held at the East End Family Resource Center (Roosevelt Neighborhood Center), 502 Ruffner Ave. Charleston, WV.

This free event will feature a keynote address on “Redefining Leadership for a New Generation” given by Farajii R. Muhammad, a community activist based in Baltimore, MD.  There will be food provided by the center, a raffle prize and music by singer-songwriter Jasmyne Gray.

“The goal (of the meeting) is to organize around concrete solutions to systemic racism in West Virginia where people of color are under represented in colleges and employment, and over represented in prisons,” Lida Shepherd, director of student organizing and racial justice for the nonprofit American Friends Service Committee, told the Charleston Daily Mail. “Students are leading this. This is their event, their movement.”

Sponsors: American Friends Service Committee, Partnership of African American Churches, Keep Your Faith Corporation, American Civil Liberties Union-WV, WV FREE, HOPE Community Development Corporation, Healthy Kids and Families Coalition, KISRA, Sierra Club, East End Family Resource Center, OVEC (Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition), 2nd Avenue Community Center, YWCA of Charleston, Compassionate Charleston, WV Center on Budget and Policy, Race Matters in WV.

Folks are also urged to come out again on Thursday, July 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Young Chapel AME Church, 840 18th Street, Huntington, WV. The Cabell – Huntington Branch of the NAACP and other groups are hosting a vigil of remembrance for the nine victims of the June 17 race-hate shootings in Charleston, SC. 

Return to Index

Hearing on MTR Permit on Coal River Mountain
Coal River Mountain Watch is urging folks to comment:

The WV DEP will hold an informal conference on the Long Ridge mountaintop removal permit on July 7 at the new Marsh Fork Elementary School in Rock Creek, WV (Raleigh County on Rt. 3). This is the last chance to state your opposition to Alpha Natural Resources’ proposed new 847-acre site on Coal River Mountain.

You can:
-Come out in person, at 6:00 p.m.
-Join more than 72,000 others in signing this petition.
-Email the permit supervisor, Tom Wood, at thomas.e.wood@wv.gov.
-Mail your comments to Tom Wood at
DEP Regional Office
Attn: Permit Supervisor
254 Industrial Drive
Oak Hill, WV 25901

CRMW provides these talking points that you can use to tell Mr. Wood that he should deny Republic Energy (Alpha) permit application S300115:
-There’s no doubt that mountaintop removal harms our health, and his decision can mean life or death for residents. The most recent health studies are here and here.
-Alpha has a dismal record of complying with permit requirements, and WVDEP doesn’t have the capacity or the will to enforce the law.
-Alpha could very well go bankrupt or otherwise walk away from their mess without enough money to clean it up. Their stock was just 32 cents per share at closing Friday.
-This site upstream of two elementary schools, Clear Fork and Marsh Fork, will increase the frequency and severity of floods.
-He has the moral obligation to deny this permit.

Speak out in person or in writing! No more MTR for Coal River Mountain.

Return to Index

July 13: Not Your Grandparent’s Oil & Gas Industry, Meeting Two
About 200 folks showed up for our first meeting titled “Not Your Grandparent’s Oil & Gas Industry.“

At that meeting, we heard from lawyers and activists who have been dealing with shale-fracking issues in other parts of the state. Now, as worries about potential really deep shale drilling pile up, we are having a second meeting where we can share, in a moderated discussion, stories of what is already happening in Wayne and surrounding counties.

Please plan to join us at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 13 at First Congregational UCC, 701 5th Ave, Huntington, WV.

Come share what you know and what you want to know about leasing of mineral rights in Wayne and surrounding counties. Come voice your concerns. We want drinkable water, clean air and healthy people!

Return to Index

It’s that time of year again… July 3 – 5 is the Keeper of the Mountain’s Fourth of July Solar-Powered Music Festival.  Details here. Find directions to Kayford Mountain here.

Then, on July 31 starting at 5 p.m., it’s the OVEC member and invited guest picnic. We are once again going to gather in Coonskin Park, Charleston, WV for a lovely evening of socializing, information sharing and award presentations. We’ll have loads of door prizes!

Please plan to join us and bring a friend, neighbor or family member along for the fun! OVEC will provide the main course vittles; you can feel free to bring a side dish if possible. We also encourage you to bring your own re-usable table ware and cups. E-mail info@ohvec.org for details or, if you are an OVEC member, watch for our mailing.