OVEC Mourns Passing of a Founder, Dianne Bady

Dianne Bady, 67, succumbed to cancer on October 23, 2017 at Emogene Dolin Jones Hospice House in Huntington, WV. Her husband Rick, her son Aaron, her sister Monica McFarland, and OVEC staff members were with her in her final hours.

For those of you who knew Dianne Bady and didn’t already know, we are so sorry to inform you in this manner of her passing. To all who attended the celebration of her life, thank you!

In 1987, thirty years ago, Dianne was a founder of OVEC; OVEC is Dianne’s legacy.

“My husband, Rick, and I were new here, and when we started OVEC, we didn’t know it was supposed to be impossible.” That’s what Dianne told a Huntington Herald Dispatch reporter for a November 25, 2012 article about OVEC’s 25th anniversary titled “Environmental group enjoying regional success.”

She also told the reporter, “The only way you can win on environmental issues is if the power of organized people is greater than the power of organized money.”

Dianne was a leader in the movement to end mountaintop removal coal mining. She spent the final years of her life learning all she could about renewable energy, fracking, pipelines, the Rogersville Shale (as evidenced in OVEC’s publication Renew West Virginia), and the concept of the Appalachian Storage Hub, touted by the fracked-gas industry.

We reckon Dianne would have been as gob-smacked as the rest of us at the latest pipeline news—WV DEP waives water review authority, paving way for Mountain Valley Pipeline—and she would have been working with others on next steps, as will we!

We can honor Dianne’s legacy by carrying on her work for environmental justice, wherever we live.

If you would like to share a remembrance, people have been commenting here: OVEC Mourns Loss of Founder Dianne Bady.

Dianne’s son Aaron wrote this moving obituary.  

Donations to OVEC in remembrance of Dianne may be made online or via check:
OVEC
PO Box 6753
Huntington, WV 25573-6753

Photo above by Janet Keating.

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#WVWaterCrisis Doc to Screen in Charleston, Huntington

The West Virginia premiere of What Lies Upstream is this Friday at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theater 123 Summers St. in Charleston. Cullen Hoback, the investigative filmmaker who directed the film, will be on hand for a discussion after the film. A red carpet event will precede the screening; the film is presented as part of the WV International Film Festival.

Watch the trailer here.

The film also screens at noon this Friday and Saturday at the Marquee Cinema at Pullman Square in downtown Huntington. (Update: no showing in Huntington Friday.)

In an e-mail alerting us to the screenings, the director noted that OVEC was “instrumental in a key part of the film, and I think there are revelations contained in the documentary that could have profound effects locally.”

A review notes, “(this) film is a reminder of how important accountability and oversight are at the local level, where policies can impact lives directly.”

What Lies Upstream is arresting, compelling and downright scary: “What Lies Upstream details the corporate negligence and alleged government complicity surrounding the January 2014 leak of MCHM, also known as 4-methylcyclohexane methanol—a coal-processing detergent (stored at) by Freedom Industries Inc.—into the Elk River in West Virginia.” 

News:
Save our Water Documentary, Thriller will Screen at Pullman
Political Thriller Plays Pullman, Charleston WV Film Festival
Water crisis documentary returns to the source

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Upcoming Events and Deadlines
Please do check our event page on a regular basis, since new events are posted as we confirm them. 

November 4: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Faith Hope Love: Our Common Home in Charleston, WV. Look for the OVEC table at this event.

November 10: 2 p.m. #ReplaceNAFTA Grassroots Briefing with Lori Wallach. RSVP for this call here.

November 19: 4 p.m. Screening of Blood on the Mountain in Buckhannon, WV, with Buckhannon native, filmmaker Mari-Lyn Evans. More details coming, so check our event page.

November 21: 1 p.m. Public meeting via phone or internet for comment on definition of Waters of the United States. You must register in advance. Details here. 

November 22: Deadline to comment in support of MSHA keeping its coal slurry dam reporting requirements. OVEC will be submitting comments, but individuals are encouraged to do the same.

November 28: #GivingTuesday 2018. Give in support of our $30 for 30 campaign.

November 28: Deadline to comment on definition of Waters of the United States. OVEC has submitted comments, but individuals are encouraged to do the same.

November 28 -29: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a public hearing on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan in Charleston, WV. All persons wanting to speak are encouraged to register in advance. More details here. Pre-registration to provide an oral presentation will begin when the notice is published in the Federal Register and close on November 16, 2017. 

December: Date TBD. Follow-up meeting of the Tri-State Water Defense Citizen Summit. Limited space. Contact robin@ohvec.org for info. 

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