December 2014 - balancing the scales

VOLUME 33 NUMBER 7 DECEMBER 8, 2014

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NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID LEXINGTON, KY. PERMIT NO. 513

Members carry out KFTC’s most ambitious voter empowerment effort to date

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

BALANCING THE

Growing into a candidate, with help from KFTC .................................................5

Canvassing engages community in Benham energy project ........... 12

Lexington and Louisville are organizing to raise the wage ............................. 18

Judge hands down strong ruling on Clean Water Act violations ................... 8

Madison chapter celebrates 10 years of local organizing ........................... 15

Black Lives Matter .....................20

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Table of Contents

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

KFTC News is a statewide grassroots social justice orga­ nization working for a new balance of power and a just society. KFTC uses direct­action organizing to accomplish the following goals: • foster democratic values • change unjust institutions • empower individuals • overcome racism and other discrimination • communicate a message of what’s possible • build the organization • help people participate • win issues that affect the common welfare • have fun 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

Steering Committee reflects on 2014, looks ahead to coming year .........................................................3

Voter Empowerment Update KFTC’s most ambitious voter empowerment effort ...................................................................................... 4 Growing into a candidate, with help from KFTC...............................................................................................5

Member Commentary Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty .......................................................................................... 6

Letter to the Editor Catholic Committee of Appalachia: People’s Pastoral ..................................................................................7

Canary Project Update Judge hands down strong ruling on Clean Water Act violations.............................................................. 8 Alliance calls for stronger action from Obama administration .................................................................. 9

New Energy and Transition Update Events highlight opportunities for just transition in eastern Kentucky..................................................10 Summit looks at pipelines, fracking and Kentucky’s future ......................................................................... 11 Canvassing engages community in Benham energy project .................................................................... 12 Co-ops offer shared benefits, democratic control, community rewards............................................... 12 Youth in Appalachia carve out opportunities to build a local economy ............................................... 13 KFTC members learn, network through two conferences on race, food ..............................................14

Local Update

Dana Beasley Brown, chair Carl Shoupe, vice chair Elizabeth Sanders, secretary-treasurer Tanya Torp, at-large member Sue Tallichet, immediate past chair

Madison chapter celebrates 10 years of local organizing............................................................................ 15 Big Sandy members meet with new State Rep. Chris Harris ..................................................................... 15 Chapter teams up with neighbors to envision Smoketown’s future .......................................................16 CKY Brewfest celebrates KFTC’s work, builds community ......................................................................... 17 Shelby chapter hosts first poetry slam for young poets ............................................................................. 17

Chapter Representatives

Economic Justice Update

Homer White, Scott County Christian Torp, Central Kentucky Lisa Montgomery, Rowan County Rick Traud, Northern Kentucky Ryan Fenwick, Jefferson County Alan Smith, Southern Kentucky Andrea Massey, Harlan County Russell Oliver, Perry County Meta Mendel-Reyes, Madison County Gwen Johnson, Letcher County Nina McCoy, Big Sandy Lee Ann Paynter, Wilderness Trace Leslie McBride, Shelby County Alternates: Rosanne Fitts Klarer, Scott County; Sarah Martin, Central Kentucky; John Hennen, Rowan County; Ben Baker, Northern Kentucky; Nan Goheen, Jefferson County; Dora James and Jeanie Smith, Southern Kentucky; Clair Stines, Harlan County; Katie Pirotina, Perry County; Megan McKinney, Madison County; Herb Smith, Letcher County; John Rosenberg, Big Sandy; Leah Bayens, Wilderness Trace; vacant, Shelby 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 Plaza Drive Suite #4, Lexington, Ky, 40503 or tim@kftc.org. Subscriptions are $20/yr.

Lexington and Louisville are organizing to raise the wage ........................................................................ 18

Grassroots Fundraising Update Building power for KFTC and for Kentucky: KFTC PowerBuilders ..........................................................19 Black Lives Matter......................................................................................................................................................20

Name: Address: City, State Zip: Phone: Email: I want to make my donation to the following organization (check one): ____ KFTC (not tax-deductible) ____ Kentucky Coalition (tax-deductible) Bank Withdrawal/Credit Card Payment Authorization: I authorize KFTC/KY Coalition to debit my account or charge my credit card in accordance with the information provided.

I understand that this authority will remain in effect until cancelled or changed by reasonable notification to KFTC/ KY Coalition.

Who asked you to join KFTC?

Suggested membership dues are $15-$50 annually. ____ One-time Gift: Amount $_____________ ____ Sustaining Giver: I will contribute $_________ (check one): __ Monthly __ Quarterly __ Annually Authorized Signature: ______________________ Date: ___________________________________ Circle one: Mastercard Visa American Express Discover Card #: __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ Expiration date: ___ ___ / ___ ___ Cardholder’s name (as it appears on the card): ________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________ For bank drafts, return this form with a voided check from the account you wish to have the withdrawal made.

Make checks payable to KFTC or the Kentucky Coalition and mail to: KFTC • P.O. Box 1450 • London, Ky. 40743-1450.

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 3

KFTC News

Steering Committee reflects on 2014, looks ahead to coming year The November Steering Committee meeting begins continue to be felt in communities where coal is extracted the process of developing KFTC’s Program of Work for the and burned. coming year, including evaluating the previous year’s work.

The committee looked at KFTC’s voter empowerment At the November 22 meeting in Berea, Steering Com- work during the fall, when KFTC hired 45 temporary voter mittee members first reflected on KFTC’s work in 2014, empowerment organizers to engage voters across the state both the highlights and the “not quites.” through voter registration, education and get-out-the-vote, The list of highlights included KFTC’s statewide voter and brought on 21 additional staff in the days prior to the empowerment work this fall, the Jefferson County chapter’s election. It was the organization’s most ambitious voter emSmoketown GetDown for Democracy and Vision Smoke- powerment effort ever, reaching 33,866 voters with three or town report, the Appalachia’s Bright Future 2.0 weekend more contacts. (Read more about our voter empowerment hosted by the Letcher and work on page 4.)

Harlan chapters, passage “We got new members “We got new members in areas where of a fairness ordinance in in areas where we traditionally we traditionally have not had members.

Morehead, the Benham have not had members. That’s That’s building power.”

Power project, the Affordbuilding power,” Torp said. able Housing Trust Fund The committee proTanya Torp, Central Kentucky in Lexington, prevention jected forward to November of the Bluegrass Pipeline, 2015 and pretended they the Southern Kentucky chapter’s renters’ rights handbook, were looking back at the year 2015. Accomplishments of alliance work, and much more. the imaginary year included electing a progressive governor, “It was actually the community that put it all together,” passing a Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard for said Executive Committee member Tanya Torp of the Smo- Kentucky, tossing out ineffective politicians, and passing ketown GetDown in Louisville in September. “You were fairness ordinances across the state. Some Steering Committalking to people, and they were like, ‘Yeah, I live here.’” tee members really took hold of imagining a better future KFTC chairperson Dana Beasley Brown, who lives and named ending mountaintop removal and growing in Bowling Green, spoke of taking her children to eastern KFTC to 20,000 members as accomplishments in the next Kentucky for Appalachia’s Bright Future 2.0 in September year. and driving them to the top of Black Mountain, which is Pondering the question of what it would take to reach protected from mountaintop removal by organizing that some of these goals, the committee discussed doing more KFTC did in the 1990s. “I was so proud I could bring my work at the local level around elections and building on children to the highest point in Kentucky because of what the voter contacts made this fall to deepen relationships.

KFTC has done.”

Members also expressed a need to further integrate the voter Not quites included the defeat of bills in the General work with KFTC’s programmatic work and build relationAssembly – House Bill 70 to restore voting rights to former ships with legislators who can help KFTC achieve goals. felons, a tax reform bill, and a clean energy bill. On the They lifted up leadership development and suggested offerlocal level, a fairness ordinance was defeated in Berea, and ing more leadership training in communities KFTC wants Bowling Green hasn’t passed a renters’ rights ordinance. to reach.

Additional pipelines are proposed, and the costs of coal Members also felt KFTC should focus more on shared

Social media corner www.KFTC.org/facebook To find chapter Facebook pages, visit: www.kftc.org/links www.flickr.com/photos/KFTCphotos @KFTC @NKY_KFTC @ScottCoKFTC @MadCo_KFTC @EKY_KFTC

@JCKFTC @WT_KFTC @SoKyKFTC @VotingRightsKY @CanaryProjeCt

values, building strong communities, and what people want for their children, rather than which candidates will do the least damage.

“It’s not what do we want the governor to look like; it’s what do we want our town to look like,” said Nina McCoy, representative for the Big Sandy chapter.

The next step in the Program of Work process will be for issue committees and staff to develop specific 2015 goals and objectives for each area of work. The Executive Committee will review these pieces and combine them into a working draft to share with the full Steering Committee before the next meeting in February, when the committee will adopt the final Program of Work.

In other business, the Steering Committee discussed the fall fundraising campaign, reviewed financial reports, heard some updates on staffing, and set its next meeting for February 7 in Berea.

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

FIELD OFFICES Louisville Elizabeth Adami, Jerry Hardt, JoAnna House, Alicia Hurle, and Carissa Lenfert 735 Lampton Street #202 Louisville, Ky 40203 502-589-3188 Whitesburg Tanya Turner and Sara Pennington P.O. Box 463 Whitesburg, Ky 41858 606-632-0051 Central Kentucky Tim Buckingham, Jessica Hays Lucas, Beth Howard, Enchanta Jackson, Erik Hungerbuhler, and Heather Roe Mahoney 250 Plaza Drive, Suite 4 Lexington, Ky 40503 859-276-0563

Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein 640 Main Street Covington, Ky 41005 859-380-6103 Floyd County Jessie Skaggs 154 North Lake Drive Prestonsburg, Ky 41653 606-263-4982 Bowling Green Denney Breeding 270-779-6483 Berea Lisa Abbott, Beth Bissmeyer, Amy Hogg, and Kevin Pentz 140 Mini Mall Drive Berea, Ky 40403 859-756-4027

e-mail any staff member at firstname@kftc.org except for Jessica Hays Lucas, use jessicabreen@kftc.org; Beth Howard, use BethHoward@kftc.org; and Beth Bissmeyer, use BethBissmeyer@kftc.org Cover: KFTC members registered and mobilized voters to help build a healthy democracy in Kentucky.

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www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

VOTER EMPOWERMENT UPDATE

KFTC’s most ambitious voter empowerment effort builds toward healthy democracy across Kentucky KFTC’s 2014 voter empowerment program was inspired by the organization’s vision to build a healthy, participatory democracy in Kentucky through an integrated voter engagement strategy that complements other areas of KFTC’s work.

The work focused on creative voter engagement tactics that also helps develop grassroots leaders and allows KFTC to empower unlikely voters and disenfranchised communities.

A lot of energy was poured into voter empowerment this year. KFTC does powerful issue work, and must have a real electoral impact to increase effectiveness.

This spring, KFTC hired a new Deputy Organizing Director for Voter Empowerment, and this fall hired 65 temporary voter empowerment staff. This new team was spread across Kentucky and focused on going into low-turnout communities that KFTC has not had the capacity to connect with previously.

The mission was to register voters, engage in conversations around issues Kentuckians face, share the candidate survey voter guide and other voting information, encourage (and offer rides to) voters to turn out on Election Day. Community Outreach The 65 members of the voter empowerment team were placed on 16 campuses and in about 11 counties. With the help of KFTC members, they were able to: • Reach 34,632 voters through door-to-door canvassing and phone banking • Reach 33,836 voters three or more times through various outreach efforts including canvassing, phone banking, mailings, events, etc.

• Register 2,305 voters, of which 1,033 were on college campuses • Hold several candidate forums across the state, including one in Letcher County that was the first there in eight years • Connect voter empowerment with local issue work

including housing, economic development and coop energy.

In addition to knocking on doors and making phone calls, Voter Empowerment Organizers and KFTC members spent countless hours at grocery stores, bus stations, libraries, local events and other spaces they identified as fruitful locations to have quality conversations with voters. They also utilized national holidays to perform creative get-outthe-vote efforts like Trick-or-Vote for Halloween, when they went door-to-door passing out voter information to families.

Partnerships KFTC values partnerships and allies, and the voter empowerment work illustrated this throughout the campaign.

As KFTC continued to develop existing relationships with allies, many new relationships were formed.

In Louisville, organizers partnered with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority to host a voter registration barbecue. Covington organizers partnered with local bars on Main Street to do a voter registration bar crawl. Lexington organizers partnered with the University of Kentucky’s Fusion Day of Service to host a campus-wide day of voter registration.

These events, and many others, were extremely empowering and allowed KFTC to connect with many new faces, introduce them to KFTC and also provide them with the option to register to vote.

Holding Candidates Accountable The voter empowerment work also continued KFTC’s powerful and necessary mission of holding politicians accountable. This year we did that through: • Surveying 363 candidates covering 214 local, state, and federal races • Mailing 52,000 KFTC Voter Guides and distributing an additional 20,000 • Selecting candidates to spotlight including: Alison

Lundergan Grimes, Elisabeth Jensen, John Yarmuth, and Ron Leach, as well as Jim Wayne, Rita Smart, Ashley Miller, and Johnny Bell, and some mayoral and council races.

Trainings KFTC did several trainings throughout the fall to maintain unity among the large number of new hires. The team strived to honor the individualism of each region, and also produce work that aligned with the overall state strategy.

There was a weekend-long statewide voter empowerment staff training the first weekend of September. As things ramped up, each chapter hosted two regional trainings and two social media webinar trainings that provided members with social media activism skills.

Online Voter Empowerment Presence In addition to the on-the-ground field campaign, the voter empowerment work used the internet to make sure that if voters weren’t reached by calling, knocking, mailing or canvassing, they might be reached through the web.

• The KFTC Voter Guide website, www.kentuckyelection.org, had more than 64,000 page views.

• The KFTC Facebook page grew by an estimated 1,500 likes, and is now more than 15,000 likes.

• An “I vote because...” interactive social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter allowed many Kentuckians to share a photograph of themselves with a sign telling who they are and why they’re voting.

This voter empowerment work allowed KFTC and Kentucky to learn a lot and gain a lot. Through this big body of work, KFTC was able to: • Gain many new and prospective members • Provide a space for members to take on various leadership roles (continued on next page)

From Bowling Green to Paducah and northern Kentucky to Laurel County, KFTC members registered, organized and mobilized thousands of Kentucky voters this fall. It was an unprecedented body of work that laid the base for statewide elections in 2015.

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

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VOTER EMPOWERMENT UPDATE

Growing into a candidate, with help from KFTC

By Ben Baker I’ve entered the ballot box many times in my 18 years of voting, but this November 4 was a bit different. For the first time, as I stared down at the list of candidates, I saw a very familiar name looking back at me – my own.

Being an active member of KFTC has made me quite familiar with candidates, having campaigned for them, getting to know them and the election process as a whole. So seeing familiar names on the ballot is nothing new, but nothing compares to seeing your own name on the grid. I made my selections in the races I followed and exited the booth with more elation, fear, worry yet hope than I have ever experienced on the first week of November.

Growing up, I was always interested in public service, coming from a family with a grandfather who sat on elected school boards, ran for state representative, and a father who served on local zoning boards. I attended rallies throughout college, seeing presidents and senators speak, but it wasn’t until five years ago that I truly got engaged with the political process and grew in my awareness of issues I held dear.

Five years ago I read about an organization called Kentuckians For The Commonwealth that was looking to start a Northern Kentucky chapter. After researching KFTC, I learned that they too were concerned about many things I worried about (mountaintop removal, clean water, equality) and was excited to attend their meeting.

At the first meeting I met Dave Newton, who introduced me to Joe Gallenstein, who was to be our chapter organizer. Over the next few months, the foundation was laid for our chapter and I became even more involved.

Working with KFTC in Northern Kentucky had me reaching out to people whose names I knew from the news, but had never spoken with. I was calling my local representatives and asking them to fill out candidate surveys. I was reaching out and meeting with state and national leaders, voicing my concerns on our future. I was lobbying alongside my neighbors in the halls of Frankfort, bringing our interests to those in power. In doing so, I gained more insight into those who represented us and how they voiced their constitu-

Election night at the victory party with my sister Katie, father Jim, mother Lucy, and nephew Grant

ents’ concerns. I was getting a much closer look at how our system works, and how we as voters can be empowered by it.

I learned that I too could be that difference.

About a year ago I saw an opportunity to help the very community that I lived in by running for city council. Our city is a small river town, rich in history with an amazing future. We face a lot of challenges that many of our cities across the commonwealth face, and some of the things that have been tried in the past simply were not working. I decided to enter the race to better the city that I call home. Election wasn’t easy, though, with a tough crowd of 11 candidates vying for six seats with three incumbents.

I contacted the Secretary of State and obtained a voter list, printed it out in a binder, put together some flyers, had some signs made up, and bought a new pair of shoes

to pound the pavement with and knock on doors. I spent three months, night after night, knocking on every door in the city until dark, speaking with my neighbors and learning their concerns and expressing mine. I campaigned up until the last nightfall of November 3, knowing I’d worry if I lost by two that I didn’t reach enough voters.

As the polls closed, I sat staring at the TV screens wondering if I’d reached out enough, worried about my first run.

As the results trickled in and were added up, I found myself as the lead vote getter for the contentious council race. A newcomer with a will to change, showing that we as a city were ready for change. Being an active member with KFTC helped me see that, and made me more aware that we can make change happen, from the streets of Dayton, Kentucky, to the halls of Frankfort.

Voter empowerment, continued from previous page

Northern Kentucky KFTC members didn’t stand around this fall.

• Enter into even more communities and speak with a base of voters that included students, low-income people, women and people of color • Develop countless new leaders who can now engage and empower their communities around the importance of voting • Inspire the 65 former Voter Empowerment staffers to become KFTC members and commit to joining KFTC’s Voter Empowerment Strategy Team. During the last official Voter Empowerment Team staff meeting, Voter Empowerment Organizer and longtime KFTC member Tayna Fogle said: “We can call

meetings and have workshops even without being on payroll. It’s going to be so crucial for House Bill 70 right now until 2016. It’s going to be a lot of work. I encourage everyone to continue the work even after the paycheck is gone.”

KFTC thanks all those who made this work possible.

It could not have come to life without committed members, staff and the Steering Committee, who understand a healthy democracy requires engaging Kentuckians around social justice issues, holding elected officials accountable and voting.

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www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

MEMBER COMMENTARY

Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

By Shekinah Lavalle In 2010-2011, as members of KFTC, I and a few others traveled around the state to educate other KFTC members about the use of the death penalty in Kentucky. We invited others to conclude, as we had, that abolition of the death penalty fit in with our platform and shared values.

At the Annual Membership Meeting in 2011, members voted to add abolition of the death penalty to KFTC’s platform, and members now are able to work on this issue while wearing our KFTC t-shirts. I’m so glad that we did that work, learned about the issue, and added it to our list of policy changes that will make Kentucky a better place to live.

Individually, deciding that ending the death penalty is an important cause can be a struggle. Though I didn’t make up my mind about the death penalty until I was in college, I was personally impacted by the murder of a loved one during my adolescence. This tragic event would later shape my views on capital punishment.

A girl named Randi and I became fast friends when we were nine years old. Her mother, Kim, was a stay-at-home mom who welcomed me as a part of the family. My own mom was a single mother who worked and stayed busy caring for us, so Randi’s home and family became a second home and family to me.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Randi’s step-dad was sometimes abusive toward her mom. He also abused drugs and when his employer found out, he was fired. By this time, Randi and I were 13 and Kim had started an in-home daycare business. Kim loved taking care of people’s babies.

Things between Randi’s parents deteriorated further and Kim wanted a divorce.

Her husband made a lot of threats, kidnapped one of their kids, went to jail, and got out. Eventually he went to her home during business hours, cut the phone line, and locked the kids she cared for in a bedroom. Then he beat Kim almost to death with a hammer. She died a few days later.

The evidence against Kim’s killer is strong. He had threatened to do exactly what was done. Though I’m inclined to believe he did it, he maintains his innocence to this day.

Kim’s mother specifically advocated for life without parole because she wanted her daughter’s murderer to live with what he’d done. He did not receive the death penalty, but he’ll never leave prison alive.

I don’t often use that story to illustrate my views on capital punishment, partly because it’s hard to talk about and partly because I struggle with conveying just how important this woman who wasn’t my mother is to me. She was my family. Randi and I are still close; she talked me through telling this story to you all. You never get over losing a loved one, but advocating for the death of Tim Cunningham doesn’t seem like a good way to honor Kim. In polls, when asked simply whether they support the death penalty, the majority of Americans answer “yes.” But in more sophisticated polling, when given a list of penalty options including the death penalty and life without the possibility of parole, most choose life without parole.

Many people, including lawmakers, want to keep the death penalty as an option for the “worst of the worst”: the Ted Bundys, the Timothy McVeighs, the Tim Cunninghams.

Still, Americans are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the use of capital punishment because we don’t always use it for the worst crimes and because we aren’t even sure about what “worst” is supposed to mean. And, most importantly, because sometimes we put the wrong person on death row.

I now work for the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and let me tell you, this is an important time to be involved in abolition work. In the last 13 months, there have been five innocent people released from death rows in this country. As I write this, the total number of people exonerated from death row is 147. By the time you read this, who knows how many more might be released?

Kentucky’s lawmakers are proving to be very thoughtful on this issue. Some, like Rep. David Floyd, view abolishing the death penalty as a necessary component of a pro-life ethic. Others are concerned about how expensive it is to maintain the process. The three botched executions that occurred this year concern other lawmakers. And, rightfully, the possibility of executing the innocent causes others to oppose its use.

ACTION:

However, there are lawmakers who don’t yet understand just how broken this system is even though the 2011 report by the Kentucky Assessment Team aided by the American Bar Association detailed this for them. We need to change that by doing what KFTCers do best.

As members of KFTC, you all know how important it is for your community and your legislators to hear from you about the issues you care about. Please consider what you can do to help move this issue forward in our state.

KCADP works with exonerees and family members of murder victims to educate people in Kentucky. You can invite us to your church, to your classroom, or to your chapter meeting. If you want us to come and talk or you have questions or thoughts, feel free to contact me (502-6361330 or shekinah.lavalle@kcadp.org) and talk about getting involved.

Visit our website – www.kcadp.org – and from there you can “like” us on Facebook, “follow” us on Twitter, add your name to our eNews list, and watch more than 90 Kentuckians speaking about the death penalty on our YouTube channel. We are happy to record you and add another witness in the trial against the death penalty.

Kentucky can lead the South on abolition of the death penalty, and we’ll do it much faster with your help.

2015 GENERAL ASSEMBLY MAJOR LOBBY DAYS

Kentucky’s 2015 General Assembly is just around the corner! The 2015 session will be a short (30-day) session, but KFTC is planning to pack a lot of citizen lobbying into that short period of time. Below is a calendar of our upcoming major lobby days and other important dates. Many of the details for the major lobby days are still being worked out – additional information will be shared as plans are made.

In addition to our big lobby days, KFTC will have staff and members in Frankfort every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between February 3 and March 5, usually between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. If you would like to lobby with KFTC in addition to one of our major lobby days, please contact Lisa Abbott at lisa@kftc.org or 859-200-5159, or your local organizer to let us know when you’d like to come.

Important dates Jan 6-9: ........................................................................General Assembly organizational days Feb 3: ............................................................................................... Start of regular session days Feb 5: .......................................................................................................Clean Energy Lobby Day Feb 12: ......................................................................................................... I Love Mountains Day Feb 18: ............................................................................................................. Fairness Lobby Day Feb 24: .......................................................................................... Economic Justice Lobby Day Feb 26: .............................................................................. Voting Rights Lobby Day and Rally Mar 9: .................................End of regular session days, followed by two-week recess Mar 24: .......................................................................................................Last day of the session

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 7

Letter to the editor

Catholic Committee of Appalachia: People’s Pastoral Dear KFTC Friends, We are all too familiar with the cries for justice throughout Appalachia. These ancient hills have absorbed the tears of generations, and they are tired. I know you are, too. So are we, and the work is far from finished. It can seem lonely and overwhelming.

Therefore, I am writing, first, to introduce the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA) as another of KFTC’s companions on the journey. Second, I want to invite you, individually and as an organization, to take part in our latest project. The People’s Pastoral is an open letter summarizing those cries into a single Voice so it can echo on a global scale as an invitation for the world to respond in action. The best part is you don’t have to do much more than you already do.

Listen to people’s stories, and tell your own.

Introduction to CCA Since 1970, with its roots in the Commission on Religion in Appalachia, CCA has been a network of faith-based people interested in and working on social and environmental justice issues in Central Appalachia. Our state chapters have collaborated and stood in solidarity with KFTC, OVEC, Christians for the Mountains and other secular and religious grassroots organizations. We raise awareness of and educate on the same kinds of issues you do. Mountaintop removal, labor, private prison development, sustainable

lifestyles and communities, poverty, health, clean water, racism and climate change are among those which CCA has addressed. We do so through seminars, retreats, tours, workshops, our newsletter PatchQuilt, and our annual gathering.

Like KFTC, Catholic Committee of Appalachia is constantly in dialogue with our neighbors. We act as a megaphone for them and for our shared Earth. We can be found in the hills and hollers; in small towns and big cities; in soup kitchens and demonstrations; in coal mines, gas/oil fields, schools and factories; and on picket lines and front porches.

As we listen to their stories, we hear our own, and are inspired by the wisdom they impart.

Over the years, CCA collected and summarized those stories and recorded that wisdom in two Pastoral Letters which were signed by 26 Bishops of the Appalachian region.

Pastorals are open letters from bishops to clergy, laity and all people of good will, and generally contain instruction, consolation and directions for behavior in particular circumstances.

What made the first one revolutionary within the Church is that, instead of the usual top-down model, it was generated and written by lay people. Entitled, “This Land is Home to Me: A Pastoral Letter on Poverty and Powerlessness in Appalachia” in 1975 and “At Home in the Web of Life: A Pastoral Message on Sustainability in Appalachia” in 1995, they are still published and distributed by CCA today.

The Appalachian Bishops’ Pastoral Letters have been dubbed the most influential documents originating from the church in North America because they have inspired thousands of volunteers, young and old, lay and ordained, to come, live here and serve Appalachia, her people and the entire web of creation.

Invitation for the People’s Pastoral Now we ask you to join with us on our current venture, which goes beyond the Bishops’ Pastoral Letters, to a People’s Pastoral. Again, it will be an open letter; again, a summary of stories, but this time from the people themselves, ALL people: ecumenical, interfaith and secular.

The purpose of our third Pastoral is to amplify the voices of those who are not heard easily, often or at all; and we include Earth this time. We are inviting those who struggle, their advocates, and their communities to take part in a survey.

Our hope is that this document gets into more hands than bookshelves. We want it to become a living Pastoral, an ongoing message, a continuous dialogue. Our goal is to publish the People’s Pastoral by late 2015 and have it online.

At that point, anyone can endorse it with a click on our website, and more voices and ideas can be added there over time, indefinitely into the future. All the while, we hope it will inspire a variety of artistic expressions that lift up that Voice, and echo our invitation to listen to it.

Our prayer is that the People’s Pastoral rejuvenates, inspires and moves each of us; and that the world can hear it with compassion and respond in action in new, creative ways.

Catholic Committee of Appalachia invites KFTC members to take part in the People’s Pastoral in one or more of the following ways: • • •

Participate yourselves individually by responding to the survey.

Pass on copies of the survey to those you work with, or just listen to them and complete the survey on their behalf.

Let us know of other people, communities, and events where more listening could be done.

On behalf of the people and planet, thank you for your time and consideration of the Pastoral, and for your friendship over the years.

In solidarity, Jeannie Kirkhope CCA Coordinator

Kentuckians carried a Just Transition message to historic People’s Climate March

Five KFTC members and staff took the train to the historic People’s Climate March, which took place September 21 in the streets of New York City.

Kentuckians for the march, the largest ever of its kind. 400,000 people marched for climate justice, behind frontline communities like those from Kentucky who are impacted fossil fuels and are working for a just transition.

KFTC members (L-R) Teri Blanton, Mickey McCoy, Annalyse McCoy and Nina McCoy help carry a banner created by the Climate Justice Alliance: “It Takes Roots to Weather the Storm”

Three confidential ways to share your story, signs of hope, and ideas for change: 1. Complete this survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s/TLNQLRR 2. Email cca@ccappal.org 3. Write to: CCA at 885 Orchard Run, Spencer, WV 25276 Learn more: www.ccappal.org/the-peoples-pastoral

8 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

CANARY PROJECT UPDATE

Judge hands down strong ruling on Clean Water Act violations In an extraordinarily strong ruling, the Franklin Circuit Court issued two long-awaited orders in late November rejecting settlement deals between the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet and Frasure Creek Mining, arising from the coal company’s thousands of violations of the Clean Water Act from 2008 through 2011.

Judge Phillip Shepherd wrote that due to the coal company’s actions, “The inherent danger of the violations at issue here to the environment is impossible to determine based on Frasure Creek’s wholesale abdication of its monitoring and reporting responsibilities, and the cabinet’s inability to fully investigate the environmental harm that is likely to have occurred.”

“Since October 2010, we have been in the courts to see that the law be enforced in the state of Kentucky,” said Ted Withrow, a member of KFTC’s Litigation Team. “These rulings by Judge Shepherd serve to enforce that right of the people.”

In 2010, Appalachian Voices, Kentucky Waterkeeper Alliance, Kentucky Riverkeeper, KFTC and several individuals made public more than 20,000 violations of the Clean Water Act from 2008 to 2010 by Frasure Creek and a second coal company, International Coal Group (which later settled out of court).

Under the law, these violations could be subject to hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. On the 57th day, the cabinet and Frasure Creek entered a proposed consent agreement that included only 1,520 violations and combined fines of just $310,000.

The violations largely had to do with falsifying water quality monitoring reports that the companies were required to submit under their pollution discharge permits. The false reports hid significant water quality violations.

“These are much more than paper violations [as state officials at the time claimed]. With each false entry on these reports, the company is deceiving regulators and the public about the pollution it may be discharging into Kentucky waters,” said Erin Savage, Central Appalachian Campaign Coordinator with Appalachian Voices. “The judge’s orders confirm what citizens have known for some time – that the state is failing to enforce the Clean Water Act in eastern Kentucky,” In one order, Judge Shepherd rejected a settlement proposed four years ago between the cabinet and Frasure Creek that purported to address reporting violations uncovered by citizens groups. Is this the one mentioned above that happened on the 57th day?

In rejecting the deal, Judge Shepherd wrote: “The proposed consent decree is unlikely to be successful in producing a change in behavior by Frasure Creek, because the economic benefit that it obtains by taking short-cuts and submitting unreliable data far outweighs the costs of compliance, or the risk of any fines and penalties that the cabinet will impose.

This case demonstrates that the fines and penalties are an acceptable cost of doing business.”

In his other order, Judge Shepherd rejected a second settlement from 2013 between the cabinet and Frasure Creek.

This settlement attempted to resolve pollution permit limit violations reported by Frasure Creek once the falsified report-

Linda Porter believes Kentucky Deserves Clean Water. Vice Presidential debate, centre college 2012.

ing temporarily ended. The cabinet finalized the settlement over the objection of the citizens’ groups, who claimed that the settlement’s meager fines and weak stipulations resulted in little more than a slap on the wrist.

The citizens’ groups subsequently petitioned the court to review the settlement on grounds that it was insufficient to accomplish enforcement goals and that the cabinet’s handling of it violated their due process rights.

Again, the court has agreed: “While the cabinet may enter into an agreement with Frasure Creek, it cannot circumvent the rights of intervening parties to question that agreement, to gather evidence concerning its adequacy, and to put on proof before a hearing officer raising objections to the agreement.”

At the time of the 2010 filings, Frasure Creek was one of the largest mountaintop removal mining companies in Kentucky. It continues to operate mines in Kentucky and West Virginia.

In all instances, the violations were discovered by Appalachian Voices water quality specialists and others who analyzed thousands of documents. As Judge Shepherd noted in one order: “The fact that these massive reporting violations were brought to light by citizens acting independently of the cabinet further supports the conclusion that the public interest in the consent decree was not objectively considered by the cabinet prior to the intervention by the citizen intervenors in this action.”

Throughout the four years of litigation, the citizens’ groups had to fight the insistence of cabinet officials that the public has no right to intervene in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act. They once labeled having to deal with the

public as an “unwarranted burden.”

The rulings also are significant in that they affirmed the rights of citizens to intervene in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act. “This struggle has taken us all the way to the state supreme court, which ultimately upheld the rights of citizens to intervene in legal proceedings by the cabinet,” said Withrow. “Our most recent Notice of Intent to sue Frasure Creek Mining for 28,000 violations of the Clean Water Act reinforces our conviction that the law is not being enforced in any meaningful way.”

Just a week before Shepherd’s ruling, the citizens’ groups made public that Frasure Creek had continued the same pattern of non-compliance from early 2013 through at least the first quarter of 2014, perpetrating almost 28,000 new violations of federal law. Frasure Creek has resumed submitting duplicated water pollution monitoring reports to the state, falsifying data and hiding the extent of pollution at its mines.

“This is shameful. Frasure Creek Mining has apparently never stopped flaunting the law even though they were caught red handed in 2010,” said Bev May, a resident of Floyd County, where many of the most recent violations occurred. “They dropped a boulder on a house near here a few years ago and they have been illegally discharging poisons into our creeks for years. It is absurd that the state allows a scofflaw operator like this to continue.”

The citizens’ groups are represented by Mary Cromer of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center (Whitesburg, KY), Lauren Waterworth of Waterworth Law Office (Boone, NC), and the Pace Law School Environmental Litigation Clinic (White Plains, NY).

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 9

CANARY PROJECT UPDATE

Alliance calls for stronger action from Obama administration The Obama administration has failed to fulfill promises to reduce the harmful consequences of strip mining in Appalachia, according to a report issued in early December by the Alliance for Appalachia.

Six years ago, federal agencies under the new Obama presidency “seemed genuinely interested in our stories and what was happening on the state level,” said KFTC member Teri Blanton, also a member of the Alliance steering committee.

After being shut out by these agencies under previous administrations, “it was exciting that they would even meet with us.”

Affected Appalachian residents were even more hopeful after a 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency for implementing an interagency action “designed to significantly reduce the harmful environmental consequences of Appalachian surface coal mining operations, while ensuring that future mining remains consistent with federal law.”

The administration also made a commitment to “work in coordination with appropriate regional, state, and local entities to help diversify and strengthen the Appalachian regional economy.”

“All of them working together, to significantly reduce the impacts of mining, was music to our ears,” added Blanton.

Federal action is needed because state enforcement officials are indifferent, ineffective or too closely tied to the coal industry, as has been recently documented in Kentucky (see story on page 8), Blanton and others said.

There were policy recommendations and enforcement actions in the next couple of years that backed up the pledge to reduce some of the harmful consequences of mining.

But since then, federal agencies have failed to follow through on several proposals, stopped new initiatives and even taken steps that worsen the impacts of mining, according to several speakers at an Alliance teleconference in early December.

“Most of what the MOU was to address is still happening today,” explained Bill Price with the Sierra Club in West Virginia. “Blasting is still occurring, water is still being polluted and communities are still suffering.”

KFTC member Davie Ransdell cited a recent meeting in Washington, DC between Appalachian residents and several federal agencies. The meeting was coordinated by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

A couple of days before, the meeting was reduced from four hours to one hour. And then, “instead of meeting with the technical people, we’re meeting with a roomful of public relations people,” Ransdell said. “The people we had been talking to [for years] at these individual agencies weren’t even invited. Many had been in their jobs less than a year.

“When they told us this [meeting] was a good beginning, that was really frustrating because we had started the dialogue five years ago.”

The U.S. EPA recently made conditions worse for Kentuckians by approving an unenforceable new selenium standard put forth by state officials, and accepting a weakened

general permit for water pollution from coal operations.

“If this administration does not find the political courage to create and enforce effective regulations to protect our communities and our environment, widespread pollution will remain unaddressed, hindering efforts aimed at improv-

ing the region’s economic outlook and further impairing our region’s ability to build a viable, diverse economy and respond to the compounding impacts of the coal industry’s acute legacy costs and climate change,” the Alliance report stated.

The TheAlliance Alliancedescribed describedfour fouractions actionsthe theObama Obama administration should take immediately: administration should take immediately: 1. Issue a strong federal standard limiting selenium pollution from coal mines 2. Adopt conductivity limits based on the science that is already available 3. Restore a stream protection rule that includes a stream buffer zone 4. Address the dumping of coal combustion wastes (coal ash) on mined lands.

PROPOSED LIMESTONE MINE ON FURNACE MOUNTAIN DENIED In November, the citizens group Mountain Preservation Coalition received word that the Division of Mine Permits denied Red River Materials’ application for a limestone quarry on top of Furnace Mountain.

Earlier this spring news spread after a notice was printed in the Stanton newspaper that Red River Materials purchased some land on top of Furnace Mountain and applied for a mine permit. A few people who live near the proposed mine acted quickly and requested a permit conference to be held in the local community.

At the permit conference the room was filled with community members who voiced their concerns about the proposed mine. The community made it clear they were going to make certain both the mining company and the state followed and enforced all regulations.

After reviewing the proposed permit and taking into consideration the concerns of the local residents, the state

Division of Mine Permits sent a letter to Red River Materials listing all the deficiencies in their permit. The state initially gave the company 30 days to respond to their letter; however, when Red River Materials did not respond the state gave them an additional 30 days.

In November the company’s second 30-day deadline expired and it still had not contacted the Division of Mine Permits to say how it intended to address the problems the state identified in the application. Since the company did not respond, the State Division of Mine Permits officially denied the proposed permit.

At the last meeting of the Mountain Preservation Coalition, the residents were very happy with the state’s action. They also let it be known that if another mine were proposed in an area and the local residents had concerns about the mine, that the members of the Mountain Preservation Coalition are ready and willing to help.

10 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

NEW ENERGY AND TRANSITION UPDATE

Events highlight opportunities for just transition in eastern Kentucky Two events in eastern Kentucky this fall showed there’s no shortage of ideas and energy for a just transition beyond the coal economy in the mountains.

KFTC members in Harlan and Letcher counties planned and hosted Appalachia’s Bright Future 2.0 September 12-14 to inspire, learn, celebrate and connect around opportunities in the region. And Letcher members co-hosted a forum in October that compared economic transition in Appalachia with the experiences of Wales in the United Kingdom.

ABF 2.0 was a continuation of the conversation in April 2013 at Appalachia’s Bright Future, a conference that brought 200 people to Harlan County to begin developing a shared vision for the next economy in Appalachia.

But the September event was less a conference and more a tour of good things happening to build a strong local economy in the mountains. Between conversations, participants were encouraged to choose their own adventure by taking a tour across Pine Mountain from Harlan County to Letcher County, stopping at local businesses, co-ops and attractions to chat with proprietors and see what’s happening.

The weekend began with a celebration Friday evening at the Eastern Kentucky Social Club in Lynch, where the Appalachian Community Fund honored KFTC members Bennie Massey and Stanley Sturgill as Eastern Kentucky Appalachian Heroes for their work to build a brighter future in their community.

A Saturday morning panel at the restored Betty Howard Coal Miners’ Memorial Theater in Benham focused on opportunities in the region.

Moderator Carl Shoupe of Benham described the Benham Energy Project, an effort among several allies including KFTC, the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), Christian Outreach with Appalachian People, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop a community-wide energy efficiency program that would save energy and money, create jobs and put more money back into the community.

KFTC member Chris Woolery, a MACED staff member who has helped develop the project, echoed Shoupe’s optimism. One home in Benham has already been retrofitted for efficiency, and owner Lacey Griffey enjoyed 56 percent savings on her energy bill last winter, even during the polar vortex.

“If you do energy efficiency well, it pays for itself,” Woolery said. “If we can invest in 100 homes here in Benham, that’s not just energy efficiency – that’s economic development.”

Other panelists who talked about opportunities in the region included Brandon Pennington, executive director of Harlan Tourism; Carrie Wells Carter, a local artist and musician; Tom Sexton, manager of Summit City Lounge, who’s also working to renovate an old hotel in downtown Whitesburg; and Andrea Massey, Ready to Work Coordinator at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College.

(See related story on youth in Appalachia on page 13).

After the morning panel, participants took off on their own to visit various stops in Harlan and Letcher counties, including the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, Portal 31 Underground Mine Tour and Lamp House Coffee

Members of the Letcher County chapter hosted a candidate forum for Whitesburg candidates for mayor and city council.

in Lynch, Oven Fork Mercantile on Pine Mountain, and Roundabout Music Company in Whitesburg, among others.

Then the group reconvened at Appalshop in Whitesburg on Saturday afternoon to reflect and share impressions, led by a panel of youth from the Higher Ground theater program in Harlan County and the Appalachian Media Institute in Letcher County.

More than 100 people participated throughout the weekend, many from Harlan and Letcher Counties and across the Commonwealth, and others from neighboring Appalachian regions of Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina.

On October 7, KFTC’s Letcher County chapter paired with Appalshop in Whitesburg and the After Coal project of Appalachian State University to host a public community forum on economic transition, along with a local candidate meet-and-greet reception.

Mair Francis, founder of the DOVE Workshop, and Hywel Francis, a Labour Member of Parliament for Aberavon, Wales, traveled to Whitesburg to discuss sustainable community development in Wales and Appalachia. The Francises had visited eastern Kentucky in 2013 as panelists for the first Appalachia’s Bright Future conference.

Much like economic struggles seen in Appalachia today, the coalfields of South Wales shut down 30 years ago – leaving mining communities to find strategic ways to rebuild their economy. Mair and Hywel Francis discussed what has worked for community development in Wales, what has been difficult, and how the coalfields of Wales can be compared to the industry in Appalachia.

Joining the Francises to provide a local perspective were Evan Smith of the Appalachian Citizens Law Center in Whitesburg and Robin Gabbard of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky in Chavies.

The evening reception kicked off with informal conversation among the 80 guests and several candidates for local office. Then the community forum began with clips from the

forthcoming After Coal documentary about the years of exchanges between Wales and Appalachia. Guests from Wales went on to highlight some of the best practices in community regeneration, including a clearly articulated vision and a thorough understanding of the strategies, priorities and resources required.

Evan Smith, a Whitesburg native who often represents miners on justice issues such as black lung and mine safety, said, “It takes a lot to fix an economy. There’s no silver bullet, but there are things we can be doing and things we could be doing better.”

Hywel Francis also emphasized the importance of community funding, education investment and reclamation of environmental resources.

Gabbard explained, “The answers are in every little firehouse and post office in our communities. Not just the problems, but the strategies and what we’d like to see. To develop a place where our kids and other people’s kids want to have a life. Creating transferable leadership skills in our young people.”

Jared Utt, a local pastor, asked Hywel Francis how community members in Wales found hope in the early 1980s, when the mines shut down and people were out of work.

“Fellowship is sort of the way that in great despair, people find hope in their work and struggle together – a sense of fellowship is immeasurably powerful,” Francis said.

Smith added, “Great hope is to be drawn from Wales – as long as we can plant gardens every year, and grandmas can play with their grandbabies, so long as we can imagine the community we want to live in, there is hope.”

The After Coal event was the second in a series of three in eastern Kentucky this fall, including Homegrown Tourism on September 18 at the Elkhorn City Public Library and Arts and Youth on October 28 at Southeastern Kentucky Community and Technical College’s Harlan campus.

KFTC member Lillian Prosperino contributed to this article.

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 11

NEW ENERGY AND TRANSITION UPDATE

Summit looks at pipelines, fracking and Kentucky’s future Kentucky has a real and immediate opportunity to transition to a renewable and sustainable energy economy, and must do so to fend off permanent damage to our land, water, air and health.

Those were the primary messages at the “Pipelines, Fracking and Kentucky’s Future Beyond Fossil Fuels” summit attended by about 150 people in early November in Lexington.

“Can we get away from fossil fuels?” asked Andy McDonald, the director of Sustainable Systems Programs for Earth Tools. “The answer I believe very strongly is yes!”

“There are lots of ideas how we can do this. It’s happening all over the world. We are so far behind … we have enormous opportunity.”

McDonald cited numerous examples of how other countries, including China, Japan and Germany, are far ahead of the United States in the use of renewable energy technologies.

Germany, for example, now gets 25-30 percent of its electricity from renewables, according to McDonald.

“Germany has the largest capacity of solar energy use in the whole world. 370,000 people are working in the renewable energy sector in Germany. It has created an industrial boom.

“Why is there a market in Germany? Because they made a decision … a nationwide commitment to transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear energy.”

McDonald said Kentucky and the United States could make a similar decision.

“We have a great challenge, but it is really a great opportunity. There is so much opportunity. If we set the right policies in place, we could greatly reduce the cost of living through energy bills and put thousands of people to work.

“We could make this transition and spur this prosperity throughout the state,” McDonald added. “It’s not like it’s a total fantasy because people across the border are doing it.”

Such a transition should be just and transform our whole economy. “There are ways to do it that increase equity and eliminate poverty. Our goal should be to eliminate poverty.”

The urgency in making this transition was spelled out by other speakers during the day-long summit.

“The forecast is for much more exploitation for Kentucky,” said fracking expert Dr. James O’Reilly in a talk titled “If You Break It, You Own It.” “That’s what the money that won [in the recent election] is going to do.”

Dr. O’Reilly described many of the problems with fracking that he has documented through research for his forthcoming book. That list includes radioactive rock, massive amounts of waste water, and diesel exhaust.

“We understand that somebody’s got to pay for the cleanup. So is industry paying for what needs to be cleaned up? Not today,” O’Reilly said. “The big problem is the fracker doesn’t have to pay for cleanup. Taxpayers do.

“It’s the taxpayers who replace the road or bridge. It’s the medical clinic … who will treat the long-term harms.”

He added that even if public officials are not concerned

A Natural Gas Liquids leak or a demonstration using dry ice? Bob Pekny used this demonstration during his talk about Natural Gas Liquids pipeline leaks at the Pipelines, Fracking and Kentucky’s Future Beyond Fossil Fuels summit.

about the impacts of fracking and fossil fuel extractions, they must be concerned about the inevitable long-term cleanup costs.

“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue; it’s a question of who’s going to pay. Before they drill, before they dump, before they pond, money ought to be put aside [through bonds],” he suggested. “You need insurance if you’re going to do something that’s highly dangerous.”

Several other presenters talked of the dangers of the Bluegrass Hazardous Liquids Pipeline, a proposal blocked

by Kentucky landowners and now put on hold by the company. Those threats now also apply to a proposal by Kinder Morgan to repurpose a 40-year-old natural gas line to carry hazardous liquids.

“They can have a leak in one of these pipelines that leaks about 300,000 gallons a day and their system won’t even detect it,” explained KFTC member Bob Pekny. “Pipelines are exploding and leaking all the time.”

Dr. Ralph Ewers, the state’s leading hydro-geologist, called Kentucky’s karst geology “extremely troublesome” for hazardous liquids pipelines.

“You can’t do it [build pipelines] the way you’ve always done it if you’re going to cross karst areas,” he said, explaining that water pollution may show up “tens of miles from where the leak first occurs.”

Engineer Dick Watkins described problems with repurposed pipelines, especially old ones like Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline that used in its original construction what is now considered obsolete welding. Kinder Morgan also wants to reverse the flow in the pipeline, meaning “low

pressure points become high pressure points.”

“There are no benefits for using repurposed and there are acute risks to health and safety,” Watkins said. “We don’t need this.”

Tim Joice of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance talked of issues related to fracking, particularly the great volumes of polluted wastewater that is the source of many water contamination problems.

The summit was organized by landowners and others who were involved in the successful campaign to block the proposed Bluegrass Hazardous Liquids Pipeline from coming through Kentucky. KFTC and a number of other organizations and faith communities helped sponsor the gathering.

“We learned a lot in that fight,” said Chris Schimmoeller, a summit organizer who lives in Franklin County.

“We learned that we’re all in the path.”

“One of the gists to the response to the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline was to discover how many people care about their land,” said Susan Classen of Marion County. “Caring unites us.”

Sister Claire McGowan wrapped up the day acknowledging the “nourishment of all of the wonderful presentations that we’ve heard … presented with so much hope, at a time when we really need hope.

“What we have been talking about all day today is a moral struggle. In fact, it’s even more – it’s a sacred struggle.

The journey we have ahead of us is a sacred journey. What more pure, reverent or holy action could we be involved in?”

12 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

NEW ENERGY AND TRANSITION UPDATE

Canvassing engages community in Benham energy project The town of Benham in Harlan County has made a timeless historical contribution to the nation’s coal-based economy. For nearly 100 years, coal was harvested and hauled out of Benham, as well as other towns throughout Harlan County. This economy was the promise of hope for coal miners and their families.

Members of the town have much to be proud of with this city’s overall contribution to the development of our country’s economic infrastructure. However, they can be equally as proud of what is to come in Benham.

Over the years, as many of the local coal-related jobs have ended, Benham residents have begun to envision a new energy future, with the help of organizations like KFTC, MACED (Mountain Association for Community Economic Development), COAP (Christian Outreach with Appalachian People) and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

These groups are teaming up with the city of Benham and its municipally owned power board to ensure a promise of energy transition. The group has proposed a project

to cut back on the town’s peak energy demand and to curb home energy rates and increase customer energy savings.

After a presentation in March from KFTC, MACED and MIT about the potential of an energy project to save the town money on power bills to its wholesale power provider, help local residents and businesses save energy and money, and help stabilize the town’s distribution grid, the Benham City Council signed on to the project.

As envisioned, the Benham Energy Project would include energy efficiency upgrades to local homes as well as city buildings and facilities, which include the water treatment plant and the town’s sewer plant. The plan is for residents to be able to pay for home upgrades through savings on their energy bills.

This summer, Benham welcomed Joshua Outsey, an Appalachian Transition Fellow who is working to engage local residents in the program. He has recruited and trained four community volunteers to carry out a community canvass. This canvass involved going door to door with a survey to learn how residents in Benham are using

energy in their homes.

“It was amazing to see how receptive people are to having us in their homes,” said Outsey. “Most people were very eager to share with us regarding their energy usage, and some talked a little about their actual bills. When I first moved to this town for my fellowship, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was surprised to see how much the topic of energy was something a lot of people shared concerns about.”

Candice Mimes, a volunteer from the neighboring town of Lynch, said that “it makes things easier to have so many people who are eager to participate in this project, making their city more energy efficient.”

In addition to continuing the community energy surveys, Outsey and volunteers are now distributing home energy-savings kits to Benham residents. These kits include a water heater blanket, low-flow shower head, faucet aerators and LED light bulbs. Residents have been happy to receive them and start to realize energy savings.

Co-ops offer shared benefits, democratic control, community rewards

By Jonathan Hootman After coming back from the CoopEcon 2013 gathering, Josh May was convinced that our new business idea should take the form of a worker owned co-op. This was a completely foreign business model to me, so I learned as much about it as I could. I was fascinated that I hadn’t heard about it before and felt like so many other people would benefit from learning about this democratic business model.

Fast forward one year later, and I found myself heading down to CoopEcon 2014, thanks in part to Highlander Center and Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.

By then our business idea had evolved into a full blown record store (Roundabout Music Company in Whitesburg) that, besides selling new and used vinyl, consigns instruments, sells musical equipment, screen prints merchandise, and offers music lessons to boot!

This all came together in record time (pun intended), especially considering the four worker-owners all have full-time, demanding jobs. During the opening and operation of the business, some things inevitably slipped through the cracks, including much of the cooperative structure that ensures a co-op runs democratically and smoothly.

So it was at this juncture in our business adventure that I headed down to the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Training Center in Epes, Alabama, to soak up any knowledge I could to help solidify our business as a high functioning worker co-op.

There was a preliminary workshop explaining the theory of a cooperative so everyone would be up to speed once the official gathering got under way. This workshop explained the seven principles of a co-op, which are: 1. Voluntary and Open Membership Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all people

able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.

2. Democratic Member Control Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members—those who buy the goods or use the services of the cooperative—who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.

3. Members’ Economic Participation Members contribute equally to, and democratically control, the capital of the cooperative. This benefits members in proportion to the business they conduct with the cooperative rather than the capital invested.

4. Autonomy and Independence Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If the co-op enters into agreements with other organizations or raises capital from external sources, it is done so based on terms that ensure democratic control by the members and maintain the cooperative’s autonomy.

5. Education, Training and Information Cooperatives provide education and training for members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperative.

Members also inform the general public about the nature and benefits of cooperatives.

6. Cooperation among Cooperatives Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

7. Concern for Community While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of communities through policies and programs accepted by the members.

Using “gathering” to describe CoopEcon is an intentional way to frame the event because its organizers designed it to be a place where people can come together and discuss their ideas and exchange knowledge, stories and some of the most amazing food I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The gathering is a great mix of structured panels and workshops along with plenty of time to have self-created discussions and meetings.

During one of the informal meeting sessions I was able to sit down one-on-one with the executive director of the Democracy at Work Institute, Melissa Hoover. I got her up to speed with where our co-op is structurally, and she laid out a framework for Roundabout Music Company to move forward with creating its cooperative bylaws – exactly what I was hoping to achieve from attending the gathering.

Many hours later, many amazing meals, new friends, inspiring stories, informative talks later, I was headed back to Kentucky reinvigorated to tackle the challenges that lay ahead for our worker co-op.

We met some new KFTC members during the Appalachia’s Bright Future 2.0 tour in September, but are excited to host more of you in Whitesburg soon. The Letcher County chapter has even started talking about hosting a skill share/workshop or two here in early spring to build toward the sixth annual Growing Appalachia conference hosted by our friends in the Big Sandy chapter at Jenny Wiley State Park in March. Perhaps one of those can showcase our worker cooperative model alongside other cooperatives featured during the ABF 2.0 tour, like the Pine Mountain Crafts Co-op or EpiCentre Arts, both also here in Whitesburg. What are you waiting for? Pay us a visit!

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 13

NEW ENERGY AND TRANSITION UPDATE

Youth in Appalachia carve out opportunities to build a local economy When the story of Appalachian transition is written, young people will be primary characters.

Young entrepreneurs, civic leaders, artists and farmers who want to stay in the region they love are carving out opportunities for themselves and others coming behind them.

When he left eastern Kentucky for Transylvania University, Brandon Pennington of Harlan County assumed he’d get his degree and move to New York, Chicago or some other metropolitan area with career opportunities.

“I wanted to get out of Harlan County,” said Pennington, who spoke as part of a panel of eastern Kentuckians at KFTC’s Appalachia’s Bright Future 2.0 event in September.

The event celebrated efforts in the region to build a new economy beyond coal.

A marketing major, Pennington thought he couldn’t find meaningful work in eastern Kentucky. But the mountains started to whisper to him, and the whisper turned into a shout. His sister got engaged, and he began to think about the nieces and nephews he’d someday have – who’d live in eastern Kentucky.

Then along came a job with Harlan County Tourism, and Pennington applied. He got the job. “They were taking a chance on a 23-year-old man who had just gotten out of college.”

Pennington knew he could take his skills anywhere, “but I wanted to bring them back to Harlan County.”

As director of Harlan Tourism, Pennington promotes all of Harlan County – the ATV trails, zip line, Harlan gallery hop, Portal 31 underground mine tour in Lynch, Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, and the Benham School House Inn. He believes eastern Kentucky has potential to develop many more opportunities in tourism.

“We need to be hitting all the different markets that we possibly can, for culinary purposes, for coal heritage, for adventure tourism, for natural beauty. And that’s honestly what we try to do. It’s important to us to attract every visitor we can,” Pennington said.

Pennington and his staff visited Asheville, North Carolina, a city that has revived its downtown by focusing on local food, arts and culture. They learned that 30 years ago, Asheville was a lot like Harlan, until the town started focusing on local assets and community.

“That’s such an inspiring story for small towns, because that’s a model we can all follow,” Pennington said.

Pennington is especially interested in Asheville’s success with co-ops.

“I would love to see a co-op where we take the local artists, the local artisans, the local handcrafters, and even really the local farmers and put together a co-op where they could sell all their product as well as their food in one building,” Pennington said.

Pennington knows that a rich arts and cultural scene will strengthen Harlan County by both attracting visitors and making the county a better place to live.

“I think you can take prime examples from American history. Anywhere there’s a rich cultural heritage or rich cultural arts center, they tend to prosper,” he said.

Carrie Wells Carter also feels the region is ripe for arts and Whitesburg that sells new and used vinyl records, CDs, cultural development. Carter grew up in Johnson County, DVDs and tapes, new and vintage musical instruments, went away to school and spent six years in Lexington be- equipment and supplies (see related story on page 12).

“We formed as a worker cooperative,” said May. “That fore moving back to eastern Kentucky because she missed the mountains. An artist and musician, she lives in Letcher means the workers, the four employees of the business, are also equal owners of the busiCounty and is involved with the ness. We all play a role in the local arts scene, including the “There’s a revival of youth in the leadership and decision-making.

Letcher County Art Walk. area. It’s important that we keep It’s shared decision making, Carter comes from a family them in the area rather than driving shared responsibility, and we all of musicians and artists, and she them out with a lack of jobs.” share in the profit.” believes eastern Kentucky is a It’s also important to place where artists can make it.

Carrie Wells Carter, Letcher County May that the business be part of “There are a ton of these old the community, that it highlight master musicians that people learn from,” said Carter, who also participated in the ABF the local music scene and support the creative community that exists in the area. “It’s a new way of trying to make 2.0 panel in September.

But marketing is a challenge for artists. Carter believes things work,” May said.

Pennington, Carter and May are all working to create that building a network of artists and marketing the region as an arts destination would create opportunities for both opportunities for themselves and other young people to stay in the region they call home. artists and tourism.

“I’ve been blessed to be back home,” Pennington said. “I “Creating a network of these small towns in the area is a just really hope that one day we can have that opportunity very good idea,” Carter said.

Josh May is another young musician and entrepreneur for everyone.”

“There’s a revival of youth in the area,” said Carter. “It’s who chooses to stay in eastern Kentucky. With friends, including Carter’s husband, May founded the Roundabout important that we keep them in the area rather than driving Music Company, a worker-owned cooperative in downtown them out with a lack of jobs.”

More than 30 members from eastern Kentucky gathered in Hindman for their annual holiday celebration. Members shared a meal, enjoyed live music, celebrated the great work of the year and sent almost 40 Christmas cards to other members asking them to renew their membership with KFTC.

14 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

KFTC NEWS

KFTC members learn, network through two conferences on race, food During the week of November 9, five KFTC members and two staff attended three-day national conferences, one in Louisville and one in Dallas. Their participation was a continuation of a year full of leadership development opportunities for members across the country.

Jefferson County chapter members Kendra Oatis and Shelton McElroy, Central Kentucky chapter member Mantell Stevens, and KFTC organizers Tanya Turner and Alicia Hurle traveled to Dallas to attend Facing Race, “the largest conference for racial justice movement-making, focused on alliance-building, issue framing, and advancing solutions.” Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation (raceforward.org) organizes this conference biannually. This was the first year the conference was held in the South. Keynote speakers included Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Ian Haney Lopez and Van Jones.

Jefferson County members Shavaun Evans and Keith Joy attended the Slow Money Gathering, “a local and global gathering on food, investing and culture” organized by The Slow Money Alliance (slowmoney.org). The Gathering took place in Louisville, and keynote speakers included Joel Salatin, Gary Nabhan, Vandana Shiva and Wendell Berry.

We asked these members a few questions about their experiences at the Facing Race Conference and Slow Money Gathering and how they plan to share what they learned with fellow KFTC members. Here’s what they had to say.

Q: What was this conference all about?

Mantell Stevens: Facing Race was a platform to open up discussions about racial and human injustices.

Kendra Oatis: Facing Race was an opportunity to learn about various issues facing people of color. Although we live in a society that likes to say race doesn’t matter, that’s simply not true.

Race can affect housing opportunities, access to healthy food (or food, period), jobs, voting, etc. Facing Race provided a way for both people of color and white people to come together, acknowledge these issues, and discuss what is already being done and what can be done in the future to bridge the gap.

Keith Joy: Slow Money Gathering is an amazing display of thinkers and doers all across the food system. It is an international conference that brings together entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world to network and find ways to increase sustainable, local agribusiness. Since 2009, the Slow Money network has been investing into local, sustainable, and organic food, farming and ranching enterprises. More than $38 million has been invested into over 350 deals, as a result of Slow Money local activities, regional events, and national gatherings. Slow Money gets information and data from participation of thriving organizations including: Whole Foods Market Local Producer Loan Programs, Investeco Capital, and Sustainable America.

Shavaun Evans: A common theme at the Slow Money Gathering was bringing it all back to the basics. As Vandana Shiva mentioned in her presentation, it all starts with seeds … “you can’t have organic food without organic seeds.”

The gathering also focused on the Slow Money principles: •

We must bring money back down to earth.

•

There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down – not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.

I was surprised to learn that different businesses in Kentucky, such as Harvest Restaurant in Louisville and a local Kentucky high school, have received funding through Slow Money networks.

•

We must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered. We must connect investors to the places where they live, creating vital relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.

SE: I learned a lot about making smart, socially responsible investments at the Slow Money Gathering. I saw the power of people coming together to donate small amounts of money to make a major contribution to the work of entrepreneurs across the country. I was pleasantly surprised (and so happy!) to see that a winner of the Slow Money investment campaign “Beetcoin” was Louisville’s own New Roots!

Q: What did you learn while attending this conference? Did anything you learned surprise you?

MS: [During the Facing Race conference] I was able to learn about what tools and strategies others were using to overcome injustice. I learned new and innovative ways to communicate a message using different mediums like art, social networking, and media. I also learned about some of Dallas’s history that was intentionally suppressed.

KO: One of the most surprising things I learned [at the Facing Race conference] was during a workshop that discussed the media’s portrayal of African Americans. African Americans are the ones watching the most TV (according to the presenters) and yet we continue to watch shows that portray us in a negative light.

By watching these programs, we contribute to the problem. We can’t watch programs that show us fighting, cursing, getting arrested, etc., and complain about the negativity associated with African Americans.

KJ: While attending Slow Money Gathering I learned a wealth of information about entrepreneurs at the local level making a national impact on food systems. Slow Money is not just a means of networking to gain financial benefit, but also a great way to learn and brainstorm. The second day of the conference held Town hall Meetings that discussed ways small food enterprises are making a difference by promoting sustainable healthy products. On the second day, entrepreneurs showcased their many different projects in a room full of investors. I learned that the future of big food enterprises depends on investment in local food enterprises.

Q: What does this mean for KFTC’s work?

MS: For me personally I believe I have a refreshed perspective on the issues we take on. I would like to try and use some of the methods others have used that have worked to get our message out to the masses.

KO: We have a lot of ground to cover still! However, if we continue to learn from and collaborate with people doing the same work as us both in Kentucky and all around the nation, we can really make a difference in the commonwealth.

KJ: Agriculture and sustainable methods are not new to Kentucky. Slow Money is a great way for KFTC members who are in the agriculture or food enterprises to get connected with investors to support their initiatives. As KFTC grows and maintains involvement with Kentucky agriculture we [especially our members in Eastern Kentucky] can benefit from Slow Money networks as food sustainability industry will slowly begin to surpass the coal industry. Slow Money can provide the opportunity for members to seek funding for food enterprises and projects.

Projects can be as vast as needing funding for a dairy farm to creating small urban gardens in places of food deserts.

SE: Slow Money’s commitment to smart, socially responsible investments and the power of people coming together to make change falls in line with KFTC’s work. Kentucky chapters of Slow Money may be an ally to our work in the future.

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 15

LOCAL UPDATES

Madison chapter celebrates 10 years of local organizing Madison County KFTC members gathered in Berea on October 25 to celebrate the chapter’s 10th birthday, share a potluck, enjoy live music and take silly photos.

The annual Friendraiser was a chance to not only reflect on the past year’s work but also celebrate the good work of the chapter’s first 10 years.

Sasha Zaring, who joined KFTC last summer and quickly became active in the chapter, shared her story of finding a way to give back to her community by being involved in KFTC. “My first meeting was this past June at our annual chapter meeting. The atmosphere of the room was exactly what I had been looking for, and I was thrilled by how warm and welcoming all those at the meeting were to me, a newcomer.

I had found my people, and my people were good!” Zaring said.

“Over the next few months KFTC provided me a way to interact with my community in a meaningful way that allowed me to not only meet like-minded people but also find ways to integrate my family into long-standing traditions and events. All while knowing that I wasn’t just a ‘taker’ but that I could help do my part to improve and help.”

As a temporary voter empowerment organizer with KFTC this fall, Zaring has learned about KFTC’s work to build a healthy democracy.

“Restoring voting rights to former felons was honestly not something I ever thought I would care about and in truth wasn’t even sure how I viewed the issue,” she said. “And then I met former felons working hard to guarantee that they and others are treated as humans and not statistics. Seeing the human face of an issue can change you.”

KFTC member and Berea College student Jonah Cabiles emceed the event, and members David and Lisa Shroyer shared about KFTC’s work over the last three years to pass a fairness ordinance in Berea.

Participants enjoyed a potluck dinner anchored by

pulled-pork barbecue from Sonny’s Barbecue in Richmond, as well as homemade birthday cake in honor of the chapter’s 10 years of grassroots work.

Between eating and listening to music by Tyler Childers and Senora Lainhart, participants could dress up and pose for silly photos or write down issues they care about and post them on the “vision board.”

They also bid on a variety of items in the silent auction.

Members, local artists and businesses donated pottery, paint-

ings, restaurant and yoga certificates, books, jewelry and more.

Berea College students volunteered to staff the photo booth, silent auction and welcome table. A few candidates for local office dropped in to chat with members.

Through the auction, new memberships and membership renewals, the event raised nearly $900.

The Madison County chapter’s next big event is the annual pie auction on Pi Day – March 14, 2015.

Fifteen candidates for Berea City Council gathered at Berea College on October 28 for the town’s only candidate forum leading up to the November 4 election. The Madison County KFTC Chapter teamed up with the Berea College Student Government Association to host the forum, which gave voters a chance to hear from 15 candidates on fairness, diversity, energy efficiency, the town-gown relationship and affordable housing. A diverse crowd of about 75 folks turned out, including community members and Berea College faculty, staff and students. Pictured are, from left: Berea College students Charla Hamilton, Jonah Cabiles, Jacob Burdette, Megan McKinney and Carl Craft. Cabiles and McKinney, both KFTC members, served as moderator and time-keeper, respectively.

Big Sandy members meet with new State Rep. Chris Harris KFTC leaders from the Big Sandy chapter recently met with newly elected State Rep. Chris Harris to begin building a relationship by getting to know him and his priorities for the region and introducing him to KFTC, our work and our ideas for creating a better Kentucky.

After a round of introductions at his law office in Williamson, West Virginia, Rep. Harris spoke to the group about his family, his work as a lawyer in private practice, the years he spent as a magistrate in Pike County, and his desire to be a representative the people of Pike and Martin counties can be proud of. Harris replaces long-time legislator Keith Hall, who was recently indicted on bribery charges.

Long-time KFTC member John Rosenberg then gave some background on KFTC, the Big Sandy chapter and the kinds of issues members work on. Each of the members in attendance took turns talking about the work of the chapter.

Beverly May shared the success of KFTC’s annual Growing Appalachia conference and how it is part of a just Ap-

palachian transition. Virginia Madison, a member from Pike County, touched on KFTC’s work to build a healthy democracy through voter empowerment and restoring voting rights to former felons. And Nina McCoy, the chapter’s steering committee representative, talked about the opportunities to help support the building of a net-zero school in Martin County.

After the meeting, members expressed their gratitude to Rep. Harris for taking the time to meet and learn more about KFTC’s work.

“I think it was a good start, and hopefully he will be willing to keep the conversation going on a number of our issues,” said May, who spoke about the importance of small-scale agriculture in an economic transition.

Members expressed eagerness to continue these conversations, especially those around opportunities to support netzero schools as well as Appalachian transition, and are looking forward to meeting with Rep. Harris again during next year’s General Assembly.

16 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

LOCAL UPDATES

Chapter teams up with neighbors to envision Smoketown’s future Vision Smoketown began as a volunteer-based community canvassing project conceived after the Jefferson County KFTC Chapter moved its office to Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood in July 2013.

Members of the chapter’s Economic Justice Team were focusing their attention on local affordable housing issues. After moving to Smoketown, the team wanted to understand the desires and needs of Smoketown residents within the changing dynamics of Louisville.

Smoketown is Louisville’s oldest and historically black neighborhood settled after the Civil War. The neighborhood is just east of Louisville’s downtown business district, and residential and commercial development has drastically changed areas surrounding Smoketown.

In 2012, Smoketown’s Sheppard Square housing project was demolished to make way for a mixed-income housing development funded in part by a federal grant. Since that time the neighborhood has received more attention from city officials and developers.

From housing redevelopment to construction of new infrastructure to the revitalization of a city’s downtown area, change in neighborhoods is an inevitable part of city life.

Neighborhoods like Smoketown are most susceptible to complete transformation because they have been neglected over time by both public and private investments.

These areas become ripe for redevelopment based on their strategic location, economic opportunity and often their isolation from the political process. Public and private investment interests in and around a neighborhood have the potential to create new opportunities for some.

Likewise, the loss of critical neighborhood assets, along with investments made without an understanding of the neighborhood’s history and culture, have the potential to displace residents who have called this neighborhood home for generations.

The Vision Smoketown project evolved into working with

residents to define problems and issues in order to develop strategies that bring positive changes in the neighborhood and to its residents’ everyday lives. The Jefferson County chapter’s Economic Justice Team believes that providing a means to convey a community’s voice can lead to a more collaborative community vision and help develop future neighborhood leaders.

Given the rapidly changing dynamics in Smoketown, chapter members thought it crucial to gather current information from Smoketown residents in order to spur conversations among the residents, policy makers, investors, business leaders and others about how changes in Louisville will impact the Smoketown neighborhood in the next 10 to 30 years. More important, Vision Smoketown provides an opportunity for current residents to have a positive influence in shaping the future of their neighborhood.

The goals of Vision Smoketown were to: • Understand what people in Smoketown want and need; • Highlight existing Smoketown strengths and assets; • Communicate the need to preserve Smoketown’s rich history, heritage and sense of identity, and other things that its residents value; and • Address the need for better community engagement and residents’ desires for more people to participate in community decision-making.

Last fall and winter, Economic Justice Team members developed a 51-question survey in partnership with the Center For Neighborhoods and organized a community canvassing project, which launched in May 2014. From May through August, about 40 KFTC members and volunteers knocked on every door in Smoketown and collected a total of 140 survey responses. They continued cultivating relationships with neighbors during three community cookouts held in the backyard of KFTC’s office. This work was recognized when the chapter received the Gladys Maynard “Start of Something Big” award during the KFTC Annual Meeting in August 2014.

In September the chapter hosted the Smoketown GetDown for Democracy, a neighborhood block party powered by the people celebrating Smoketown’s rich history and culture and the completion of the canvassing phase of the chapter’s Vision Smoketown project.

Smoketown GetDown was held on Lampton Street, right in front of the KFTC office. This first-time event was co-hosted by KFTC, KerFrom dancing to poetry, the Smoketown GetDown had it all. The event helped to highlight tis Creative and West Sixth Brewing and co-sponsored by and reenergize the neighborhood that has such deep historical roots.

16 other local nonprofits and

For four months, Jefferson County members knocked on every door and surveyed residents in the Smoketown neighborhood.

businesses (co-sponsors include: The Anne Braden Institute For Social Justice Research, Awesome Everyday, BATES Community Development Corporation, Center For Neighborhoods, Harambee Health Center, Inc., Headliners Music Hall, Heine Brothers, IDEAS 40203, Kentucky Jobs with Justice, Magnolia Photo Booth Co., New Directions Housing Corporation, Robin Burke Productions, Sustainable Health Choices, Wiltshire Pantry Bakery and Café, and YouthBuild Louisville).

Smoketown GetDown was attended by hundreds of Smoketown residents, KFTC members and allies, and community members from across Louisville. The event featured live music, dance, and art, local food vendors, information tables and hands-on activities organized by 21 neighborhood organizations and businesses, and a voter registration drive.

Smoketown GetDown was emceed by Smoketown native Aubrey Clemons. Clemons and fellow KFTC members spent the days leading up to the event going door-to-door inviting our neighbors to attend.

Smoketown residents Keishanna Hughes and Ellen Sloan welcomed the crowd to their neighborhood and talked about the positive impact Smoketown has had on their lives. KFTC member Michael Hiser and Louisville Metro Councilwoman Attica Scott encouraged the crowd to support state legislation to restore voting rights to former felons. Councilwoman Scott was the lead sponsor of the Louisville Restoration of Voting Rights resolution, which passed this summer.

Member Ashanti Dallas, who interned with KFTC this summer and is a recent graduate of YouthBuild Louisville (also headquartered in Smoketown), talked about her first memories of voting and encouraged everyone in the crowd to vote in the general election.

There were also plenty of hands-on activities at Smoketown GetDown, including a live art wall, free bike repairs, fitness, hand massage, self-care, an interactive voting booth, and the ever fun Magnolia Photo Booth Co. Center For Neighborhoods signed up dozens of neighbors to help reactivate the Smoketown Neighborhoods Association, which has been inactive for about two years.

Smoketown GetDown was a huge success and attended by Louisvillians from various walks of life. Sixteen people joined (continued on next page)

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 17

LOCAL UPDATES

CKY Brewfest celebrates KFTC’s work, builds community

By Sarah Martin 800 Tickets + 14 Breweries + 50 Beers + 35 Volunteers + 3 Food Trucks + 3 Kentucky Hops Organizations + 1 Awesome Honky-Tonk DJ = FUN! For the second year in a row, KFTC’s Central Kentucky Chapter raised thousands of dollars for KFTC and had a great time doing it in the process. On Saturday, November 22, the second annual Kentucky Kicks Ass Brewfest made its splash in Lexington, and it did not disappoint! Breweries from all over Kentucky stepped up to share their products and quenched the thirst of attendees from all over our Commonwealth.

Tickets were a hot commodity and sold out the day before. Numerous folks posted requests on the Brewfest’s Facebook event page looking for tickets, to no avail. We were able to raise over $16,000 to continue the important work KFTC does to make Kentucky a better place to live for all of us, not just some of us.

“The Brewfest was a lot of fun and it’s a great way to support the work KFTC does. You get to come out, have some beer, and meet people working for justice that live in your own community. Our chapter gets to share the good work it’s been

doing in Central Kentucky, and new folks have the opportunity to be a part of that themselves,” said Shawn Hays Lucas, Brewfest volunteer and KFTC member.

Attendees were able to enjoy delicious local beer and delectable food from our local food trucks. They got crazy with the awesome Shootingfrenzy team in their portable photo booth arena and learned all about the great work around agricultural ventures and hop farms that are sprouting up from the folks at the The Kentucky Hop Growers Alliance, Boyd’s Bottom Hops & Wildlife, and Revolutionary Hop Farm.

CKY chapter member and Brewfest volunteer Chris Woolery said of his experience, “I love the Brewfest because it puts KFTC in front of a lot of people that might not otherwise hear about us and our work. Volunteering for this event allowed me to talk to those people directly and help us get new members, too!”

We had 162 people either join KFTC or renew their membership. We even saw folks from our Jefferson County, Madison County, Wilderness Trace, Big Sandy, and Perry County chapters! Thanks for coming out to support us, KFTC family! We’re definitely building new power here in Central Kentucky and look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

Smoketown, continued from previous page KFTC during the event, and 17 people registered to vote. The crowd left feeling energized and excited about the future of Smoketown.

Neighbor Ellen Sloan said, “Thanks for making our neighborhood come to life again. Let’s do this more often.”

State Representative Tom Riner attended the event and later sent an email to event organizers saying, “My wife, Claudia, and I enjoyed attending the event in Smoketown yesterday, and appreciate all you did to make it a success. Please stay in contact about future endeavors.”

Member Shavaun Evans said, “I saw nothing but smiles at the GetDown! Smiles on the faces of children at the live art wall, from participants – old and young – moving along with dance and Zumba instructors, and on the faces of community members, volunteers, and vendors, excited to take part in an event that was powered by the Smoketown community.”

The chapter hopes to make the Smoketown GetDown an annual event.

A few weeks prior to Smoketown GetDown, the 14-member Vision Smoketown Team began compiling the results of the Smoketown community survey and drafting the Vision Smoketown Survey Report. Kertis Creative donated its design services and member Jessica Bellamy designed several elements of the report, including the front cover and an infographic. The chapter also secured $2,000 in Neighborhood Development Funding from Louisville Metro Councilman David Tandy’s office to help cover more than half of the report printing costs.

The report was released to the public during a press event held in the backyard of KFTC’s office. About 80 people attended the event, including Smoketown residents and representatives from local government, nonprofits and local media outlets. Attendees were given copies of the report and encouraged to utilize the information and share it with others.

Twelve local nonprofits working in Smoketown were given 25 copies apiece to share with their constituents. Members delivered copies to survey participants and thanked them for their participation in this important project. The Vision Smoketown Survey Report is available online at www.kftc.org/ visionsmoketown.

Thanks to the hard work and commitment of several Smoketown residents and allies, the Smoketown Neighborhood Association is being reestablished. Councilman David Tandy has been invited to the January meeting to begin addressing some of the issues raised in the Vision Smoketown Survey Report.

The chapter remains committed to working in Smoketown and seeing Vision Smoketown come to life.

If interested in joining the chapter’s efforts, contact Jefferson County Organizer Alicia Hurle at 502-589-3188 or alicia@kftc.org. To read the report, visit www.kftc.org/visionsmoketown

KFTC member and graphic designer Jessica Bellamy was one of the team members who surveyed residents and wrote, edited and designed the Smoketown report.

Special thanks to our volunteers: tons of CKY Chapter members, breweries, food vendors, DJ, photographers, and The Grand Reserve.

Reyno Tapia, Meredith Atkins, and Allie Sehon volunteered at the member information table and talked with beer lovers about the work of the Central Kentucky chapter.

Shelby chapter hosts first poetry slam for young poets

By Lisa Aug Some things are fun, rewarding and eye-opening, as Shelby County KFTC members learned last month during their first (of many!) Poetry Slams.

Leslie McBride came up with the idea and partnered with Janice Harris, president of the Shelbyville Area NAACP, to plan and launch the event.

They designed the Slam for school-age children and tried to publicize it through the schools. Unfortunately, most principals were unfamiliar with the concept of a Poetry Slam and were reluctant to encourage students to participate.

Nevertheless, eight young people ranging in age from four to 18 and an audience of about 30 showed up at the Shelbyville Library on a cold, windy night to compete for cash prizes.

Performances ranged from single sentences to multiple verses and covered subjects ranging from peace and justice for Ferguson to Halloween.

McBride and Harris were particularly pleased that the poetry slammers included Latino, Asian, African-American and white children.

First place went to Jessiania Jinezez, second to Tiesha Beasley and third to Anjali and Maitreya Reinhart-Mitchell, the youngest participants at two and five.

McBride is hoping for more competitors next time, but for a first effort at a new event, it turned out well. For the next Poetry Slam in the spring, KFTC and the NAACP will adapt publicity to fit the schools’ requirements and work with teachers to attract more students.

18 | Balancing the Scales

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

ECONOMIC JUSTICE UPDATE

Lexington and Louisville are organizing to raise the wage In Fayette County, a single parent with one child must earn $21.93 per hour to live out of poverty.

Around 40 people, including four members of the city council and recent congressional candidate Elisabeth Jensen, came together in Lexington last month to learn about local impacts like this one of raising the minimum wage in Lexington.

The meeting was sponsored by the Working Families Campaign, a host of individuals and organizations including the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, and the Central Kentucky KFTC Chapter. Launched in August, the Working Families Campaign to raise the local minimum wage is growing momentum.

Janet Tucker, a chapter member who also is on the board of CKCPJ and one of the folks who helped launch the campaign, said that the time is ripe for a local campaign, both because of Congress’s inaction to raise the federal wage, and as an extension of the local work that passed an Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

“The campaign for an Affordable Housing Trust Fund brought the depth of our problem to light,” Tucker explained. “In 1990, 88 percent of the households earning minimum wage in Fayette County could afford decent housing. By 2010 that had dropped to 17 percent.

“We passed the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and that was a great step forward,” she added. “But what’s really needed for people to afford housing is to lift people out of poverty. Wages are lagging behind everything else. It’s time.”

A likely proposal to emerge will mirror the state and federal proposals, and one in Louisville. KFTC’s Jefferson County chapter has been engaged in a local campaign to

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE MINIMUM WAGE:

raise Louisville’s minimum wage. A full metro-council vote is expected in mid- to late-December 11.

These proposals would raise the local wage incrementally, from its current $7.25 to $10.10 over a three-year period, link it to the cost of living, and would include raising the wages of tipped workers to 40 percent of the minimum wage.

At a recent metro-council hearing, Jefferson County member Becki Winchel said, “What you’re telling employees when you pay the minimum wage is, ‘If I could pay you less, I would.’ I sincerely believe my mom worked herself to an early grave. I do not want to continue to see this happen to our families. And they are our families. Not here.”

While these two cities in Kentucky are leading the way, the call for an economy that serves all Kentuckians is coming from across the state. Members are in conversation about pushing a statewide wage increase in the 2015 legislative session.

Nationally: • If the minimum wage had kept up with increases in the average worker’s wages (which have surely not kept up with the growth of the top earners’ incomes) over the last 35 years, it would be $10.65 per hour.

• If the minimum wage had kept up with increases in worker productivity, it would be $18.30.

In Kentucky: • An Economic Policy Institute study estimates that a minimum wage increase to $10.10 would create 1,400 jobs at full realization in Kentucky and add $421 million in GDP over 3 years it is being implemented.

(Learn more at epi.org) • Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour would benefit 1 in 4 Kentucky workers and 22% of the state’s children, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. KCEP also found that: • 88% of those who’d benefit are at least 20 years old.

• 51% are at least 30 years old.

• 54% work full time (at least 35 hours).

The Louisville and Lexington local wage pushes are within a nationwide movement demanding an economy that serves all people, with walk-outs and strikes all over the nation in support of a $15 wage. On Black Friday, workers in hundreds of Walmart stores participated in strikes, including the first ever sit-in strike. Workers in more than 150 cities participated, joined by workers at other chain stores in solidarity. Then, on December 4, fast food workers participated in their seventh strike in two years—and the largest so far, with 190 communities participating—in support of a $15 wage and the right to unionize.

These actions have been in the context of demonstrations calling attention to police brutality and unindicted killings of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, both unarmed, by the police. The Black Friday protests were joined by BlackOutFriday, a national boycott of large retailers to stand up for human rights and economic freedom.

To learn more, check out these resources: On Twitter, #BlackoutBlackFriday and blackoutforhumanrights.com/ On Twitter, #FightFor15 and strikefastfood.org/

In Lexington: • KCEP’s Jason Bailey calculates that in Lexington, a $10.10 minimum wage would benefit 18 percent of Lexington’s workforce directly. That’s 31,000 Lexington workers— about the population of Richmond. Additionally, the ripple effect would likely push up the wages of an additional 9,000 workers who currently make between $10.10 and $11.50 per hour. Of these people: • Almost 60% of people who will benefit are over 20 years old.

• 54% of those who will benefit are women.

• 24% have a child in the household.

• The Lexington workers who’d most benefit from raising the wage work in restaurants (18%), retail sales (14%), and healthcare (12%). These are sectors that would not pack up and move to an adjoining county.

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

Balancing the Scales | 19

GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING UPDATE

Building power for KFTC and for Kentucky: KFTC PowerBuilders

By George Eklund We are our own best hope for change in Kentucky. We have a vision of the Kentucky we want to create and how to get there. Hardworking Kentuckians share their hopes and dreams every day in laundromats and coffee shops, over kitchen tables and on front porches. How do we share our visions for Kentucky in an intentional way with our friends and families?

I talk about our issues often with my personal network.

Clean air and water, a just Appalachian transition, and the restoration of voting rights are important to me, but I find it hard and awkward to create the linkage between my passion for these issues and the work that I do with KFTC. In order to make this vision a reality, we must build a larger coalition of people who are willing to work together.

This year, I and many other KFTC members are sharing our vision for Kentucky by becoming PowerBuilders. PowerBuilders is an online tool to reach out to our personal networks and encourage friends and family to support and get involved in our work.

It’s scary to share beliefs on what are often divisive issues. You are opening yourself up and being raw, real, and honest with your dearest friends, who may hold different opinions. I became a PowerBuilder to give me a formal platform to get the conversation started. It opened up the discussion about issues that are true and dear to Kentucky’s future outside the realm of 30-second propaganda clips.

KFTC members across the state have taken time to share their story and what KFTC means to them with their networks. Some members have collaborated with others in doing PowerBuilder pages, while others have used their pages to promote their house parties and organizing efforts.

Students, parents, teachers, service workers, miners, nurses, social workers and others who share this vision have an opportunity to promote KFTC through PowerBuilder pages.

I made the personal goal of recruiting five new members during the Fall Fundraising drive. Since launching my page I have recruited four members who I never knew were interested in the work that KFTC does. That is four Kentuckians who are committed to the vision we have for Kentucky.

We’re all invested in this work, but through the humdrum of life, priorities are shifted to the most pressing needs. I am one who often loses the passion and motivation to carry on this work. But reading some of the PowerBuilder pages was an empowering experience. It reminded me that I am not alone and that there are others who are working for the same vision as I am.

I encourage everyone to take some time to read over some of the powerful stories and good work that is getting done in the commonwealth. In doing so, consider reinvesting in this work by renewing your membership through a PowerBuilder page or becoming a PowerBuilder yourself.

KFTC is the ultimate expression of what committed individuals can do as a group. KFTC’s successes are our successes. The only way to grow our power is to continue to grow our network of members. We hope to have 9,000 members by the end of the year. That is 9,000 individuals who are willing to show up, write letters, hold signs and make phone calls. That is 9,000 members who are our best hope for change in Kentucky.

What’s the best Kentucky you can imagine?

Visit www.KFTC.org/PowerBuilders to make that Kentucky possible!

20 | Balancing the Scales

Black Lives Matter

Back-to-back decisions by grand juries in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City to not press charges against police officers who killed Mike Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men, have sparked massive protests, along with heartache, anger and calls for accountability and change in communities across Kentucky and the nation. The injustices exposed by these recent cases are sadly not new, and neither is the movement that is growing in response to them. However, recent events have created a moment filled with a powerful sense of urgency, energy and the determination that Black Lives Matter.

KFTC members, along with many other ally organizations, young people, faith and community leaders are part of the active response in Kentucky. Many have helped to organize or take part in ongoing and large protests in Berea, Lexington, Louisville and in other Kentucky towns and college campuses. Some members have participated in strategy calls and planning with national organizations, including groups like Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and the Black Youth Project 100. And countless others have had, and continue to have, essential conversations their family, friends and co-workers about racism, white privilege and injustices in our society and criminal justice system.

Below are a couple of images and reflections from KFTC members participating in protests and community conversations over the past two weeks. Visit kftc.org/blog for more resources and up-to-the-moment information about ways to get involved and help advance

CALENDAR OF EVENTS CHAPTER MEETINGS

December 18 Rowan County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m., St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 5th St., Morehead Info: Sara@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051

January 13 Letcher County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m. Location TBD Info: Tanya@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051

December 18 Central Kentucky Chapter Meeting 7 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocese Mission House (corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and 4th Street) in Lexington.

Info: BethHoward@kftc.org or call 859-276-0563

January 15 Shelby County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m., Stratton Community Center, 215 W Washington Street, Shelbyville Info: Carissa@kftc.org or call 502-208-1696 January 15 Rowan County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m., St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 5th St., Morehead Info: Sara@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051

January 8 Shelby County Chapter Chili Super Social Join us for a friendly and fun Chili Supper Social. There will be lots of meat and vegetarian chili, sandwiches, snacks, drinks, and desserts available for just $5 per person. Everyone is welcome and new faces are encouraged! 6 p.m., Stratton Community Center, 215 W Washington Street, Shelbyville Info: Carissa@kftc. org or call 502-208-1696

January 15 Central Kentucky Citizen Lobby Training 7 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocese Mission House (corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and 4th Street) in Lexington. Info: BethHoward@kftc.org or call 859-276-0563

January 12 Jefferson County Citizen Lobby Training 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street in Louisville Info: Alicia@kftc.org or call 502-589-3188

January 20 Northern Kentucky Chapter Meeting 7 pm. Center for Great Neighborhoods.

1650 Russell Street Covington, KY Info: Joe@kftc.org or call 859-380-6103

January 12 Harlan County Chapter Meeting 6 p.m. Location TBD Info: Tanya@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051

February 2 Jefferson County Chapter Meeting 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street in Louisville Info: Alicia@kftc.org or call 502-589-3188

www.kftc.org | December 8, 2014

racial justice in Kentucky. There you will find a list of upcoming actions, resources for learning more about issues of race and privilege, and suggestions for taking action.

“I think these movements and these demonstrations are so very important. Everyone should be outraged regarding the police murders of those who are named and unnamed. I am very proud of everyone in Lexington who have rallied around this and hope it will continue.”

– Janet Tucker, a former KFTC chairperson from Lexington “I feel that all of us are affected by the deaths of young black men at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them. I came out because I was inspired by the young people and a little afraid for them. But their courage brought them through safely.” – Meta Mendel-Reyes, a KFTC member from Berea and member of KFTC’s Steering Committee. (Meta was reflecting on a student-organized action that took place in Berea on December 8th. A group of students blocked traffic in the center of town fro 4.5 minutes, symbolizing the 4.5 hours that Mike Brown’s body lay in the streets of Ferguson. The Berea students were met by a number of angry and violent responses.)

“Growing up, I was taught that police officers were the ones that were supposed to protect the public. I was taught that they were the ones who assessed situations and reacted in such a way that everybody was safe and order was being kept. The events with Mike Brown and Eric Garner have shown me that isn’t necessarily true. These officers abused their power and because of it, two people died. Even with video evidence of misconduct in the case of Garner, there was no indictment. That is ridiculous and unacceptable. These incidents show that a portion of our population is not being protected as the rest of us are.” – Megan McKinney, Berea College student and KFTC Steering Committee alternate from Madison County “I think its really important that KFTC speaks up and gets involved in this first of all because we have so much capacity to add. We are the largest progressive organization in the state with the largest staff. And secondly because we sort of backed into issues regarding mass incarceration. A lot of our work for voting rights for former felons comes from that, and we’ve been noticeably stymied.

A lot of that has to do with the fact that voting rights is the last thing on the minds of folks who are directly impacted by mass incarceration. (I think this is) an opportunity to pivot and focus on other strategic areas like the war on drugs and the system of mass incarceration.” – Greg Capillo, KFTC member from Lexington