balancing the scales - April 2012

April 26, 2012

Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Lexington, Ky. Permit No. 513

KFTC members think Kentuckians deserve better — Share vision for tax reform pg. 13

Change Service Requested

Volume 31 Number 3

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth P.O. Box 1450 London, Ky. 40743

balancing the scales

Harlan members share a vision for their community with visitors pg. 4

Legislature again passed up chance to help farmers cut energy costs pg. 5

Growing Appalachia conference fosters dialogue and builds practical skills pg. 7

Former Felon Voices – Ed West believes in speaking up pg. 10

Want to build a stronger local KFTC chapter? Armchair series planned pg. 4

General Assembly lives up to expectations — little action on key issues pg. 6

KFTC 2012 voter empowerment landscape preview pg. 10

New Power Leader Profile: Jack Ball, pg. 11

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balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Table of Contents

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

Executive Committee Corner page 3 Letter to the Editor Harlan members share a vision for their community with visitors

is a statewide grassroots social justice orga­­ni­ zation working for a new balance of power and a just society. KFTC uses direct-action organizing to accomplish the following goals:

page 4

Want to build a stronger local KFTC chapter? Join the Armchair Series In Honor of...Dean & Nina Cornett honored for lifetimes of environmental efforts

page 4 page 5

Member Commentary Legislature again passed up chance to help farmers cut energy costs

page 5

• foster democratic values • change unjust institutions • empower individuals • overcome racism and other discrimination • communicate a message of what is possible • build the organization • help people participate • win issues that affect the common welfare • have fun

2012 General Assembly Update General Assembly lives up to expectations - little action on key issues page 6 Local Updates Growing Appalachia conference fosters dialogue and builds practical skills Scott County members re-focus after the legislative session Northern Kentucky members use film series to increase community awareness Letcher County members take to the airways to support voting rights Square dancing and pie auction supports KFTC and ally

page 7 page 7 page 8 page 8 page 9

Voter Empowerment Update KFTC 2012 voter empowerment landscape preview Former Felon Voices – Ed West believes in speaking up

page 10 page 10

Voting Rights Update Voting rights wrap up: We didn’t win, but we didn’t lose New Power Leader Profile: Jack Ball, Harlan County

page 11 page 11

Canary Project Update Groups sue to force EPA to protect people from coal ash

page 12

Economic Justice Update Take action — What do you think Kentuckians deserve?

Tell the Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform

page 13

New Energy and Transition Update KFTC and allies move clean energy conversation forward Citizens participate in Rural Electric Cooperative public forum

page 14 page 15

I want to help KFTC build power!

Name: Address: City, State Zip: Phone: Email:

KFTC membership dues are $15 to $50 per year, based on ability to pay. No one is denied membership because of inability to pay.

Membership is open to anyone who is committed to equality, democracy and nonviolent change.

KFTC Steering Committee Steve Boyce, Chairperson Sue Tallichet, Vice-Chairperson Dana Beasley Brown, Secretary-Treasurer K.A. Owens, Immediate Past Chair Rick Handshoe, At-Large Member

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Rosanne Fitts Klarer, Scott County Erika Skaggs, Central Kentucky Ted Withrow, Rowan County Ben Baker, Northern Kentucky Mary Love, Jefferson County Travis Lane, Bowling Green & Friends Carl Shoupe, Harlan County Cleveland Smith, Perry County Megan Naseman, Madison County Elizabeth Sanders, Letcher County Nathan Hall, Floyd County Alternates: Vacant, Scott County; Christian Torp, Central Kentucky; Lisa Bryant, Rowan County; Katie Meyer, Northern Kentucky; Christine Farmer, Jefferson County; Vacant, Bowling Green & Friends; Roy Silver, Harlan County; Tiffany Stiles, Perry County; Meta Mendel-Reyes, Madison County; Ada Smith, Letcher County; Bev May, Floyd County

balancing the scales is published by Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and mailed third class from Lexington, Kentucky.

Reader contri­butions and letters to the editor should be sent to 250 Southland Drive Suite #4, Lexington, KY. 40503 or tim@kftc.org.

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balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Executive Committee Corner Editor’s Note: Members of KFTC’s Executive Committee will will use this column to share their perspectives on various topics from time to time.

by Sue Tallichet KFTC Vice-Chairperson

One day in early April, a prophet came to my town. He wore glasses, sported a beard, and wore a casual suit over his lean frame. His name was Michael.

He spoke of men blowing up mountains and filling the adjacent valleys with rocks and other debris.

He told us how that destruction was leading to death and disease among our neighbors and friends. He told us what we all know – that it simply has to stop.

I am referring to Dr. Michael Hendryx, of course.

Earlier this week Dr. Hendryx spoke to a receptive crowd of students, faculty and administrators on Morehead State University’s campus about his ongoing research in coal-impacted Appalachian communities.

Although I may be stretching it a bit when referring to him as a “prophet,” the power of his (and his colleagues’) research is becoming increasingly compelling.

His findings represent legitimate scientific evidence that exposes the myths perpetuated by the coal industry when it tries to justify or ignore the effects of mountaintop removal (MTR).

Try as they may, coal industry representatives and like-minded politicians can neither refute nor afford to ignore what this research is telling us.

Based on my own observations, I have discovered that research in Appalachia’s coal country is now a contested activity in the coal industry’s quest to dispute studies that call for a stop to MTR. Why? Because what we believe is powerful. It is the basis for making political, economic and social change.

Toward that end, I had the honor to be on a Friday afternoon panel discussion at the Appalachian Studies Association meetings March 23-25 on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus. The other panel members were Katey Lauer and Patrick Morales with the Alliance for Appalachia and Appalachian Voices staffer Benji Burrell.

During our session, entitled “Building Political Leadership for a Healthy and Prosperous Future,” we presented and discussed Hendryx’s research findings with Benji providing some excellent maps illustrating where all this was happening.

All in all, we revealed that since 2008 Hendryx and his colleagues have found that: • Residents in MTR counties reported an average of 18 more unhealthy days (i.e., poor physical and mental health and activity limitations) compared to residents in non-mining counties.

• MTR counties have significantly higher poverty rates, child poverty rates and mortality rates compared with other counties over the study period of 2000-2007.

• MTR communities had higher rates of chronic cardiovascular disease and a cancer rate of 14.4% compared with a 9.4% rate in communities without MTR after accounting for the effects of age, gender, smoking, occupational exposure and family cancer history. Based on this statistic, it could be estimated that strip mining is associated with an additional 60,000 more people with cancer.

• Six types of birth defects (circulatory/respiratory, central nervous system, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, urogenital and problems from “other” types of defects) occurred more frequently in MTR counties than in counties without coal mining while controlling for socio-economic effects.

• Children born in MTR counties were 42% more likely to have birth defects than if they were not born there.

Statistically, Hendryx was able to separate the effects of smoking, alcohol use and lack of prenatal care from those environmental effects of MTR. Well beyond those effects, we can conclude that MTR is contributing a significant share of death among Appalachian citizens and causing irreparable harm to our children and grandchildren.

Moreover, these effects are getting worse over time and they are spreading beyond MTR counties.

Hendryx and colleagues concluded that the costs to human health and well-being outweighed the benefits of coal mining in these areas.

His findings are as frightening as they are astounding and that is why they are having such an effect on public opinion. They drown out the jobs versus environment debate because nothing is worse than the slow death and defects that MTR brings.

Our audience was a mix of young and middle-aged academics and activists. While many of them were somewhat aware of the toll MTR takes on humans, some were not. All vowed to work harder together to educate those they could reach and to put political pressure on those who could stop this terrible practice.

We can measure mortality and cancer rates. We can count the number and types of birth defects. We can even estimate the health care and other sorts of costs this mining technique is having on us. But what haunts me most, because there is no answer to it, is how do we measure the resulting human misery?

Ironically, all that the science is telling us are things citizens living in coal-impacted communities have known for some time. They live with the reality that what you do to the land, you do to the people living there.

It’s a simple truth. Unlike a lie, when you tell the truth, you never have to lie again. When you tell the truth it becomes a good habit. That’s what I like about Michael.

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KFTC Offices and Staff MAIN OFFICE Morgan Brown, Robin Daugherty & Burt Lauderdale P.O. Box 1450 London, Kentucky 40743 606-878-2161 Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org

FIELD OFFICES Louisville Jessica George, Jerry Hardt, Colette Henderson and Nancy Reinhart 901 Franklin Street Louisville, Ky 40206 502-589-3188 Whitesburg Tanya Turner P.O. Box 463 Whitesburg, Ky 41858 606-632-0051 Berea Lisa Abbott, Amy Hogg, Carissa Lenfert, Sara Pennington and Kevin Pentz 140 Mini Mall Drive Berea, KY 40403 859-986-1277

Teri Blanton 118 Baugh Street Berea, Ky. 40403 859-986-1648 Central Kentucky Tim Buckingham, Jessica Hays Lucas, Erik Hungerbuhler, Heather Roe Mahoney, Dave Newton and Ondine Quinn 250 Plaza Drive Suite 4 Lexington, Ky 40503 859-276-0563 Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein 859-380-6103 Floyd County Kristi Kendall 606-226-4159

e-mail any staff member at firstname@kftc.org except for Jessica Hays Lucas use jessicabreen@kftc.org

On the cover: Danny Cotton, Carl Shoupe, Greg Capillo, and Donna Aros posed behind the HB 127 Yard Sale banner. The yard sale was a creative media stunt to bring attention to the legislator’s lack of ambition to raise adequate revenue to help the state budget. Members brought items to sell to raise funds for specific areas of the budget that have received continual budget cuts from the administration over the last 10 years.

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balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Letter to the Editor

Harlan members share a vision for their community with visitors

Dear editor,

On April 13, 15 KFTC members traveled from Danville (Boyle County) and Louisville to Lynch for a Mountain Witness Tour.

Lynch and adjacent Benham are towns in Harlan County with a rich coal mining histories dating back almost 100 years.

At their height in the 1940s these communities were home to more than 10,000 people representing more than three-dozen nationalities. By the end of WWII Lynch was the largest coal camp in the world.

Coal mining jobs have declined sharply since the 1970s as mechanization and surface mining have largely replaced underground coal mining.

To quote Appalachian historian Dr. Ron Eller, “Lynch represents something that has become part of the Appalachian tradition, the importance and significance of place to people. It is one of the few remaining examples of a time when company towns were strewn up and down the region like beads on a string.”

In the morning, part of our group toured the Coal Mining Museum located in the old Benham Commissary while others took the Portal 31 underground coal mine exhibit tram ride.

The Coal Mining Museum included an enormous range of coal mining historical artifacts and period exhibits including mining tools and hardware, a typical miner’s home, blacksmith shop and innumerable examples of mining memorabilia from the 1900s.

The Portal 31 underground tours in-

cluded realistic appearing animatronics miners who took us through the changes in mining operations from the early 1900s until the Portal 31 mine closed in 1963.

We had lunch in Benham, where we got to meet Harlan County KFTC members Carl Shoupe and Roy Silver.

By early afternoon we were all ready for the short drive to the top of Black Mountain, where we viewed the devastating effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on the Virginia side of Black Mountain.

Thousands of acres of mountainous

terrain have been blasted into something that now resembles the surface of the moon.

Incredibly, coal companies A&G and Nally & Hamilton have applied for strip mining permits on the Kentucky side of Black Mountain that would destroy part of Looney Ridge above Lynch including streams that feed into the Lynch Public Water System.

A&G mines in West Virginia have accumulated more than $1 million in fines for mining violations while Nally & Hamilton is involved in legal action over thousands of violations of the

Clean Water Act. As a result, the National Trust has listed the area around Lynch as one of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for historic preservation.

Retired coal miner and federal mine inspector Stanley Sturgill of Lynch said it best, “We’re trying to hold on to what we have and create a future for our children and grandchildren. I don’t think these coal companies have a right to take that away from us.”

Jim Porter Danville, Kentucky

Boyle, Jefferson and Harlan county members on top of Black Mountain, with Virginia in the background.

Want to build a stronger local KFTC chapter? Join the Armchair Series

KFTC members are invited to lean – and share – skills for building a more powerful, dynamic and diverse grassroots organization.

Join other KFTC members from across the state over the phone and online (webinar format) on the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. ET to learn a new skill related to building strong KFTC chapters.

Topics for the armchair seminars include: how to select good local issue campaigns, how to work with allies, how to plan successful chapter fundraising events amd more. The first seminar was held on April 2 and centered around

how to plan and run a good, productive chapter meeting. Eleven KFTC members from various chapters across the state participated.

“I already knew much of the information that you shared, but it was a good refresher and reminder for me of how the Jefferson County chapter could make our meetings better,” said KFTC member Mary Love after the first armchair seminar.

Rosanne Klarer, a member in the Scott County chapter, said, “We have occasions when we, the chapter members, have had to run a meeting. This webinar was very practical and helpful. “

Armchair Seminar Schedule: • May 7: How to have great one-on-one conversations for leadership and membership development.

• June 4: Fundraising Skills: Planning successful chapter fundraising events.

• July 2: Qualities of powerful chapters: Stories and lessons learned over the years from KFTC chapters.

• August 6: Campaign Organizing Skills: Developing and selecting good issues.

• September 3: Identifying and developing a growing base of new, diverse members.

• October 1, November 5, December 3: TBA: Stay Tuned

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

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In Honor of...

Dean & Nina Cornett honored for lifetimes of environmental efforts

Long-time KFTC members Dean and Nina Cornett have been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a long list of environmental achievements.

The Earth Day award was presented by the Kentucky Environmental Quality Commission.

The Cornetts live part of the year in Kentucky and part of the year in Alaska, and work on environmental issues in both locations. In Alaska they concentrate their efforts on preserving forests, bears and salmon. In Kentucky, their efforts include:

• producing videos on environmental and Appalachian subjects, including one about the bears in an eastern Kentucky park (The Bears of Kingdom Come) and a second about the demise of the American Chestnut (American Chestnut: Appalachian Apocalypse) which has aired on both Kentucky and New England PBS stations.

The Cornetts lives in Blackey, in Letcher County.

For more information about the Cornetts, their environmental efforts and their environmental videos, visit the following web sites: www.cornettmedia.com, www.ecooutpost.org and www.timbertheft. weebly.org.

• establishing a non-profit corporation (web site www.ecooutpost.org) which supports environmental efforts across eastern Kentucky; • pursuing ongoing efforts to obtain legislation to make it easier to investigate and prosecute timber theft in Kentucky; • heading a clean-up committee that cleared more than 200 tons of trash from their small town, trash that when collected and piled for removal comprised a stack 100 feet long, 16 feet deep and as much as 7 feet high; • converting a one-acre trash dump in the center of

their town into a park with a walking trail, landscaping, benches, an amphitheater and a stage; • planting trees to control coal dust and improve appearance; • contributing to the successful fight against allowing overweight gravel trucks on roads across Kentucky, encompassing not only almost all eastern Kentucky roads, but also downstate routes such as New Circle Road;

Member Commentary

Legislature again passed up chance to help

by Adam Barr

Kentucky’s legislature missed a great opportunity in this year’s session to help farmers and rural communities.

As both a seventh-generation family farmer and a young farmer in Meade County, I know firsthand that energy has increasingly become an important and costly factor in our operation. We use energy every day on the farm. Energy is the fuel for our tractors and trucks. It is the electricity that runs our irrigators and refrigerators, and it lights our barns and homes. And these days especially, the cost of using energy adds up quickly.

Things are beginning to change. Increasingly, farmers like me see the opportunity to turn energy into an on-farm asset instead of being an off-farm liability.

For instance, on my farm we have used Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund grant money to power our irrigation pumps with solar energy.

Kentucky could do so much more to help farmers and rural communities offset energy costs. We could even turn energy into another farm product.

I, and the other members of Community Farm Alliance, endorsed House Bill 167 and House Bill 187, as a reasonable way to create new jobs in our rural communities and put Kentucky on track for a secure energy future.

HB 167 would have set modest goals for renewable

energy use and energy efficiency in Kentucky similar to what 29 other states have already done. It also would have provided market incentives that help farmers like me become energy producers, making my family farm more profitable and Kentucky more energy secure.

HB 187 would have expanded Kentucky’s net metering law from its 30-kilowatt limit to increase the ability of businesses, schools, local governments and farmers like me to produce their own power.

Net-metering allows Kentuckians to connect renewable energy systems like biomass, solar, wind or hydroelectric to the electric grid. When a system generates power, some or all of it is used on-site. Any excess flows back to the grid and is credited to the customer’s account. Customers do not get paid for producing excess power.

That bill also would have allowed us to partner with investors to produce our own power, something that cashstrapped farmers could really use.

Regrettably, both bills once again received a “for discussion-only” hearing in the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee.

This missed opportunity is upsetting. As my generation looks to the future, too many of our leaders appear to be stuck in the past.

Adam Barr’s commentary was printed in the Lexington Herald-Leader on April 9.

Last Gift Date Printed On Front Cover!

We’ve heard from a lot of members that they would love to stay current in their membership dues, but just don’t know when their renewal date is. So now we are printing your last gift date with your mailing label*.

Renew by mail: Send in a contribution and the form.

Renew by phone: Call Morgan to pay by credit card: 606-878-2161.

Renew online: It’s easy to make a donation online at www.kftc.org/donate. * Let us know if the last gift date looks wrong. Databases can be imperfect. Keep in mind that it takes about two weeks for the paper to be printed and on your doorstep.

If you’ve made a donation in that time, it won’t make it on the label.

Letters to the Editor: Got something to say? (what KFTC member dosen’t?)

Send letters and commentary to Tim@KFTC.org

Page 6

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

2012 General Assembly Update

General Assembly lives up to expectations - little action on key issues

As anyone who has followed the action — and inaction — in the Kentucky General Assembly over the past decade knows, progress there happens at a glacial pace, and sometimes no news can be good news.

The Kentucky legislature has been deeply divided along partisan lines since 2000, with the House controlled by Democrats and the Senate controlled by Republicans.

This year those political divisions took center stage as lawmakers spent the first month engaged in a bitter struggle over legislative and congressional political districts and staked out positions for upcoming elections.

The biggest news emerging from the 2012 legislative session centered on bills that did not succeed: • Controversial political redistricting plans agreed to by both chambers were thrown out by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd for violating Kentucky’s constitutional requirements for determining political districts (a decision upheld by the Kentucky Supreme Court).

As a result, Kentuckians will participate in elections in 2012 according to political maps that were drawn after the 2000 census, and the task of redistricting will be left to next year ’s General Assembly. KFTC members cheered this outcome after protesting against the maps drawn up by House and Senate leaders and passed by both chambers. The judge’s ruling provides a welcome opportunity for lawmakers to “start over and do it right” next time around.

• A constitutional amendment to allow expanded gambling in Kentucky was defeated in a vote on the Senate floor, preventing newly re-elected Governor Steve Beshear from achieving his top policy priority for the fifth year in a row.

• A telephone de-regulation bill that would have allowed phone companies to stop serving some rural landline customers failed after significant public outcry. KFTC members added their voices to the

KFTC members Stanley Sturgill (left) and Greg Capillo (right) spoke with Rep. Brent Yonts during the HB 127 Yard Sale about the need for adequate revenue reform for the state. Members created the yard sale as a way to get the media to focus on the lack of new revenue over the last decade; hence, selling art books for $3.6 million and a violin for $1.4 million. broad-based effort to defeat House Bill 12, a successful effort that was spearheaded by groups including the Kentucky Resources Council, AARP and Rural Strategies Center.

The session ended without agreement on several major pieces of legislation, including the Transportation Cabinet budget and a bill addressing drug prescription abuse. As a result, Governor Steve Beshear immediately called the legislature back into special session on April 16 to address those two issues which ultimately passed.

One has to look quite a bit harder to find signs of actual progress made during the recent session, but organizing efforts

by KFTC members and our allies are, in fact, making a difference. Consider the following: • For the sixth year in a row, the House passed HB 70, a constitutional amendment sponsored by Rep. Jesse Crenshaw restoring the right to vote for former felons who have completed their debt to society. Hopes were raised this year when the bill was assigned to a different Senate Committee than in previous years. But while the lack of a committee vote was disappointing, KFTC members and many Senators noted that the bill gained significant momentum and support this year. By the final

day of the session, KFTC members had commitments of support from well over 60 percent of the Senate and were within a vote or two of 50 percent support from Republicans in that chamber. The work to build on that support and win final passage of HB 70 in 2013 is already underway.

• KFTC and our allies in the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance continued to educate lawmakers and build support for the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167). The bill gained new cosponsors this year and had a very informative and constructive hearing before the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee. The hearing focused on a recent study of the impact of the bill on jobs and electricity rates commissioned by the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. According to that report, passage of the bill could generate 28,000 jobs over the next 10 years and reduce average utility bills by 8 to 10 percent compared to a donothing scenario.

• Throughout the session, KFTC members and other concerned Kentuckians delivered a powerful message to lawmakers, the governor and the public about the health impacts of mountaintop removal mining. Cit-

ing nearly 20 recent peer-reviewed health studies, KFTC members crowded the Capitol steps on I Love Mountains Day and demanded immediate action to enforce water quality laws and end the destruction of our mountains and headwater streams. More than 200 individuals took part in independently organized protests against mountaintop removal mining that took place at least three days a week throughout the session in the governor’s office and hallways of the Capitol. While the eyes and ears of the governor and many in the legislature remain closed to those concerns, public opposition to mountaintop removal continues to grow.

• While the governor and state lawmakers shunned the topic of revenue reform this session, a Blue Ribbon Tax Commission was established to seek public input and develop recommendations for comprehensive tax reform. Appointed members of that commission include several individuals who also serve with KFTC in the Partnership for Kentucky’s Future, a coalition that promotes fair and equitable state tax reform.

For their part, KFTC members highlighted the urgent need for new revenue by holding a yard sale at the Capitol during the final week of the session. They offered ugly lamps and used DVDs for sale in an effort to raise $402 million — the same amount that would be generated by HB 127 for education, mine safety enforcement, health care, arts and cultural programs, and environmental protection. These programs have be cut by up to 38 percent in the last 3 years.

Legislative gridlock has stalled numerous bills that would affect the quality of life in Kentucky.

Elections this May and November provide an important opportunity for voters to learn more about the positions and values of people running for elected office and make our voices heard. To that end, KFTC members across the state have already shifted gears to focus on non-partisan voter registration, education and mobilization.

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

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Local Updates

Moving forward in the mountains – Growing Appalachia conference fosters dialogue and builds practical skills

In just it’s third year, the Growing Appalachia Conference has made strides in changing the dialogue in the Appalachian mountains.

This year more than 80 people attended the conference held on April 14 at Jenny Wiley State Park in Floyd County.

Participants ranged from the novice gardener to commercial farmers to people simply looking to make their homes more energy efficient.

Additionally, the conference brought people from across Kentucky and West Virginia to not only attend the wide range of workshops offered this year, but also to start a conversation about what is possible in the mountains.

“I think we had a good cross state discussion between West Virginia and Kentucky about what it takes to get farmers’ markets off the ground. Turns out, we are all facing the same challenges, so it was good to hear about different approaches,” said Floyd County KFTC member Beverly May “My favorite part of all of this is seeing how it is all connected. We come with interests in growing, in energy. We all have different pieces. It was a good day. Great food!” said Sr. Kathy Curtis, a Floyd County KFTC member.

Much of the lunch served was local-

ly sourced and/or organic. Participants were excited to be eating the food they were there to talk about growing!

Many participants also were excited about the amount of information they received and eager to put it to good use.

“I was enthused about coming because I knew that I am making a concentrated effort at gardening. I filled half a notebook with information,” said Sr. Mary Going, a Floyd County KFTC member. “If we had had more time, some of those topics could have gone on for half a day – easily,” Participants were invited to complete an evaluation form identifying topics they would like to learn more later in the year, or even as ideas for next year’s conference.

“For some people, we need to go back and reclaim our life, our economy, our relationships and living arrangements from the past. For others we need to go forward - taking with us some of the good from the past – but creating new arrangements,” said keynote speaker Anthony Flaccavento.

Moving forward was the theme of Flaccavento’s address during lunch.

Flaccavento, who created the nonprofit network Appalachian Sustainable Development, posed the question to par-

Scott County KFTC Chapter member have had a few productive months, bringing a lot of people to Frankfort for I Love Mountains Day, the Voting Rights Rally, Immigrant Rights Lobby Day and other key events, while continuing to do solid organizing at home to build the chapter and move their issues forward.

The Georgetown curbside recycling campaign continues to be a major focus of the chapter work and members continue to work with the city council to find a path forward while pressuring them from the outside with grassroots fieldwork.

The chapter also stays visible in the community on other issues. Recent events included a KFTC presentation about mountaintop removal mining at the Kiwanis Club, speaking about voting rights as part of a Georgetown

College video series, and attending key events like the Kite Festival and Georgetown College Earth Day, registering voters and talking to people about KFTC’s campaigns.

New Scott County chapter member and former felon James Snyder wrote an op-ed in favor of restoring voting rights that appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader a few weeks ago in addition to having many powerful conversations with legislators in the last two months.

The chapter has built a lot of connections recently with Georgetown College Sociology students, which has brought more young people into the chapter.

The next chapter meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 3. Contact Dave Newton for more information at 859276-0563 or Dave@KFTC.org.

KFTC members James Williams and Betty May welcomed attendees to the conference. Growing Appalachia was planned and hosted by the members of the Floyd County KFTC Chapter. ticipants, “How do we move forward?”

Preparing to do just that, participants lingered at the conference center long after the workshops had ended and many continued the conversation at a restaurant known for its local food until late in the evening.

The event was staffed and planned largely by Floyd and Knott County KFTC members who have given much of their time, effort and talent over the past few months to make this year’s Growing Appalachia Conference a success.

Scott County members re-focus after the legislative session

Members take a break after their March chapter meeting, where they regained focus on their local campaigns including curbside recycling and voter registration

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balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Local Updates

Northern Kentucky members use film series to increase community awareness about land use and sustainability The Northern Kentucky chapter teamed up with allies from the Northern Kentucky Sierra Club to put together a film festival aimed at increasing awareness about land use and sustainability, and encourage people to begin thinking about a more sustainable approach to development.

The group wanted the event to focus on putting together an informative program that kept attendees interested – a seemingly simple yet complex goal. The group started meeting in late 2011 and met until mid-March.

To keep the event informative and attendees interested, the committee came together to select clips from several films (Dave Cooper’s Mountaintop Removal Road Show, A Passion for Sustainability, Architecture to Zucchinni, and Kilowatt Ours) and tied them together with the overall theme by bringing in speakers such as Eric Russo, the executive director of The Hillside Trust, and Tim Guilfoile, a national deputy director of Sierra

Club’s Water Sentinels Project.

To help promote the event members of both organizations used social media, contacted local papers to run announcements and put up flyers across their community. The group also took the time to identify the clips that they wanted to use during the event, and member Melinda Simonds took the time to put all of the clips together on a single DVD.

The result was a film festival and speaker event that ran smoothly and efficiently with more than 40 people attending.

The speakers did a good job of bringing in the information from the films, as well as their own presentations, to discuss local issues around development.

Ruth Bamberger, who chaired the joint meetings of the two organizations, reflected on how keeping a local focus helped people understand the situation around them.

Simonds said she was appreciative that the speakers referenced the

In early April, Letcher county members participated in a one-hour public affairs program, Mountain Talk, on WMMT 88.7, mountain community radio broadcasting from Whitesburg, focused on the restoration of voting rights amendment or House Bill 70.

The show was organized, hosted, and engineered by Letcher chapter members Elizabeth Sanders and Sylvia Ryerson, along with KFTC’s eastern Kentucky staff.

Floyd County member and substance abuse counselor Jim Recktenwald served as an in-studio guest and voices from Central Kentucky, Jefferson County, Harlan County and beyond made it onto the one-hour program through call-ins and audio from the recent Voting Rights Lobby Day and Rally.

Commentary ranged from the bare bones of the bill and proposed amendment to stories of those fighting for their personal voting rights and the national scope of ongoing struggles for basic civil rights, rooted in democracy.

Sanders read statistics of voter dis-

enfranchisement from both Kentucky and across the country and briefly introduced the recent report from the NAACP, Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America.

NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said of the report, “It’s been more than a century since we’ve seen such a tidal wave of assaults on the right to vote. Historically, when voting rights are attacked, it’s done to facilitate attacks on other rights. It is no mistake that the groups who are behind this are simultaneously attacking very basic women’s rights, environmental protections, labor rights, and educational access for working people and minorities.”

After Sanders shared that at least 126,000 people in our state are disenfranchised through Kentucky’s constitution, Recktenwald added, “That’s a whole city that can’t vote, to take care of itself.”

Hear more from the hosts, guests, and callers from around the state on WMMT’s website, where the whole podcast is available.

concerns around some of the development in well-known areas such as the Cut-in-the-Hill in Covington and the ongoing Mall Road work in Florence.

All of the local concerns with development – whether the Cut-in-theHill, Lewisburg, Bellevue, Newport or Florence – seemed to center on the issue of water.

Bamberger identified water as a big issue, and member Jeff Hampton felt that flooding and resulting hill slides last year were well remembered by many there.

As Tim Guilfoile put it during his presentation, “Water always wins.”

Member Rick Traud, reflecting on the event, said, “The best part was I learned stuff! Very knowledgeable speakers who explained some great local issues, including the issues with reforestation on the Cut-in-the-Hill.”

Jeff Hampton meanwhile praised the location, feeling it was a central location for people no matter where they were coming from.

The members of both organiza-

tions agreed the event was better than they could have hoped for, and hope to put together a similar film event together next year.

Member Melinda Simonds was one of the numerous volunteers who helped the film screening run smoothly.

Letcher County members take to the airways to support voting rights

KFTC member Sylvia Ryerson (left) hosted a discussion on WMMT about restoration of voting rights for former felons. Her guests included KFTC members Kristi Kendall, Jim Recktenwald and Elizabeth Sanders.

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Page 9

Local Updates

Square dancing and pie auction supports KFTC and ally

by Cory Lowery

The Madison County chapter’s biggest event in the past several weeks was a pie auction and square dance held to raise funds for KFTC and Radical Action Mountain People (RAMPS).

Dozens of people from Berea showed up at the event, packing the basement of Berea’s Union Church to join in on the fun.

A large band of local artists, including Berea College students, played for the square dance while square dance caller Ismerio led the dancers through several circle dances and square dances for at least an hour.

During a break in the dancing, the

participants settled into the pie auction, where community members gave competing bids in an attempt to win one of the pies that had been donated to the event.

The winning bids on the donated pies ranged from $8 to a whopping $75. The pies donated to the auction included traditional favorites like lemon meringue and pumpkin to more unique offerings like greek spinach pie and spicy sausage apple maple quiche.

At the end of the auction, more than $720 had been raised, which was split evenly between KFTC and RAMPS. The event lasted well into the night, with some proud victors leaving with delicious home-made pies.

MJS

Mountain Justice Summer Camp

May 18-26 Appalachian South Folklife Center near Pipestem, West Virginia

While attending the first East Kentucky Reproductive Health Fair, more than half a dozen 17- and 18-year-olds registered to vote at the Perry County KFTC chapter’s booth, taking the first step in adding their voices to the region, state and country’s future.

One Hazard High School 16-year-old even volunteered to help register others this summer, since she could not register herself!

The fair took place on March 26, with high school students in Hazard learning and talking about their reproductive health, most for the very first time.

Keeping with the theme of the fair, members distributed almost 50 fact sheets on the health impacts of mountaintop removal mining and talked with folks about the recent health studies examining increased birth defects and cancers in the region.

Become part of or build new skills for the movement to end MTR Coal Mining, protect communities and the environment, and build a sustainable new economy This is a week-long program of education, entertainment, and action!

There is indoor bed space, camping space, heated buildings, chairs, and good food including vegan and meat fare. People of all ages are welcome and people of all ages do attend. You are welcome to come!

More information and registration at www.mountainjustice.org/camp12

Page 10

Voter Empowerment Update

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

KFTC 2012 voter empowerment landscape preview

KFTC’s Voter Empowerment program focuses on voter registration, education and mobilization efforts to make Kentucky’s democracy more sound so that we can come to better decisions as a commonwealth.

KFTC believes that a large percentage of citizens tend to get left out of Kentucky’s democracy, so KFTC members focus efforts on youth, people of color and low-income communities.

Members also try to make sure that KFTC’s campaign issues are a focus of debate and discussion between the candidates.

Tactics members use to reach people include; door-to-door work, community tabling voter guides, www.

KentuckyElection.org, turnout phone banks, mailings, media, social networking and special events.

Some key dates for the 2012 Kentucky Election cycle include: • May 22 - Primary Election • Oct 9 - Voter Registration Deadline • Oct 11 - Vice-Presidential Debate in Danville • Nov 6 - General Election

Offices up for election in Kentucky this year include president, six congressional seats, odd-numbered state senate districts, all state house districts, city council races in all cities and mayoral races in some communities – plus a few other races like commonwealth attorney.

According to the Ky. Board of Elections • 25 candidates have filed for 6 U.S. representative seats • 44 candidates have filed for 19 Kentucky senate seats • 184 candidates have filed for 100 Kentucky representative seats

These numbers are still at least slightly inflated by the redistricting fight earlier this year, when candidates filed but then became ineligible when district boundaries changed.

Some interesting races include: U.S. House / Congress • A nine-way race for the 4th Congressional district seat being vacated by Rep. Geoff Davis (R) • Kenneth Stepp (D) and Michael Ackerman (D) are challenging Rep. Hal Rogers (R) for the 5th District Congressional seat.

• A 5-way race for the 6th district U.S. Representative seat held currently

by Rep Ben Chandler (D).

Kentucky Senate • Senator Damon Thayer (R) has opponents both in the primary election (Rick Holsetter) and the general election (David Holcomb) • Carroll Hubbard (D) v. Stan Humphries (R) for the 1st district seat being vacated by Ken Winters.

• A seven-way race for the 15th district seat being vacated by Sen.

Members of the Central Kentucky chapter registered voters at the Save-A-Lot store at Eastland Shopping Center in Lexington on Saturday April 8, 2012.

Vernie McGaha (R).

• Four Democrats are running for the 19th district seat being vacated by Sen. Tim Shaughnessy (D).

Kentucky House • Jim Gooch (D) has opposition from James Nance (D) in district 12.

• Charlie Hoffman (D) is challenging Ryan Quarles (R) for the 62nd district seat.

• A four-way Republican primary for 80th vacated by Danny Ford (R) • A two-way general election race to replace Bill Farmer in the 88th

district.

With all of this in mind, KFTC is formulating the 2012 Voter Empowerment Plan to communicate with members throughout the state.

This includes a robust plan for voter education and mobilization for many primary election races on May 22. KFTC members will be calling other members to get them out to vote and will pass out printed voter guides in the weeks leading up to election day.

Members can check in with their local KFTC organizer to see what you can do in your community.

Former Felon Voices – Ed West believes in speaking up

To share more of the stories from former felons across the commonwealth, this is one part of a series of short interviews that will run in balancing the scales.

Ed West, a life-long resident of Lexington, is a community mentor, loving father of three, a professional welder, supportive husband, part-time preacher and a car restoration connoisseur.

Among all of West’s defining qualities, he also wears a stigmatizing label – former felon.

Along with spending 13 years in and out of prison, West moved in and out of drug and alcohol addiction while battling the negative influences of em-

ployment rejection and a lifestyle surrounded by limited opportunities.

Now West shakes his head in remembrance saying, “Life was hell.”

“Prison did not prepare me to reenter society.” Sitting in a local coffee shop, West mapped out his road to recovery, saying, “If you aren’t grounded in recovery, then you’re set up to go down the same path again.”

Through rehab programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, West thanks his mentors for offering guidance and support towards becoming a productive member of society.

“I’m a former felon. I paid my debt to society. Now I’m paying another debt.

I pay taxes but I can’t vote... If we all speak up, someone will hear us. They say, ‘United we stand — divided we fall’. Today, we have to stand united. We have to speak up. An unspoken voice will not be heard.”

Today, West is a Hope Center sponsor, where he teaches recovery and uses his personal experiences to walk others through recovery. He defines success as “accepting your past, moving on from it, and embracing recovery.” Along with paying it forward, West views giving back as continuation of his recovery.

West is a changed man; however, he is still paying for his crime. Society recognizes his felon title while ignoring

his accomplishments. Despite all that he does for the city of Lexington, he remains a part of the one in four African Americans who cannot vote in Kentucky.

West offers two simple ways that anyone can join in advocating an end to disenfranchisement. First, he encourages the support of programs designed to ease the “prison to society” transition. Second, citizens are encouraged to publicize success stories like his so that legislators understand specific examples of who HB 70 will positively impact.

Interview conducted by EKU grad students Molly Johnson and Meagan Wheeler

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Page 11

Voting Rights Update

Voting rights wrap up: We didn’t win, but we didn’t lose

Despite a powerful push from citizens across the state, House Bill 70 – the bill to restore voting rights to most former felons – did not pass the 2012 Kentucky General Assembly.

After getting closer to passage this year than ever before, KFTC members took time to evaluate their efforts and start planning for the long haul again.

Looking back at this session, HB 70 had 20 cosponsors, brought hundreds of people to Frankfort to rally, had teams of former felons and others talking to legislators 2-3 days a week, produced hundreds or even thousands of calls to the legislative message line, developed new spokespeople, worked with new allies, held a powerful rally and mass lobby day in Frankfort, built more support in the mainstream media and even created our own far-reaching media.

KFTC members built more support among Republican senators than ever before and had several productive meetings with Sen. Tom Jensen, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. HB 70 got assigned to the Judiciary Committee this session instead of the usual Senate State and Local Government Committee.

But it wasn’t quite enough. HB 70 passed a House committee, the full House 78-18, and rested in the Senate, where it had the votes to pass both committee and on the floor had it been called.

Looking ahead, there are a number of opportunities for HB 70 and a path to winning a 2013 or 2014 legislative victory and ratifying it at the polls in 2014:

Electoral Work – The Primary Election is on May 22 and the General Election is on November 6. These elections will determine the makeup of the state Senate and House. KFTC members are asking candidates where they stand on this issue and will publish their answers to KFTC members and other supporters and mobilized them to vote.

Governor Beshear – KFTC members are also planning to focus on Governor Steve Beshear. The governor has the ability to issue a blanket partial pardon to restore the rights of former felons who are already off paper and allow them to vote later this year.

It is not a lasting outcome, has its disadvantages, and it won’t be easy to convince him. On the upside, Beshear won’t run for governor again and he might have more will to do something like this now to focus on legacy.

With union allies and other coalition members he sees eye-to-eye with on many issues supporting voting rights, and a strong narrative about Senate President David Williams refusing to even allow the bill to be heard for eight years, there is broader coalition support for this effort.

Field Work – Ultimately, this issue has to pass a vote of the people. A robust program of community meetings, festivals, discussions, door-to-door canvasses, phone banks, movie showings, oneto-one conversations and other ground

Molly Johnson and Meagan Wheeler worked a voter registration and voting rights tabling on EKU’s campus. work can build the movement so HB 70 can win in the long run.

constituents of Sen. Jensen already have requests in to meet with him.

Legislative Meetings – Meetings with legislators throughout the year, especially Senate Republicans unopposed or not up for election this year, are important because they will be key legislators who will still be there next year.

Members will take time to deepen the commitment of supportive legislators and get them to take some ownership of this issue. Three KFTC members and

Re-forging the Voting Rights Coalition – Members will put some time into building relationships, a shared analysis and a cohesive plan to move HB 70 forward. There is a tentatively proposed meeting in June.

The work of building democracy is hard and slow, but members feel the work in the 2012 General Assembly represents progress.

New Power Leader Profile: Jack Ball, Harlan County How long have you been involved with KFTC?

KFTC helped me learn how to deal and cope with nearby strip mining, along with learning that I am not alone in the fight for fair mining practices in eastern Kentucky. I have been involved with KFTC for about two years now. I have had a few victories in my community and now people know that I am going to stand up for what is right and fair. My community was literally destroyed by a mining outfit (roads, bridges broke down, houses filthy inside and out, and the dust and mud were unbearable) that showed no care or concern for the residents.

Why did you decide to become a New Power Leader?

I chose to become a New Power Leader because I want to help educate people and to pull the community together. People need to be aware they can fight and stand for what is right without the worry of being beat down. This area has no voice and people won’t

stand up for themselves more or less, and I am tired of seeing people being told instead of having a choice.

How did you decide who you wanted to invite to be in your cluster of people?

People that I have known for many years that I feel would be an asset to the group.

What are some of your plans with your cluster?

[I’m] hoping to get the word out for people to get out and vote this year. Things can be changed by voting locally and statewide. Maybe even setting a booth up to register people to vote during an upcoming festival.

What are your hopes for your upcoming house party?

To get the word out about the upcoming election and to see people join the group.

What skills do you feel like you’ve developed, and

what skills would you like to continue to develop?

I have became a voice that has been heard, even by the mining company after being shut down for dumping oil in the nearby creek. I have learned to stand up and take on the inspectors and voice my concerns about what is taking place.

What’s your vision for your community and Kentucky?

To be more aware of what happens to our land and water; once it is changed it will never be the same again. The creek in my community at one time was crystal clear and full of life. Now it is murky and has an off smell. Much of this could have been prevented.

What do you think the impact could be of having 1,000 New Power Leaders in Kentucky?

Kentucky can be viewed positively across the nation instead of constantly being portrayed negatively in the media.

Page 12

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Canary Project Update

Groups sue to force EPA to protect people from coal ash

KFTC joined a nationwide coalition of groups to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in early April. The legal action is designed to get the EPA to finalize rules to prevent public exposure to toxic coal ash.

The EPA has delayed the first-ever federal protections for coal ash for nearly two years despite growing evidence of leaking ponds, poisoned groundwater supplies and threats to public health. A recent independent analysis of EPA data added 30 more power plants in 16 states to the list of coal ash dump sites with contaminated groundwater.

“The number of coal ash ponds and landfills that are contaminating water supplies continues to grow, yet nearby communities still do not have effective federal protection,” said Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans, who filed the lawsuit for 10 local, statewide and national groups. “It is well past time the EPA acts on promises made years ago to protect the nation from coal ash contamination and life-threatening coal ash dumps.”

In Kentucky, there are 44 coal ash disposal sites located at 17 coal-burning power plants spread across the state.

They are used to dispose of more than 9 million tons of toxic coal wastes produced annually, the fifth highest total in the nation.

According to a 2007 EPA risk assessment, 10 of the ponds and landfills in Kentucky are unlined. Of these unlined sites, eight have no leachate collection systems and five have no groundwater monitoring systems. Eight ponds are rated “high hazard.” Six are rated “significant hazard.” Nineteen are not yet rated. Many (20 0f 43) were not designed by a professional engineer, and most (27 of 43) were not constructed by one.

The coal ash ponds in Kentucky have significant problems: • Groundwater monitoring at the Louisville Gas & Electric Mill Creek Station found arsenic, sulfate and total dissolved solids exceeding federal standards in a contaminant plume one mile wide, potentially endangering off-site use of shallow drinking water wells. EPA reports pond at the Mill Creek Power Station has “major structural integrity issues.”

• The East Kentucky Power Coopera-

tive coal ash landfill at the Spurlock Power Station (Mason County) has contaminated groundwater since at least 2005 with arsenic, iron, sulfate and TDS. Arsenic has reached 16 times the drinking water standard in an off-site well. The disposal site discharges to three receiving streams that flow into the Ohio River.

• Onsite groundwater at the TVA Shawnee Fossil Plant (McCracken County) is contaminated with arsenic, boron, selenium, sulfate and TDS exceeding federal standards and health advisories.

• An estimated 300 tons of sulfate per year was leaking into the Ohio River from the Duke Energy East Bend Scrubber Sludge landfill (Boone County). EPA found on-site exceedances for total dissolved solids, iron, and sulfate.

• Leaks, seepage or on-site contamination has been found at the Tyrone (Woodford County), Dale (Clark County), E.W. Brown (Mercer County), Paradise (Muhlenberg Coun-

ty), R.D. Green (Webster County), D.B. Wilson (Ohio County) and Trimble County power plants, according to the U.S. EPA and the Kentucky Division of Water. Data is not available for all power stations.

• There have been numerous off-site releases of coal ash dust from the Cane Run Power Plant Cane Run coal burning plant and coal ash fill in south(Louisville), with eastern Jefferson County. documented contamination of homes in surrounding residential areas. LG&E wants to expand this landfill.

“Here in Louisville we are having problems with dust discharges from one of our big coal-burning power plants,” said KFTC member Mary Love. “Our local Air Pollution Control District is doing what it can to force the power company to keep our air safe to breathe, but without federal standards on the hazards of coal ash, there is only so much they can do.”

The lawsuit seeks to force the EPA to set deadlines for review and revision of relevant solid and hazardous waste regulations to address coal ash, as well as the much needed and overdue changes to the test that determines whether a waste is hazardous.

ING AND WATER TESTING TO PROTECT OUR WATER KFTC is working with Appalachian Voices and local members to plan a day-long training about ways to use organizing strategies and water testing methods to address concerns about water quality in our streams and rivers.

The training is open to KFTC members and will take place at the Prestonsburg Library from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Appalachian Spring May 8-9 BANK OF AMERICA PROTEST IN CHARLOTTE, NC A wide range of groups concerned with Bank of America’s track record of bad consumer, environmental and business practices is staging a large protest in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 9, outside the Bank’s annual shareholder meeting.

May 10 – WOMEN’S TRIBUNAL ON GENDER AND CLIMATE JUSTICE IN CHARLESTON, WV The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and a number of other organizations are hosting a Women’s Tribunal to highlight the voices of grassroots women and expose the impacts of mountaintop removal mining on human health and global climate change. More information can be found at www. ohvec.org.

May 12 KFTC TRAINING: ORGANIZ-

JUNE 1 – KENTUCKY RISING / OCCUPY FRANKFORT A call has gone out for people to gather in Frankfort on June 1 to “demand the end of corporate domination of our politics.” More information at http:// kentuckyrising.org/.

June 2-7 – WEEK IN WASHINGTON Once again, about 20 or so KFTC members and staff will head to Washington D.C. to take part in a week of lobbying efforts hosted by the Alliance for Appalachia. The KFTC delegation will leave

Kentucky on June 2 and return late in the day on June 7.

June 6 – DAY OF ACTION IN D.C. Individuals from across Central Appalachia will take part in a day of non-violent action to protest coalfield lawmakers who are supporters of mountaintop mining and call for investments in a just transition in the mountains.

June 5 & June 7 – EPA Hearings about 36 Water Pollution Permits for Coal Mines in KY Once again, Kentucky’s state regulators and the coal industry appear to be working hand-in-hand on a strategy to bully the EPA and prevent the agency from doing its job to protect our health.

As a result of requests made by the Kentucky officials, the EPA will hold public hearings in Kentucky about the federal agency’s decision to object to 36 water pollution permits under the Obama Administration.

- Frankfort on June 5, noon to 4 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m.

- In Pikeville on June 7, 7 to 11 p.m.

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Page 13

Economic Justice Update

Take action — What do you think Kentuckians deserve?

Tell the Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform

Kentuckians are worth the investments for good jobs, clean air and water, quality educations, and healthy, vibrant communities.

This Kentucky is possible, but we need to reform Kentucky’s state taxes.

From May until August, KFTC members across the state have a great opportunity to take action for tax reforms that improve the quality of life in Kentucky, and bring balance and equity to our state taxes.

In January, Governor Beshear announced a Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform. The commission’s mandate is to study and build consensus around a set of policy solutions with the goals of fairness, competitiveness, simplicity and compliance, elasticity and adequacy.

These are not incongruent with KFTC’s principles of tax reform: fairness, adequacy, sustainability and support of the well-being of Kentuckians.

Starting on May 29, the commission will hold a public meeting in each of Kentucky’s six Congressional districts.

The public is invited to come share their best ideas and thoughts about needed state tax reforms.

The commission will be drawing from these public forums as it develops a set of tax reform recommendations for the 2013 General Assembly.

Madison County member Meta Mendel-Reyes asked, “If we’re not there, who will be?”

Here are some of the ways to get involved and take action.

• Plan to come to the Blue Ribbon Commission meeting near you: Tues. May 29, 6 p.m., Paducah Tues. June 19, 6 p.m., Bowling Green Tues. July 10, 6 p.m., Louisville Tues. July 24, 6 p.m., Covington Tues. Aug 7, 6 p.m., Prestonsburg Tues. Aug 21, 6 p.m., Lexington • Send the Blue Ribbon Commission your comments at http://ltgovernor.ky.gov/taxreform/Pages/comments.aspx.

• Tell the Blue Ribbon Commission that you’re coming to the meeting

nearest you: http://ltgovernor. ky.gov/taxreform/Pages/present. aspx

• Join KFTC for a webinar about Kentucky’s current budget landscape, the best opportunities to move forward, and the best statements to deliver at the public meetings. Webinars will be held on May 23, June 11, and July 23.

• Get your community involved! Do you know a local nonprofit, church group, or service provider impacted by Kentucky’s budget? Get in touch with Jessica Hays Lucas (859-276-0563 or jessicabreen@kftc. org) to work on reaching out to local groups about participating in your area’s meeting.

As you think about what you’d like to tell the commission, either in person or through its website, feel free to use the

Co-op Annual Meetings Each spring, KFTC publishes a list of rural electric co-op annual meeting dates, times, and locations. This year members have hit a bit of a snag.

Rather than call each co-op, sometimes multiple times, to request the meeting information members requested the lists compiled by East Kentucky Power Cooperative and the Kentucky Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives.

Both organizations denied our request.

So, this year members are providing you with the annual meeting information that the co-ops have listed publicly on their web pages, Facebook pages or Twitter accounts. Those without any annual meeting information are at the bottom of the list. Included is the phone number for all the co-ops, and KFTC encourages curious members to call your co-op, request the annual meeting information and ask that

following template that KFTC members have been working with for letters to the editor, lobbying and talking with the media.

I live in _________ County and I’m _______.

(Are you a parent? A student? A teacher? Someone who’s concerned about our water quality? Someone looking for a job?)

I want to see __________.

(Name the good things you want to see in your life and your community.

Things that we all want, that we can achieve when we work together through our government.)

But right now _______.

(What do you see instead? What are the impacts that you see, either of wealth and income inequality, or of budget cuts?) it be made more easily accessible to all co-op members.

Clark Energy May 8, 5:00 p.m., Clark Energy offices 859-744-4251 Grayson Rural Electric May 10, 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Grayson RECC offices 606-474-5136 Fleming-Mason Energy May 24, 4:30 - 7:30 p.m., FlemingMason Energy offices 606-845-2661 Salt River Electric June 4, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., 1345 Templin Ave., Bardstown 502-348-3931 South Kentucky RECC June 5, Beginning at 4:00 p.m., Pulaski County High School 606-678-4121 Blue Grass Energy June 7, Keeneland Entertainment Center 859-885-4191 Shelby Energy June 22, Henry County High School 502-633-4420

That’s why I urge this commission to consider the reforms proposed by Rep. Jim Wayne, and in alignment with principles supported by more than 20 Kentucky organizations.

Together, the solutions in that bill would raise $400 million a year and make our tax structure fairer, even lowering taxes for low- and moderate-income working families.

Kentuckians are worth ________, and we’ve got a good, fair way to get there. Thank you for standing with us as you make your recommendations to state leaders.

You can find more information and tools on KFTC’s website. Just look for the Blue Ribbon Tax Commission Info button on KFTC’s home page at www. kftc.org.

Owen Electric June 29, Grant County High School, Dry Ridge, 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.

502-484-3471 Big Sandy RECC Annual meeting not listed 606-789-4095 Cumberland Valley Electric Meeting not listed 606-528-2677 Farmers RECC Meeting not listed 270-629-1315 Inter-County Energy Meeting not listed 859-236-4561

Jackson Energy Meeting not listed 606-364-1000 Licking Valley RECC Meeting not listed 606-743-3179 Nolin RECC Meeting not listed 270-765-6153 Taylor County RECC Meeting not listed 270-465-4101

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balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

New Energy and Transition Update

KFTC and allies move clean energy conversation forward

KFTC members supportive of clean energy got busy this legislative session — really busy. And the results showed.

Rep. Keith Hall called the conversation about clean energy “very worthwhile,” and stayed in the room during hearings on two clean energy bills. Like several other legislators from coal-affected counties, he left the room during a similar hearing last year.

The hearings, held on the Clean Energy Opportunity Act (HB 167) and a net-metering bill (HB 187), were secured only after KFTC members participated in events during the session aimed at educating legislators about the benefits clean energy policies can offer Kentuckians.

January 19: Online lobby training on the Clean Energy Opportunity Act Kentuckians across the state called in! They learned that if enacted, the bill would establish gradual renewable and efficiency targets that utilities would meet over time, and long-term renewable energy price guarantees for renewable energy producers. The bill would also require investments to improve housing efficiency for low-income families. Many made plans to come to Frankfort to lobby.

February 13: Clean Energy Tour and Legislative Reception

Several KFTC members attended this event that was organized by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA), of which KFTC is a founding member. During the reception, awards were given to honor some Kentuckians who have demonstrated leadership and innovation in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Award recipients included Berea Municipal Utilities & City Commission for the Berea Solar Farm — a clean energy project in which KFTC members have played a leadership role.

Architect Kenny Stanfield also gave a presentation about Richardsville Elementary in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the nation’s first net-zero energy public school, during the reception. Due to its high efficiency and solar panels, the school is saving the district about $150,000 on energy bills, as compared to a conventional school.

February 28: Clean Energy Lobby Day More than 60 citizen lobbyists came to Frankfort to talk to legislators about the promise of clean energy. Nick Johnson, a student and first-time lobbyist, told his senator, Robert Leeper of

Clean Energy in the Session … By the Numbers Number of Kentuckians who participated in trainings on lobbying for the Clean Energy Opportunity Act: 200+ Number of attendees at the February 13 clean energy reception: 75 Number of legislators who attended: 16 Number of legislators who attended the 2011 clean energy event: 2 Number of Kentuckians who lobbied as part of the February 28 clean energy lobby day: 60 Number of Kentuckians who lobbied during 2011 clean energy lobby day: 40 Number of meetings with legislators about the Clean Energy Opportunity Act during the 2012 lobby day: 50 Number of meetings with legislators about the Clean Energy Opportunity Act during the 2011 lobby day: 20 Number of clean energy bills supported by KFTC that were heard during the 2012 session: 3 HB 255 – Rep. Rocky Adkins’ “green schools initiative” bill HB 187 – Rep. Steve Riggs’ “net-metering bill” HB 167 – Rep. Mary Lou Marzian’s “Clean Energy Opportunity Act” (see KFTC’s bill tracker at www.kftc.org/billtracker for more information on these bills)

KFTC members and allies lobbied on February 28 as part of the Clean Energy Lobby Day in support of HB 167.

Paducah, that the bill could bring 28,000 additional jobs to Kentucky by 2022 if passed. When he came out of the meeting, Johnson said, “I think I know how to do public speaking. And now I’m going to learn how to be better at lobbying legislators.”

Emily Justus, a native of Pike County, also lobbied for the first time that day.

She said she came to Frankfort to “show our support and learn about the whole process.”

John Bowers of Berea said, “I’m very much for clean energy. I think that’s the wave of the future and the direction we need to go.”

Throughout the lobby day, members asked legislators to request a hearing from Rep. Leslie Combs, the chair of the committee to which the Clean Energy Opportunity Act was assigned. The day after this event, a hearing date was set.

March 22: Hearing on the Clean Energy Opportunity Act

KFTC members and allies through

the KySEA packed the room of the House Tourism Development and Energy Committee meeting.

Bill sponsor Rep. Mary Lou Marzian introduced the bill, saying, “Thank you for allowing us to bring this important issue for discussion. This is a piece of legislation about job creation in Kentucky. Twenty-nine other states have passed this kind of policy that is called a renewable and efficiency portfolio standard. These policies have been shown to stabilize rates and create jobs. And those would be jobs that could stay in Kentucky.”

Legislators heard testimony from Rick Hornby of Synapse Energy Economics and author of a paper analyzing the bill’s potential impact on jobs and electricity rates; David Brown-Kinloch, KFTC member and owner of a clean energy hydro-electric company; and Chris Woolery, a contractor that works with the How$mart home efficiency program. (continued on next page)

TAKE ACTION Wish you had been there and done that? Get involved this year!

Help build momentum leading up to next year’s legislative session!

• Host a house party that focuses on Kentucky’s clean energy potential • Attend a meeting of the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance • Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about why you want to see more clean energy in Kentucky • Set up an at-home meeting with your legislator on the topic

Contact Nancy Reinhart at 502-589-3188 or nancy@kftc.org for support with any of these actions

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Page 15

New Energy and Transition Update

Citizens participate in Rural Electric Cooperative public forum

“This has been a great meeting and an opportunity for me to learn some things I didn’t know,” said KFTC member John Harrod to the group gathered in Morehead on the evening of April 9 for the Rural Electric Cooperative Public Forum.

“I am encouraged and optimistic about our prospects for moving forward with energy saving ideas and more use of renewable energy sources.”

The public forum was held as part of the Clean Energy Collaborative, in which KFTC participates along with other public interest groups, the local rural electric co-ops, and the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC).

The mission of the Collaborative is to review and recommend energy efficiency and renewable energy actions to EKPC, and to promote collaboration among all the parties in implementation

of these ideas.

The public forum focused on energy efficiency and was definitely a collaborative effort.

It began with presentations from key EKPC and co-op staff along with KFTC members and others.

Rowan County KFTC member Sue Tallichet presented on the important reason for increasing energy-savings programs: they reduce the need for building costly new power plants and thus help to stabilize electric rates.

The forum was emceed by KFTC member Tona Barkley and David Crews of EKPC. Attendees also learned about three energy efficiency programs – ButtonUp, How$martKY and Simple Saver – before breaking into small focus groups to give the co-ops feedback on how they might better implement existing and

(continued from previous page) The testimony generated a number of comments and questions from committee members. Combs, from Pike County, voiced concern about the troubling projections that utility rates will rise steeply under any scenario.

“Consumers are consistently concerned about the fact that their rates are going up, today,” she said. “They don’t want their rates to go up any more, and if anything they would like them to come down. But according to this chart, under any scenario, the rates go up.

Period. I realize that’s kind of the way things are, but at the same time it’s hard to explain to the consumers who are saying, ‘Stop raising our rates.’ ”

Hornby acknowledged that difficult reality, “I very much understand. It would be nice to be able to come in and say that. But the numbers are the numbers.

Kentucky has a big challenge. Over the next several years, no matter what, your rates are going to go up by some amount. What efficiency and renewables can do is give your ratepayers some ability to respond to those increases. If you use less, your bill won’t go up as much even as rates rise, and we are going to help you use less.”

Although no vote was taken, the hearing was an important opportunity to inform legislators and build support for the future.

Clean energy discussion broadens

Clean energy briefs Solar manufacturing jobs come to Edmonson County Taggart Solar LLC recently announced that it plans to locate a manufacturing plant in Edmonson County. A $440,000 investment, the plant will sustain 30 full-time workers. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides electricity to Edmonson and several

other Kentucky counties, offers large financial incentives for renewable energy production its service area. These incentives make it more attractive for solar manufacturing companies to locate there.

Kentucky Center to install Green Roof The Kentucky Center for the Arts plans to “green” its 76,000 square foot roof quite literally. It will be covered with a

new energy-savings programs.

The conversations were hearty and eye-opening, and both co-op members and co-op staff learned a lot.

“I found out that our home qualifies for three programs that I didn’t know about before, all things I had been trying to figure out how to do anyway,” said Harrod. “The co-ops are living up to their name as cooperative enterprises between the managers and the members.”

The results from the focus groups were presented at the most recent Collaborative meeting, and a great discussion ensued about how to use the feedback and findings from the members to improve the co-ops’ energy saving programs.

Harrod has good reason to be optimistic, “I think these ideas are going to take hold and spread as more people

Sue Tallichet presented on the importance of energy efficiency at the Public Forum. see their friends and neighbors saving energy, using renewables, and saving money in the long term.”

Rural electric co-op staff and members of public interest groups (including KFTC) mark the beginning of the second year of the Clean Energy Collaborative at their fifth meeting on April 17. KFTC members Steve Wilkins and Tona Barkley are pictured in the front row, 3rd and 4th from the right. The group is working to recommend energy efficiency and renewable energy actions to the East Kentucky Power Cooperative, and to promote collaboration among all the groups. special type of soil and sedum plants, which soak up water and provide insulation, lowering air-conditioning bills.

Center staff hope to implement a pubic education project along with the new roof. An estimated 500,000 people visit the center each year.

U.S. Department of Defense Spends Big on Clean Energy The U.S. Department of Defense invested billions in clean energy in-

novations between 2006 and 2009 – an increase of nearly 200 percent from pre-2006 spending levels. Projects include major efficiency efforts and large renewable installations at bases. For example, the Department of Defense is partnering with Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative to make efficiency improvements and install solar and geothermal systems at the Fort Knox base.

(Department of Defense Accelerates Clean Energy Innovation to Save Lives, Money, Pew Study 2011.)

Page 16

balancing the scales, April 26, 2012

Learn more about: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth’s campaign to

RENEW EAST KENTUCKY Renew East Kentucky is an organizing campaign to move Kentucky’s rural electric co-ops toward cleaner energy, increased energy efficiency, and more open and democratic governance.

Our goal is to create good, local jobs, ensure affordable electricity for those most vulnerable, and begin shifting power from the hands of the few to the hands of the many.

Renew East Kentucky will be an important step in transitioning our region to a sustainable and healthy economy that is good for all of us.

The 16 cooperatives in the East Kentucky Power Cooperative service area

We are Kentuckians. We love our families. We care about our communities. And we want what everybody wants: more affordable energy; good jobs that donʼt do damage to our land, air, or water; a say in the important decisions that affect us; and healthy communities.

Today we have the best opportunity in generations to build the Kentucky we deserve.

KFTC members are now at the table with electric co-ops, looking for ways to bring about more energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Energy-saving pilot projects, including the new How$martKY program, are taking place throughout the area. And people are stepping up more and more to participate in the decisions their co-ops are making.

But, we must keep working. We are facing real economic hardships. We have to organize our communities and convince the co-ops that helping their members save energy and save money should be a top priority. We need to lobby our decision-makers to get behind clean energy, energy efficiency, and job training. And we need to communicate a vision of what is possible: that together we can renew east Kentucky.

Chapter Meetings May 3

Scott County chapter meeting, 7 p.m., at the Georgetown Public Library. Email Dave@KFTC.org or 859420-8919 for more information or to volunteer.

May 14

Jefferson County chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street in Louisville.

May 14

Floyd County chapter meeting, 7 - 8:30 p.m., St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Prestonburg. For more information contact Kristi@kftc.org or call 859986-1277.

May 15

Northern Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at 25 W 7th Street in Covington.

Contact Joe@kftc.org or call 859-380-6103.

May 17

Central Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocese Mission House (corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and 4th Street) in Lexington.

May 17

Rowan County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church on 5th Street in Morehead.

May 18

Louisville Loves Mountains, 4 -10 p.m. Longest Ave. and Bardstown Rd. Music, Food, and guest speakers.

May 21

Madison County chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian Center, 205 N. Main St., Berea.

May 22

Primary Election: Polls open from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Get Out and Vote!

May 29

Bowling Green chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at The Foundry, 531 West 11th St. Contact JessicaBreen@kftc. org or call 859-276-0563.