January 24, 2013
pg. 7
Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Lexington, Ky. Permit No. 513
Land slides and excessive water runoff threaten homes in Harlan communities
Change Service Requested
Volume 32 Number 1
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth P.O. Box 1450 London, Ky. 40743
balancing the scales
A founding member passes, Mary Jane Adams pg. 4 Persistence pays off for Lynch energy efficiency pg. 5 Wilderness Trace Chapter hosts successful fundraiser pg. 6 Vicco, the smallest ‘fair’ town pg. 6 Coxton & Black Joe communities organizing in Harlan County pg. 7 Ray Tucker campaigns for rural electric co-op director pg. 10 Tax commission submits lackluster proposal pg. 11 New Senate leadership shifts key players in HB 70 push pg. 13
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Table of Contents Executive Committee Corner A founding member passes, Mary Jane Adams KFTC pays respect to friends and allies who recently passed
page 3 page 4 page 4
Local Updates East Kentucky chapters celebrate the holidays together Persistence pays off for Lynch energy efficiency Wilderness Trace Chapter hosts successful and fun first fundraiser Scott County members begin to advance fairness Vicco, the smallest ‘fair’ town
page 5 page 5 page 6 page 6 page 6
Canary Project Updates Coxton & Black Joe communities organizing in Harlan County Mill Creek residents continue to fight for clean water Clay County resident informs officials of their lack of understanding
page 7 page 8 page 9
New Energy and Transition Update Ray Tucker begins campaign for rural electric co-op director
page 10
Economic Justice Update Tax commission submits lackluster proposal to governor
page 11
Voting Rights Update Jason Smith – turned away at the polls, but determined to vote New Senate leadership shifts key players in HB 70 push
page 12 page 13
The KFTC staff team continues to strengthen and expand Meet the staff
page 14 page 15
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) B a n k W i t h d r a w a l / C re d i t C a rd P a y m e n t 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?
Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a statewide grassroots social justice organization working for a new balance of power and a just society. KFTC uses direct-action 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
Suggested membership dues are $15-$50 annually. ____ One-time Gift: Amount $_____________ ____ Sustaining Giver: I will contribute $___ (check one): __ Monthly __ Quarterly __ Annually
Sue Tallichet, chair Dana Beasley Brown, vice chair Rick Handshoe, secretary-treasurer Megan Naseman, at-large member Steve Boyce, immediate past chair
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Chapter Representatives
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Homer White, Scott County Christian Torp, Central Kentucky Ted Withrow, Rowan County Ben Baker, Northern Kentucky Shekinah Lavalle, Jefferson County Travis Lane, Southern Kentucky Jack Ball, Harlan County Cleveland Smith, Perry County Meta Mendel-Reyes, Madison County Elizabeth Sanders, Letcher County Allyson Williams, Floyd County Daniel Morgan, Wilderness Trace Mary Hano, Shelby County Alternates: Rosanne Fitts Klarer, Scott County; Greg Capillo, Central Kentucky; Lisa Bryant, Rowan County; Rick Traud, Northern Kentucky; Nan Goheen, Jefferson County; Alan Smith, Southern Kentucky; Carl Shoupe, Harlan County; Katie Pirotina, Perry County; Mark Henson, Madison County; Ada Smith, Letcher County; James Williams, Floyd County; Leah Bayens, Wilderness Trace; JoAnna Mackens, 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 Southland Drive Suite #4, Lexington, KY. 40503 or tim@kftc.org. Subscriptions are $20 per year.
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Executive Committee Corner KFTC Chairperson Sue Tallichet reflects on KFTC’s involvement in litigation against coal companies that violate the Clean Water Act, including a precedent-setting case that resulted in an out-of-court settlement last fall.
by Sue Tallichet KFTC Chairperson
Looking back I have to admit that the hardest part of our litigation with two of the largest coal operators in our state was the waiting for legal decisions to be handed down. But when it happened, it was sweet. This long journey began during the late spring of 2010. It has been particularly long for those more centrally involved than I, and I feel honored to have been a part of such a very important effort by so many dedicated individuals determined to see environmental justice done in eastern Kentucky. That diverse entourage includes KFTC member leaders and staff, our attorneys and our allies, namely Appalachian Voices, and Waterkeeper Alliance, Kentucky Riverkeeper and individual plaintiffs. It was high time for some better news for eastern Kentucky. We actually got some. It all started over two years ago with the discovery of three years’ worth of discharge monitoring reports (DMRs) stacked in the corner of an Energy and Environment Cabinet back office. A very determined Appalachian Voices team led by Donna Lisenby blew the dust off the top sheets and began our journey that would forever alter how King Coal and the cabinet would do business in our state. As those involved can attest, it has been over two years filled with weekly phone calls, some lasting four and five hours, travel to Frankfort courtrooms and Lexington lawyers’ offices, and countless meetings among allied individuals and organizations. The resulting series of events so far is staggering. To begin, Judge Phillip Shepherd granted us the right to intervene in the cabinet’s enforcement actions. We brought ICG’s and Frasure Creek’s tens of thousands of CWA violations to the state’s attention. They responded by fining these two companies less than one percent of the maximum penalty allowed under the CWA provisions and requiring a minimum amount of remediation at those polluted sites. We deemed this to be less than fair, inadequate and not in the public’s interest, and we successfully challenged the cabinet’s refusal to let citizens be a part of the enforcement process. We won the right to be involved in that process and were ordered to begin mediation with ICG and Frasure Creek. In the process we also revealed publicly that the cabinet had been failing to monitor the pollution by these two companies. One cabinet official admitted that the agency did not know the number or location of
many of the coal companies’ discharge sites. Yet as the negotiations with ICG began to progress, talks with Frasure Creek remained problematic. Frasure Creek and the cabinet appealed our right to intervene, losing in both the State Court of Appeals and later in the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Why is this significant? Even though the federal Clean Water Act allows citizens to be a part of enforcement actions, business as usual in Kentucky up to that point had consistently excluded citizens. Because of this precedent-setting decision by the state’s top legal authority, this should never happen again. Another landmark development occurred with the successful settlement with ICG. While I had complete faith in our mediation team, too many times coal companies managed to shirk their just responsibilities to the Appalachian people. I trusted the ability and dedication of my team, but it was the dedication to profits and greed that worried me. The resulting settlement was worth the waiting. As for Frasure Creek? Our work continues in court on that one. Looking back on these historic events, I am reminded of where we are now. New Power has come to the citizens of coal-impacted communities in the form of new initiatives, such KFTC’s Community Science and Public Health citizens’ water testing project. Citizens in these communities can find out what is in their water by taking their own samples. New organizing opportunities, a KFTC mainstay strategy, are also in the offing. I am reminded that there is always merit in the process of fighting the good fight for any form of justice. While the road may be hard and long, like runners in a relay race we always have each other. And once again in our more than 30-year history, we stood up for each other by making democracy work the way it should.
KFTC Offices and Staff MAIN OFFICE Morgan Brown, Robin Daugherty & Burt Lauderdale P.O. Box 1450 London, Kentucky 40743 606-878-2161 Fax: 606-878-5714 info@kftc.org
FIELD OFFICES Louisville Jessica George, Jerry Hardt, Alicia Hurle Carissa Lenfert, and Colette Henderson 901 Franklin Street Louisville, Ky 40206 502-589-3188 Whitesburg Tanya Turner P.O. Box 463 Whitesburg, Ky 41858 606-632-0051 Central Kentucky Tim Buckingham, Jessica Hays Lucas, Beth Howard, Erik Hungerbuhler, Heather Roe Mahoney, Dave Newton and Ondine Quinn 250 Plaza Drive Suite 4 Lexington, Ky 40503 859-276-0563
Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein 859-380-6103 Floyd County Kristi Kendall and Jessie Skaggs 154 North Lake Drive Prestonsburg, KY 41653 606-226-4159 Bowling Green Denney Breeding 270-779-6483 Berea Lisa Abbott, Beth Bissmeyer, Amy Hogg, Sara Pennington and Kevin Pentz 140 Mini Mall Drive Berea, KY 40403 859-986-1277 Teri Blanton 118 Baugh Street Berea, Ky. 40403 859-986-1648
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
Annual Letcher County Crepes of Wrath Letter Writing Party In the home of Sharman and Jeff ChapmanCrane in Eolia. After enjoying homemade crepes, folks write letters to state legislators and local papers about important issues soon to be discussed during General Assembly in Frankfort. Please RSVP, space is limited. February 9, 2013 - 9:00 a.m. - noon RSVP to Tanya@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051, space is limited.
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In Memory of...
A founding member passes, Mary Jane Adams Mary Jane Adams, one of KFTC’s earliest members, first vice-chairperson and later chairperson, passed away in December after an extended illness. Mary Jane and husband Raleigh were among the key organizers of the Leslie County Concerned Citizens, one of the core community groups associated with KFTC in the early 1980s. They and other landowners formed LCCC to protect their land from destruction by coal, oil and gas companies, and later took on other issues. Adams was a leader on many KFTC issues, including the successful broad form deed constitutional amendment campaign in 1988. In a 2011 interview, she recalled that campaign: “One highlight of my two years as chairperson was Election Day when the Broad Form Deed Amendment was voted on. I remember being an election officer. People would come in to vote for the amendment and said they didn’t want to vote for any candidate. “I was an election judge and Raleigh drove me over to Hyden to take the results. As I walked in the clerk’s office, Jimmy Lewis, the clerk, yelled out, “We’re winning really big in Leslie County!” It took me a minute to realize he was talking about the amendment vote. Then lots of people cheered. None
of those folks had ever acknowledged my position as chair of KFTC. I was really surprised that they even knew who I was. “Then we headed on to Hindman [the Hindman Settlement School]. Wow! There were cars everywhere. I remember all the KFTC staff were there and James Still and Joe Begley. Everything was moving in a whirl. We had to go next door to use the phone to talk to the press or whoever. I was running back and forth across the drive. Everyone enjoyed the evening, especially the verdict. “Finally, we had enough of a count across the state to declare the amendment had won. I got to announce the verdict. It was wonderful. More people had voted for the amendment than had voted for president.”
A public leadership role was not a natural one for her, Mary Jane said, but one in which she grew in skill and confidence through her work with KFTC and the Leslie County Concerned Citizens. She also took that skill into the classroom as an educator for 20 years. The family requests memorial donations be made to the Cutshin Mission-Clinic, 12500 Cutshin Road, Yeaddiss, Ky. 41777 or to the Markey Cancer Foundation, 800 Rose Street, Roach Bldg. - CC160, Lexington, Ky. 40536-0093.
Mary Jane Adams in her Leslie County home in 2008 while strategizing how to defend her homeplace from encroaching coal mining.
KFTC pays respect to friends and allies who recently passed
KFTC and the broader movement for social justice lost several key players over the last few weeks. James Snyder James Snyder was a Scott County KFTC member and a leader in the campaign for the restoration of voting rights for former felons. He died unexpectedly in early January. Snyder spoke at the Voting Rights Rally at the capitol last year. “For me, this is really about identity. I should have a voice. I should have a vote,” he said at the time. Snyder lived in Illinois for a number of years, working as a deputy voter registrar for the board of elections there – helping people register and vote. And when he lived in Illinois, he could vote. But when he moved to Kentucky to care for his parents, a past felony conviction kept him from voting. “I served my country. And I served my time for what I’ve done wrong, too. The right thing to do would be to let me and others like me to vote.”
J. Blaine Hudson Blaine Hudson was an educator and an important leader in the African American community in Louisville. He died at age 63 in early January.
According to a profile on the Kentucky Educational Television website, “Hudson began his fight for social change in junior high school, when he was refused admittance to a downtown movie theater. Later, as a student at the University of Louisville, he demonstrated at the … dean’s office, demanding improvement in educational opportunities for African American students. He and several fellow protestors were arrested and tried under the newly enacted Kentucky Anti-Riot Act. The charges were eventually dismissed, but Hudson was forbidden by the judge to return to campus for one year.” Hudson became a history professor at the University of Louisville, chairman of the Pan-African Studies Department, and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences until he took a leave of absence last year. About 10 years ago, he participated in a KFTC annual meeting workshop on racism. Dennis Bricking Long-time social justice advocate Dennis Bricking was 70 years old when he died on January 12. KFTC members in Louisville and statewide had the opportunity to work with him many times over the years in his role as director of the Legal Aid Society in Louisville. He also was passionate about peace and poverty issues, organizing many witnesses for peace and an end to violence and war. And he served his community in many ways, including helping with the creation of the St. John Center for Homeless Men and the nonprofit New Directions Housing.
Rebecca Tarbotton As executive director of the Rainforest Action Network, Rebecca Tarbotton was responsible for successful campaigns against some of the nation’s largest banks, persuading them to stop investing in companies that used mountaintop removal mining. She died unexpectedly at age 39 while vacationing with her family over the holidays. Tarbotton was known as a visionary leader and helped move RAN into work to protect the forests of Appalachia, as well as forests around the world. KFTC members interacted with her on several occasions in recent years. A tribute to Tarbotton can be found at http://ran. org/becky. Joan Mulhern KFTC members have known and worked with Joan Mulhern for about 10 years. She was the senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice and was particularly passionate about protecting clean water and stopping mountaintop removal mining. She recently played a key role in bringing hundreds of activists from central Appalachia to Washington, DC to deliver a petition to the White House with a message to end mountain top removal coal mining. Mulhern died in December after an illness. A tribute to her can be found at: http://earthjustice. org/blog/2012-december/in-memoriam-joan-mulhern.
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Local Updates
East Kentucky chapters celebrate the holidays together
Across the state, chapters used the holidays to celebrate an amazing year of work and to build excitement for the coming year of action for justice. The four eastern Kentucky chapters (Harlan, Letcher, Perry and Floyd counties) came together in Whitesburg in midDecember to celebrate and look ahead. More than 40 people turned out to celebrate each other, raise a little money and look forward to 2013. East Kentucky members planned for weeks, phone-banked and Facebooked for turnout, carpooled over snowy mountains, cooked food, brought friends, helped decorate with garland and lights, made glittery signs, donated their hand-made art, played music, bought posters, raffle tickets, and t-shirts, wrote personal “love letters,” contributed to a slide show, and shared ideas about the coming year, including a transition conference planned for April in Harlan County. From the potluck and art raffle to
a “dot democracy” activity that had members allocating stickers onto signs displaying the issues they’re most excited about, new and old friends alike were talking, laughing, and growing closer all evening. Throughout the night, a slide show of more than 100 pictures of east Kentucky members in action in 2012 rolled on a big screen to the tune of live fiddle, guitar and an occasional dulcimer. The art raffle featured a half dozen painted prints by long-time members Pam Meade of West Liberty and Jeff Chapman-Crane of Eolia, as well as beautiful hand-woven table runners from Loneli Polly of Mayking. Everyone gathered around the art table at 8 p.m. to celebrate the winner of each piece (and wait for their own names!) while 8-year-old Chase Gladson, of Cumberland, drew the winning tickets. Between eating and talking, folks wrote more than a dozen personal letters to their friends and fellow chapter mem-
Members from all four east Kentucky chapters gathered for a holiday party to celebrate their successes and to build bonds across communities. bers with messages of love and asks of membership renewals. Several members renewed their own memberships that night as well as purchased posters, prints, t-shirts and other gifts for themselves and others. The chapters raised more than $350. “Getting to meet new members, as
Persistence pays off for Lynch energy efficiency
In 2009, the Harlan County chapter partnered with MACED (Mountain Association for Community Economic Development) and the small town of Lynch to help apply for a federal stimulus grant. “It’s been a long road since then,” as Roy Silver said.
While the funds were from the federal government, the decision-making went through state government. Month after month Lynch officials never got a reply about whether or not they would receive the money. KFTC members made funding the project in Lynch one of the demands to Governor Steve Beshear when people occupied his office for several days in February 2011 leading up to I Love Mountains D a y. C o m m u n i t y members asked him about it again when he came to a meeting with them in Lynch that following April. Still no word. Then, about this time last year, the state realized that they had some unspent stimulus dollars, and they conJoshua Bills, an energy specialist at MACED (Mountain tacted Lynch officials Association For Community Economic Development), about that old proconducted an energy audit of the Lynch water treatment posal. facility.
Things have been grinding forward slowly ever since. At the January chapter meeting, KFTC member and Lynch City Council member Bennie Massie reported that the city hall and city water plant have new heating systems and new lights. Work is now being conducted to insulate both buildings and replace some windows. The project no longer includes residential weatherization but totals about $100,000 in upgrades to city buildings. “It will save a lot of juice,” Massie explained. The mayor and city council have taken a lot of heat from other elected officials in Harlan County because they’ve opposed five different mining permits that threaten the community’s water supply. County officials have threatened to cut off funding for special projects. A comment was made to one KFTC member, “To tell you the truth, the only money that has actually come through has been by working with your group.” KFTC members are rooted in longterm change and know that victories can be few and far between. For Lynch and Harlan County, this is a big win that has taken time and persistence.
well as see older ones, was such a blast,” said Harlan County member Carl Shoupe. “I must admit the entire event was well organized and fun! Hey, we even got some important work done, also!”
‘Here Comes The Bun’ rolls into Whitesburg Letcher County member Carrie Wells has joined two friends in opening a cooperatively owned and operated bakery in downtown Whitesburg. They operate on a basic principal that the owners work and the workers are owners. Wells has been vocal in local chapter meetings about work around better food systems and growers’ markets. She is also an oldtime fiddler and founding member of Skip Dippers, who have played the I Love Mountains old-time showcase, Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival, fiddlers’ conventions, festivals, and local KFTC events. Wells was the art teacher at Cordia School and brought seven of her students to Frankfort for I Love Mountains Day last year. The bakery – Here Comes The Bun – has opened to amazing success and is doing even better than the owners had hoped. Here Comes the Bun is one of a handful of new businesses that have opened in the last year or so on Main Street in Whitesburg, many of which feature local art and participate in the growing quarterly Art Walks.
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Local Updates
Wilderness Trace Chapter hosts successful and fun first fundraiser By Jim Porter
KFTC’s newest chapter, the Wilderness Trace Chapter, held a gettogether and fundraiser at Wayne & Jane’s Wine & Whiskey Bar at V-the Market in Danville on December 7. Each KFTC member was asked to reach out to all their friends and to bring out as many new people as possible. Several members also did some phone banking a few days in advance to talk up the event and to raise awareness among the membership. Wi l d e r n e s s Tr a c e m e m b e r s brought delicious “nibbly bits” and other good things to eat so the stage was set for a great holiday celebration. Music was provided by a local blues duo. The theme of the event, Cheer(s) for Appalachia: “No Greater Task: Art and Activism for Appalachia,” included the “No Greater Task” screen printed poster show curated by cen-
tral Kentucky KFTC members Brian and Sara Turner of Cricket Press. The poster show was a collaboration between regional and national poster artists and KFTC. There were 18 different original poster designs aimed at both raising awareness of and stopping the destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. The posters, examples of which were tastefully mounted on the wall at V-the Market, were offered for sale at $20 each. In addition to the artwork, there was a KFTC merchandise table that included clothing, literature and buttons, as well as membership forms! Although the weather was not perfect, we had a great turnout of more than 100 people and raised almost $1,000. And on top of that we signed up several new KFTC members. The chapter sends a big thank you to Wayne & Jane for hosting this gala event.
Scott County members begin to advance fairness Scott County members continued to do great local work late last year and for the first few weeks of 2013. Late in the year, members had a great Arty Pie Party fundraiser hosted by Rosanne Fitts Klarer and Tim Klarer that brought out more than 70 people and raised more than $2,000 in grassroots fundraising – in addition to just being a lot of fun. Members have become more involved in a campaign led by Georgetown College students and faculty to adopt a nondis-
crimination policy with regards to sexual orientation. Despite a strong and thoughtful recommendation from the faculty, the Board of Trustees has declined to adopt the policy and KFTC members are helping people at the college to develop a strategic analysis of the campaign and plan next steps. Scott County members continue to strengthen a campaign for curbside recycling, are gearing up to do citizen lobbying in Frankfort, and are looking forward to another great year.
Scott County members continue to focus on restoration of voting rights and curbside recycling while also engaging in Georgetown College fairness work.
Wilderness Trace held its first fundraiser at V-The Market in Danville on Dec. 7. The event raised nearly $1,000 and featured a screen printed poster show.
Vicco, the smallest ‘fair’ town On January 14, the town of Vicco in Perry County approved the state’s first lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) anti-discrimination fairness ordinance in a decade. The measure, which prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, received support from three of the city’s four-member commission and Mayor Johnny Cummings. “It’s so exciting. I barely believed it when I heard,” said KFTC Perry County member Cleveland Smith. “The craziest part, especially when I tell the story, is that I had a little bit to do with it. Everyone I’ve talked to is excited. It’s a huge deal. For us here, and Kentucky.” Vicco becomes the smallest city in the United States with such anti-discrimination protections
and joins three other cities in the commonwealth with fairness laws – Covington, which passed an ordinance in 2003, Lexington, and Louisville, which both approved laws in 1999. “You know what’s great about the passage of the fairness ordinance in Vicco? For a day there, people across the country were talking about our little piece of the planet and they were saying positive things,” said KFTC member Deane Quillen of Perry County, who just recently moved to Nashville. “The media jumped on a story that highlighted a very basic human desire – to live a life full of opportunity, free of limitation by discrimination – and a little coal town in Central Appalachia was quietly leading the charge. Lexingtonians were proud; Louisvillians were proud; for a day there we were all Kentuckians.”
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Canary Project Updates
Coxton & Black Joe communities organizing in Harlan County
Since early spring 2012, homeowners we know to contact and nothing is being in the Harlan County community of Coxdone.” ton have been contacting local and state To date, they’ve contacted and had officials about land slides and excessive “visits” (or drive-bys as Hamblin calls water runoff threatening their homes. them) by county emergency manageTheir continued efforts even landed ment personnel, magistrates, Abandoned them on the front page of the Harlan Mine Lands program personnel and variDaily Enterprise in June. ous companies who’ve mined, logged or In the investigative report, Coxton otherwise moved land on that mountainresident Floyd Hamblin told the paper, “I side over the last decade. first began seeing muddy water coming Apparently, Manalapan Mining off the mountain in March. I went up on owns the mountain and has leased it for the mountain myself and I saw a highlogging after extensive mining in the wall, where you walk around the logging past. Kentucky Utilities has cut roads road, and a cut that was made is about 6 and clearings for power lines, and mudor 7 feet high. There was water running slides have been reported in the area off the mountain over the highwall onto some time ago. the logging road and cutting gaps in the However, a clear responsible party is yet to step forward. mountainside.” Abandoned Mine Lands officials Hamblin and his family live across told both families, “We have been unthe street from Bridgette Pace, who says able to find evidence to show that the she has been on alert since she saw “a primary cause of your problems is from wall of water rush by her bedroom winold coal mining. The problem area is not dow” back in March. physically con Pace and nected to a mine, her family had “I can’t sleep at night for and we found no to evacuate that fear of waking in the middle evidence of minen i g h t a n d re related drainage turned to a mess of the night with mud comas the primary of mud, rocks, ing through our home. I sit cause of the proband debris surout on my porch in the wee lem. Analysis of rounding their home. She shared hours of the morning and lis- water sampled this frightening at the problem ten to trees falling and rocks tale with KFTC site failed to inHarlan County dicate the chemirolling off the mountain. You staff and chapcal characteristics can hear dirt moving.” ter members of water coming during a visit to from a mine-reBridgette Pace lated source.” her home a few months ago. Now, almost a Pace shared the same fears that year after the story appeared on the front Hamblin expressed to the Harlan Daily page of Harlan County’s newspaper, Enterprise. Hamblin and Pace feel they are not much “I can’t sleep at night for fear of wakcloser to any answers or solutions. But ing in the middle of the night with mud they have met nearby communities dealcoming through our home,” she said. ing with the same issue, from the same “I sit out on my porch in the wee hours mountain. of the morning and listen to trees fall Albert and Janie Phillips, of nearby ing and rocks rolling off the mountain. Black Joe, also contacted KFTC after You can hear dirt moving. Before it got speaking to folks in Coxton. While green you could actually see the slide Hamblin and Pace are living in fear of moving… We’ve contacted everybody potential damage to their homes, the
Janie Phillips (pictured above) and her husband, Albert, have been dealing with abandoned mine run off cracking their home’s foundation as water and mud have slammed against their home. Phillips family are already dealing with the aftermath and continued movement and cracking of their home’s foundation. Water and mud have been slamming into the back of their home after hard rains and not only cracked their foundation but moved their home “four inches, nearly off the six-inch foundation,” Albert Phillips explained. Phillips has walked up on the mountain and thinks a big pond is filling up and then spilling over with the flow coming down onto his home. The Phillips family received a similar letter from the state Abandoned Mine Lands program and is currently appealing that decision. They talked with Harlan members about organizing some community meetings, starting petitions, and possible meetings with state officials. Back in October they attended a meeting in Benham with other Harlan members and the Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Steve Hohmann, as well as a few of his staff. After the meeting, they all took a field trip to the Phillips home in Black Joe. It was during this meeting that they
became KFTC members. Despite months of denial by state agencies that their issue was related to abandoned mines, immediately after the meeting with Commissioner Hohmann and visit to their home, the state sent out new geologists. Then the county judge-executive came out to visit and the problem was found to be caused by abandoned mines, which made it eligible for federal funds. The Phillipses learned that the state has designated $1 million to fix the sewer lines and re-route the water. Additionally, their homeowners insurance recently paid to fix the damage to their home. “It was a miracle, and I don’t think anything would have happened if we hadn’t come to that meeting,” Janie Phillips shared at the Harlan Chapter meeting this month. They are continuing to encourage their neighbors to organize and get involved because many of the problems facing the community, especially to individual homes, have not yet been solved by the recent state action.
Save The Date: 2013 Annual Membership Meeting is August 16-18 at General Butler State Park
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Canary Project Updates
balancing the scales, January 24 , 2013
Mill Creek residents continue to fight for clean water
The residents of the Mill Creek community in Letcher County have one seemingly simple request – clean, safe drinking water. Mill Creek is located in rural Letcher County between the town of Deane and the Knott County line. Residents in the area get their drinking water from privately drilled wells. Some Mill Creek residents have questioned the quality of the water for many years. After coal companies both stripmined the mountains and deep mined under the community and gas companies drilled several gas wells in the area, the aquifers that supply the water wells either went dry (a common problem associated with mining and gas drilling) or began to produce only a small amount of dirty-looking water. Because the water no longer looked safe, Jimmy Hall, Elaine Tanner and Chris and Connie Yonts organized their Mill Creek community to have a meeting in the spring of 2012 to discuss concerns they had about the quality of the water coming from their wells. Additionally, they invited their state senator, Johnny Ray Turner, and state representative John Short. As a result of the request from Mill Creek residents, both Turner and Short submitted requests to the Kentucky Di-
vision of Water and to the Department for Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to come to Mill Creek and test the well water. Both agencies came and tested a few wells near the head of Mill Creek, but only the Division of Water found a toxic soup of metals and arsenic levels that are 10 times higher than the maximum contaminant levels considered safe for drinking water. After the Division of Water came and tested their water, Connie Yonts received a call and was told that her family should not drink, use or even touch the water coming out of their well. She was told to only use that water to flush their toilets. They should not use it to brush their teeth or wash their dishes. After the phone call, the agency official called back about five minutes later just to make sure Yonts understood that they should not use or even touch their water. For several months after that call, the Yontses have had to use bottled water for everything in their home. It got so bad that last fall the family decided to move and rent a house in Knott County so they could get away from the pollution. They intend to move back, but they are not sure when it will be safe. Several people from Mill Creek have
Residents meet with Kentucky Division of Water as they test the community’s water, which was later reported to be too harmful to even touch, let alone drink.
been attending the Letcher County Fiscal Court meetings to try and convince the county to run municipal water lines out to Mill Creek. However, at the January meeting they were not allowed to speak. After doing research into state and county records, residents of Mill Creek discovered their community was supposed to have received water lines several years ago. However, when the current county judge-executive, Jim Ward, was first elected the funds for the Mill Creek water lines were used to run water lines to a different community in Letcher County. It’s not clear at this time whether this was a simple misuse of funds or if this was an illegal act. Members of the State Auditor’s office have been notified and are looking into how the funds were used. At a recent Letcher County Fiscal Court meeting, the court did say the Kentucky General Assembly had allocated $150,000 in grants to run water lines to Mill Creek. According to Judge-Executive Ward, the total project cost would be about $4 million – leaving the county to pay upwards of $3.85 million. However, because of past actions by the court and a lack of county funds, the Mill Creek residents remain skeptical. Ever since the Division of Water tested just a few of the water wells in Mill Creek, several residents have called the agency and requested to also have their well water tested. Unfortunately, the Division of Water has not responded to these requests. Instead, the Department for Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (DMRE) has been out to test some of the wells. However, DMRE will test only for evidence that the wells have been impacted by mining, which means they will primarily be looking for sulfate levels in their tests. The DMRE will not be testing for metals or arsenic. Residents in Mill Creek are very concerned and would like to know the extent of the groundwater pollution. In September, Chris and Connie Yonts, Tanner and Hall went to Washington D.C. to talk with the Kentucky Congressional delegation about their water problems and have a meeting with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Residents continue to monitor water in their communities, testing and collecting data that will help determine the safety of the water and pinpoint pollution sources. Agency. The meeting with the Wetlands Division of the EPA was, for the most part, not very helpful. However, at one point in the meeting the agency did reference the Safe Drinking Water Act and suggested residents review section 1431. When they got home, Tanner began researching the Safe Drinking Water Act, in particular the emergency powers clause in section 1431. “Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the Administrator, upon receipt of information that a contaminant which is present in or is likely to enter a public water system or an underground source of drinking water may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to the health of persons, and that appropriate State and local authorities have not acted to protect the health of such persons, may take such actions as he may deem necessary in order to protect the health of such persons.” Since the meeting with the EPA in the fall, Mill Creek residents have been compiling research and drafting a “request for relief” that will be sent to Gwen Keys Fleming, regional administrator for the EPA,. (continued on next page).
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Canary Project Updates
Clay County resident informs officials of their lack of understanding
For Curtis McKiddy and his neighbors, life changed in the Goose Rock community in Clay County a few years ago when Sand Hill Coal Processing received a permit to mine directly behind his home. The original permit was approved, but the mine operator has not broken ground on any of the original permit. Now Sand Hill Coal Processing has applied for an amendment to the original permit to add some acreage and to remove some acreage, but mainly it wants to change the mining plan. McKiddy is concerned because he knows that if the company starts mining behind his home he’s going to be covered by dust and mud. He’s also worried about water running off the mine site onto his property, not to mention all the blasting that may damage his home. The coal company justified some of his concerns by piling up rocks from the construction of a haul road on McKiddy’s property. According to McKiddy, “It just feels like this is an example of this operator feeling as though he doesn’t have to follow the laws. He thinks he can just run over top of us. And if he is allowed to continue to mine, I’m sure we’re going to see more problems in the future.” When Sand Hill Coal Processing applied for the amendment to its current
permit, McKiddy decided it was time to contact KFTC to see what can be done to protect his property and his community. “I’m not happy about the thought of this company mining behind my home. But if they are going to mine the coal I want to make certain they are following all of the necessary laws” McKiddy said. When reviewing the permit application he noticed that the coal company planned to have five valley fills. However, when he contacted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Louisville he learned that Sand Hill Coal Processing had not even begun to apply for a 404 Clean Water Act permit to fill in waters with the dirt and waste from its mining operation. And when he reviewed the preapplication walk-through information from the Corps, the report seemed to indicate that one or more of the planned valley fills would require a 404 permit because it would be filling in jurisdictional waters of the United States. Then, at a recent meeting with Kentucky Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Steve Hohmann and Director of Mine Permits Allen Luttrell, they reviewed a mine reclamation plan map provided by McKiddy. Both Hohmann and Luttrell agreed that some of the valley fills appear to
(continued from previous page) They believe that section 1431 of the Safe Drinking Water Act gives the EPA the power to ensure that municipal water lines are run to the residents of Mill Creek. Elaine Tanner commented, “We have been stripped, we have been gutted, and we have been fracked. The coal market in Letcher County and the coal severance funds for the state are exhausted. Just how will they get the additional funds needed to supply water to the Milk Creek community?” Tanner asked. “Now is the time for EPA to step up to help us obtain a clean, safe and adequate supply of water in these mountain communities,” Tanner added. “Now that the coal and jobs are all but gone, the state of Kentucky and the coal companies have left us high and dry. The SDWA Section 1431 will make those that
made the profits pay the cost instead of real people paying with real lives.” Residents will be requesting a meeting with the EPA either in eastern Kentucky or if need be in Atlanta. Meanwhile residents of Mill Creek continue to buy bottled water when they can and hope that they get access to clean and safe drinking water sooner rather than later. “My family has occupied these mountains for 200 years. Fact is, I was born on this mountain. When I purchased my family homestead little did I know the price that I would pay would be with 10 years of my life and my retirement just to fight for clean water and property rights,” said Jimmy Hall as he reflected on the years he’s worked to protect his home place. “At the end of the day and all is said and done, I just want to come home.”
Contaminated water (cont.)
be in U.S. jurisdictional waters, but they said they would have to look into the situation further to be certain. As part of the “Enhanced Coordination” process established by the Obama administration in 2009, coal companies are encouraged to have a meeting with all relevant state and federal agencies in order to ensure that the permitting process is as smooth as possible. This meeting is not a requirement, but it is encouraged.
Hohmann and Luttrell revealed that Sand Hill Coal Processing had not taken advantage of this opportunity by setting up a coordination meeting for its permit application. At this point McKiddy is waiting to hear from Luttrell to learn if the coal company will be required to apply for a 404 water fill permit. And at this point the state has not issued the amendment to Sand Hill Coal Processing’s original permit.
ROWING PPALACHIA
SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Jenny Wiley State Park, Prestonsburg, Kentucky Join us for a day of workshops about ways to save and earn money through small-scale farming, forestry, and energy solutions! Free and open to the public $10 suggested donation per adult Pre-registation is appreciated: Register online at www.kftc.org/growing or call 606-878-2161 Workshops on...Beginning Organic Gardening, DIY Energy Efficiency, Small Scale Dairy Farming and more! Sponsored by the Floyd County Chapter of KFTC, Co-sponsored by Community Farm Alliance and the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development.
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New Energy and Transition Update
Ray Tucker begins campaign for rural electric co-op director Ray Tucker is a former KFTC chairperson who lives on a farm in Pulaski County where he is a “Kentucky Proud” farmer, growing vegetables, tending bees and raising grass-fed beef. In the fall of 2012, Tucker decided to run for his rural electric cooperative’s board of directors. His campaign is just getting started. Last year was a tumultuous year for South Kentucky Rural Energy Cooperative Corporation (RECC), Tucker’s electric co-op. Amid allegations of conflict-of-interest, four of the seven board members and the board attorney all resigned at the same time. This left only three, fairly new board members to set the course for the largest electric co-op in the East Kentucky Power Cooperative service area. According to the bylaws, the directors could have appointed replacements, without an election or any other democratic process, to fill the four vacant board seats. Instead, those three directors saw
this as an opportunity to make the coop more democratic and transparent. They spent months being consulted on best practices for co-op elections and changed the bylaws to make it easier for members to run and participate in elections. They held open forums for informing members about how to run for the open board seats and required only 75 signatures for any qualifying member to get on the ballot. And so Tucker decided to run. He has just turned in his petition to get on the ballot and will know by February 15 if his candidacy is accepted. Ballots will be mailed to all members in the SKRECC on April 1 and due back later that month. Tucker hopes to run on a campaign of openness and democracy, affordable energy and good, local jobs through better energy choices. “My interest in electric utility issues is connected to my dedication to social justice and environmental stewardship,” Tucker said. “Saving resources
Ray Tucker spoke at KFTC’s 30th birthday party in August 2011. is good business and good policy. As the Old Testament prophet once said: ‘Without vision the people perish.’ Here at home and throughout Kentucky and Appalachia, we need to promote and work toward a vision of a healthy, sustainable future.” Tucker has been encouraged by the progress toward democracy the board and the CEO have taken. “This is a big step in the right direction, as this election is both democratic and transparent,” he said. “We must keep working to make sure future boards of directors don’t fall back into a self-serving, undemocratic model that
has plagued this co-op for years.” If you are a South Kentucky RECC member, or live in Pulaski County or any of the nearby counties (whether you’re a co-op member or not), Tucker would love to have your support for his campaign. Between February 15 and mid-April, he will be talking to folks throughout the area about democracy, energy efficiency and clean energy. He’ll be gathering petition signatures for a Members’ Bill of Rights and asking for SKRECC members to vote for him. If you’re interested in volunteering for his campaign, you can contact him at ray@solarplacefarm.com or call Sara Pennington at 606-276-9933.
When did you make your last gift to KFTC?
KFTC’s New Energy and Transition member committee met January 12 in Winchester. Committee members traveled from Whitesburg, Bowling Green, Louisa, Louisville and many points in between to get to know each other better and set KFTC’s priorities for the coming year for our three campaigns related to clean energy: Appalachian Transition, Renew East Kentucky and Sustainable Energy. The team developed an ambitious but achievable set of goals for the year ahead as KFTC members work to shape a Just Transition in the mountains and throughout Kentucky, renew and reform Kentucky’s rural electric co-ops, and work to pass clean energy legislation in Kentucky and help to grow the movement of Kentuckians taking action for clean energy. For more information, visit: http://kftc.org/issues/new-energy-and-transition.
Look at the cover of balancing the scales. Under your name we have listed your last gift date and amount! Feel free to donate as you can! Thank you to those who have renewed your dues. We’ve been getting a lot of renewals in the door these past couple of months. If you haven’t done it yet, you might as well.
balancing the scales, January 24 , 2013
Economic Justice Update
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Tax commission submits lackluster proposal to governor
Kentucky would get significant new revenue – but corporations would get a major reduction in taxes – under a package of tax change proposals recommended by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform. Tentative projections show that General Fund revenue could increase by $659 million through increases in income and consumption taxes. Meanwhile, corporate taxes would be reduced by more than $120 million – more than 25% of current corporate income tax revenues. Road Fund revenues also would be reduced slightly. The recommendations were delivered to Gov. Steve Beshear in December after the commission spent eight months gathering public input and considering nearly 100
changes to the state tax code. The governor said he would talk with legislative leaders to back the package of reforms in a likely special legislative session some time in 2013. At the commission’s last meeting in December, big questions about restructuring the individual income tax were settled, with decisions making the income tax more progressive (meaning it asks more from those with greater incomes). The commission agreed to recommend an Earned Income Tax Credit – an anti-poverty program that KFTC and allies have pushed for years and helped put on the commission’s list of options – at 15 percent of the federal credit. They also put a cap on itemized deductions and will phase out the exemption on retirement income (except for Social Security) once total income exceeds $30,000 a year. Jason Bailey of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Sheila Schuster of the Advocacy Action Network and Rep. Jim Wayne (a non-voting member of the commission) led the effort to defeat a regressive flat tax favored by some commissioners. Projections showed that a flat tax would mean an average tax decrease of nearly $5,000 for those with income greater than $200,000, and a tax increase for low- and middle-income folks. Kentucky’s tax system overall is already regressive in that it asks lower- and middle-income folks to contribute a higher percentage of their income to state and local taxes. “I think that we heard more at all of the public hearings about fairness than any other single topic,” Schuster said. “Our system is outdated and unfair to lower income Kentuckians.” As he had been reminding the commission at almost all of its meetings, Bailey said the income tax “is the cornerstone of the revenue system. From a revenue and tax fairness perspective, the income tax … is the only tax based on the ability to pay.” In response to a comment from a commissioner about not wanting to “penalize higher incomes,” former state senator Joe Wright said: “I don’t view it as a penalty if someone makes a lot of money and has to pay more income tax. When I was paying more taxes I was doing a lot better. It never bothered me to pay taxes. Why not help this state and help our fellow man?” Rep. Wayne also disagreed with the labeling of the progressive proposals as a penalty. “There’s a social responsibility that those of us who have made it have for the common good.” The vote was in favor of graduated tax rates over a flat tax. This package of changes will increase income tax revenues by $500 million, with incomes lower than $30,000 paying less and those above paying more. However, it is hard to say whether the tax system overall will be more or less regressive because of the $313 million in new revenue that will come from increases in the sales, cigarette and utility taxes – which by nature are all regressive. The huge giveaway in corporate taxes – representing more than 25% of the current amount of corporate tax revenue – was challenged by Rep. Wayne and Bailey.
KFTC members have positive impact on commission KFTC members participated in a visible and influential way throughout the Blue Ribbon Commission process, particularly through testimony at public hearings, talking with commissioners and attending all of the group’s meetings. The long-term awareness created through KFTC’s decade of tax reform work and pushing the Kentucky Forward Plan with allies in the Partnership for Kentucky’s Future also helped open the possibility for significant additional revenue and a more progressive income tax. In fact, three of the four major provisions in the Kentucky Forward Plan – the Earned Income Tax Credit, a more progressive individual income tax, and expansion of the sales tax to luxury services – were included in the commission’s recommendations to the governor. This was an important presence. As Linda Stettenbenz, who attended many of the commission’s meetings, pointed out, “I think a lot of these commissioners have been largely insulated from the input of ordinary people in decisions that affect them. “At the [October 23] meeting, I was disappointed with the first half of the meeting when they were mostly talking about how to help rich people. Becki [Winchel] and I talked with one of the commissioners whose ideas have often raised real flags for us. Then the conversation started to shift a little to talk about equity and revenue. “But I still feel there is a missing piece, and that is the disparity of incomes and how proposals impact poor people and rich people differently. There is not really a lot of understanding about that,” Stettenbenz added. “I’m glad that we, KFTC members, have put so much work into helping craft and lift up sensible policies. We’ll have to continue … to hold our legislators accountable for fair and adequate tax reform.” But this didn’t seem to bother some commissioners. It’s why they were on the commission. “Do we need to give this much in corporate tax breaks?” Rep. Wayne asked. “That’s $100 million for corporations that our consultants show we’re already competitive and really don’t need. There has been no study that shows this is going to increase our competitiveness.” Overall, the proposals could raise about $659 million a year in new revenue as seen in the table at left. That’s significant given the reluctance of legislators in the past to raise any new revenue. However, it’s far short of the $1 billion revenue shortfall the state is projected to have over the next decade, and does not equal the current level of under-funding of existing programs. And legislators also are looking for $300 million a year to put the state pension fund on solid footing.
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Voting Rights Update
Jason Smith – turned away at the polls, but determined to vote
A few stories were reported throughout election day of former felons who had gone through the process to have their vote restored by gubernatorial pardon – and received it – but were still illegally tuned away at the polls. This is one story from former felon Jason Smith, who encountered a lot of difficulty in casting his first vote in a presidential election. “I was excited. I got my right to vote back after working hard to get it back in 2011 and voted for the first time in the general election last year. This was my first presidential election, though, and I was taking it really seriously – learning about all of the issues and candidates and really doing the research to cast a well-informed vote. “And the line was so much longer than I thought it would be. I waited for almost an hour to vote, but it didn’t matter. It was worth it. “When I got up to the front, there was a sweet older lady who asked for my name and flipped through the booklet, but just
couldn’t find me anywhere. She called the Hardin County Clerk’s office and handed me the phone. “I couldn’t believe what the person on the other end of the phone was telling me. “She told me that I’d been ‘felony purged.’ I objected, saying that I’d gotten my right to vote back since then, but she just kept repeating that I was a felon and couldn’t vote – and that I was committing a crime by trying to vote. I was shocked, but determined, so I told her that I’d be over to the county clerk’s office soon to talk about it and then I hung up. “On my drive over, I called the Secretary of State’s office to talk to them about it and they were very attentive – saying that they’d look into it right away. “A little while later I made it to the Hardin County Clerk’s office and showed people there my framed proclamation from the governor giving me my right to vote back. “’That means exactly nothing to us, sir,’ I was told. And they repeated the
Jason Smith (pictured far left) met with Lindsay Hughes Thurston, Assistant Secretary of State, in early 2012 to continue to push forward HB 70 — an amendment to restore voting rights to former felons. Also pictured from left to right: Lindsay Hughes Thurston, James Snyder and Danny Cotton. same talking points from our phone conversation – telling me that I’m a felon, that I can’t vote, and that it’s a crime that I’m trying to. “I stubbornly waited in the office and told them that I wasn’t going to leave until I got to vote. “And that’s when they called the sheriff and three officers came over. They told me that they wouldn’t let me vote even if the president called them and told them to himself. “I’m not going to lie, I got a bit scared thinking that I might get arrested for exercising my right to vote – for doing the right thing. But then I realized that a lot of good people have been to jail to protect the right to vote. And that’s not such bad company to be in. “But a few minutes later, the Secretary of State’s office called and talked to the county clerk and they decided that they
had to let me vote. “I wish I could tell you that I was a complete gentleman, but I couldn’t help but ask if it was the president on the line. “I went back to my polling location and a few people there asked questions and I told the story of everything that had happened. And I finally got to vote. “Afterward, I was looking for one of those ‘I voted’ stickers. They were out but expected to get more in soon. I decided that I’d waited this long, I could wait a little longer for them to bring back a fresh roll of stickers. But one of the guys who had heard my story gave me his off of his own shirt instead. That was really kind. “Even after all of that, it was worth it for me to vote. But people shouldn’t have to go through that much grief just to exercise their right to participate in the democratic process. “There ought to be a better way.”
Film Screening February 28, 6-8:30 pm Downtown Lexington Public Library Theater Sponsored by Central Kentucky Chapter of KFTC, Appalshop, Lexington NAACP and Central Kentucky Council of Peace and Justice
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Voting Rights Update
New Senate leadership shifts key players in HB 70 push
House Bill 70, KFTC’s proposed constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to most former felons who have served their debt to society, typically has passed the state House overwhelmingly – with as many as 84 and as few as 70 of the hundred representatives voting yes, and with broad bipartisan support. However, the bill has consistently hit a snag in the Senate – where previous Senate President David Williams, State and Local Government Committee Chair Damon Thayer, and a few other leaders, prevented HB 70 from coming to a vote in committee, thus not allowing the bill to be heard and voted on on the Senate floor. But this year, a lot has shifted in the Senate leadership. Senate President David Williams has left office to pursue a career as a judge, other leadership positions have shuffled, and there are seven new senators (out of 38) and new chairs of key committees like State and Local Government, where the bill is likely to be
assigned. The current makeup of the Senate Republican leadership is: Senate President - Sen. Robert Stivers President Pro Tempore - Sen. Katie Kratz Stine Majority Floor Leader - Sen. Damon Thayer Majority Caucus Chairman - Sen. Dan Seum Majority Whip - Sen. Brandon Smith Senate State and Local Government Committee Sen. Joe Bowen (Chair) Sen. Stan Humphries (Vice Chair) Sen. Walter Blevins Jr. Sen. Ernie Harris Sen. Christian McDaniel Sen. Morgan McGarvey Sen. Gerald A. Neal Sen. R.J. Palmer II Sen. Albert Robinson Sen. Dan “Malano” Seum Sen. Damon Thayer
Strengthen Democracy — TAKE ACTION Can you take two minutes to pick up the phone and make a difference on this issue? Call the Legislative Message Line (1-800-372-7181). The Message Line is open later than you’d think - 7 a.m.6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but open until 11 p.m. once the legislature is in session (starintg Feb. 5). On Fridays, it’s open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Leave a message for the “Senate State and Local Government Committee,” “Senate Leadership,” plus your own Senator and Representative. Message: “Please support House Bill 70.” If you have an extra two minutes, please also ask a friend to call in.
Watch your mail in the next week or so for KFTC’s Citizens Legislative Guide!
The shifts are both good and bad for the prospect of HB 70. However, two of the five members of Republican Senate leadership are strong supporters of HB 70, and it remains to be seen how much more freedom senators will have to follow their conscience now that David Williams is gone. At any rate, KFTC members are doing a lot more than waiting and hoping for a positive outcome. Members need to do all we can to educate legislators and put pressure on them to pass HB 70. Citizen lobbying in person in Frankfort is the best way to do that, but you can even make a big impact from your phone at home.
Kentucky Needs Your Voice Right now, today, is our best chance to build New Power in Kentucky as we also address the problems caused by Old Power — old political power, old economic power and old energy power!
Join KFTC members in Frankfort as we lobby, march and rally for New Power. • February 21 Voting Rights Lobby Day!
This year we have added an additional voting rights lobby day to help move HB 70 forward. Meet in Capitol Annex Room 125, 8:309:45 am and cafeteria after 9:45 am. A drop-in lobby orientation will run from 8:30-9:45 am and then lobby visits till 2 pm.
• March 6 Voting Rights Lobby Day and Rally!
Join us as we speak out for voting rights for former felons who have served their debt to society. Meet in Capitol Annex Room 111 starting at 8:30 am for lobbying throughout the day with a rally in the Capitol Rotunda from 1- 2 pm.
In addition, you can lobby with KFTC any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Contact your local organizer or contact: lisa@kftc.org or 859-200-5159. Even if you can’t travel to Frankfort, it’s important to make your voice heard. Call the toll-free legislative message line at 800-3727181 to urge your legislators to support these issues.
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The KFTC staff team continues to strengthen and expand
The KFTC staff team is growing and evolving in some important ways. Two experienced KFTC organizers recently shifted to new roles within the organization. Carissa Lenfert, who has worked with the Madison County chapter since 2008, moved to Louisville, where she will continue in a role as Deputy Organizing Director. Colette Henderson has left her position as the Jefferson County chapter organizer to become a Development Associate. In her new role she will focus on coordinating fun and informative events across the state to help us grow our membership and raise important funds. In addition to these changes, Central Kentucky organizer Ondine Quinn recently announced her intention to leave KFTC at the end of March 2013. Quinn has been an important member of the staff
team since 2008. To fill these key positions (and a few others), KFTC has hired a talented set of five new organizers who joined the staff team in January – Denney Breeding, Beth Bissmeyer, Beth Howard, Alicia Hurle and Jessie Skaggs! Denney Breeding (left in photo) will serve as a c o m m u n i t y o rganizer working with the Southern Kentucky KFTC chapter based in Bowling Green. Breeding is originally from Letcher County. For the past seven years she worked for an agency dedicated to improving the quality of child care in a multi-county region around Bowling Green. She is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and has also taught, coached and worked as a resident assistant and counselor with at-risk youth. Beth Bissmeyer (right in photo) will work as an organizer with KFTC chapters in Madison and Boyle counties. She grew up in Louisville and is a graduate of Berea College. Bissmeyer has been an active member and leader within KFTC for
Thursday February 14, 2013 9 a.m Optional Citizen Lobbying in Room 111, Capitol Annex. 12:00 p.m. Gather at the Ky River below the bridge at Capitol Ave. 12:30 p.m. March to the Capitol (Flat route is .6 miles.) 1:15 p.m. Rally on the Capitol steps — speakers, music, and a vision for Kentucky 2:00 p.m. I Love Mountains Valentine delivery
For more information and to register visit www.KFTC.org/love
at least the past six years, first in Berea and later back home in Louisville. She’s served the organization in many capacities, including as chapter chair, voter empowerment organizer, intern and KFTC Steering Committee representative. She also worked as an organizer for the Student Environmental Action Coalition and as a field organizer in a 2010 congressional campaign. Beth Howard is the new organizer working with the Central Kentucky Chapter of KFTC. Howard grew up in West Liberty (Morgan County). She is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University and the second member of our staff team to be an accomplished poet! Before joining KFTC’s staff, Howard served for five years as a lead organizer with a grassroots organization in Daytona Beach, Florida called Fighting Against Injustice Toward Harmony (FAITH). She returned to Kentucky in 2011 and has been working as a case manager facilitating classes in parenting, job coaching, and interpersonal skills for a multi-county program based in West Liberty. Alicia Hurle is the new organizer working with the Jefferson County KFTC chapter. Hurle has worked for the past seven years with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana, where she served as
program coordinator. She is originally from Louisville and holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Louisville. Hurle has also worked as a social worker and as a tutor and mentor for at-risk children. She has extensive volunteer experience in Louisville, including with the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research, Wednesday’s Child, Inc., and the Race, Community and Child Welfare Initiative. Jessie Skaggs joined KFTC’s staff in eastern Kentucky, where she will work to support the Perry County chapter and bring needed capacity to our work in the region, especially around water testing and public health. Skaggs lives in Paintsville (Johnson County). She graduated from the University of Louisville with a degree in graphic design and worked in that field for four years. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University, with an emphasis on sustainable development. While in Indiana, Jessie worked as the assistant director of a local growers’ guild with more than 200 members.
Day
Ride the bus to Frankfort! The Eastern Kentucky bus will LEAVE: Whitesburg food city at 7 a.m. HCTC main campus at 8 a.m. Manchester Walmart at 9 a.m. London Wendy’s/Truck Stop at 10:00 a.m. Contact Tanya@kftc.org for more information Louisville Buses: University of Louisville Bus, Rauch Planetarium at 10:30 a.m. Reserve a spot, email Troy Tucker canvas.87@ gmail.com Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church, at 10:30 a.m. Reserve a spot and more information www.kentuckyipl.org
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Meet the KFTC Staff In this first issue of 2013 balancing the scales, we thought we’d do a bit of introduction to the KFTC staff team. Each staff member is categorized by office location and includes their photo and title so you can get to know them and put a face with a name.
Carissa Lenfert Deputy Organizing Director
Bowling Green Denney Breeding Southern Kentucky Chapter Organizer
Erik Hungerbuhler E-Organizer
Heather Roe Mahoney Deputy Director
Berea Lisa Abbott Organizing Director
Beth Bissmeyer Madison and Boyle County Chapter Organizer
London Morgan Brown Administration Assistant
Robin Daugherty Office Manager
Colette Henderson Development Associate Burt Lauderdale Executive Director
Louisville Jessica George Development Director
Central Kentucky Tim Buckingham Communications Associate
Dave Newton Deputy Director for Voter Empowerment
Amy Hogg Program Associate
Sara Pennington New Power Organizer
Floyd County Kristi Kendall Floyd and Knott County Chapter Organizer
Ondine Quinn Central Kentucky Chapter Organizer*
Jerry Hardt Communications Director
Jessica Hays Lucas Deputy Director for Leadership Development
Alicia Hurle Jefferson County Chapter Organizer
Northern Kentucky Joe Gallenstein Northern Kentucky Chapter Organizer
Kevin Pentz Canary Project Organizer
Jessie Skaggs East Kentucky/Public Health Chapter Organizer
Teri Blanton Canary Project Fellow
Whitesburg Tanya Turner East Kentucky Chapter Organizer
Beth Howard Central Kentucky Chapter Organizer
*Ondine will be leaving the KFTC staff at the end of March.
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Appalachia’s Bright Future
A Conversation on Shaping a Just Transition
Eastern Kentucky’s economy is changing fast, and our future is unwritten. We believe we have the opportunity to move forward together, to build a new economy here in the mountains – a diverse, home-grown economy good for all people. We can generate new jobs, new businesses, and new opportunities for the workers, families and young people of eastern Kentucky. It won’t be easy, but we can have a bright future here, if we build it. We believe it’s essential that the transition to the new economy is a just transition – one that celebrates our culture and invests in communities and workers who depend on the old economy. We have many assets here. Our goal is to develop opportunities for our people, for eastern Kentucky, to thrive. We hope you’ll join us for a conversation about the opportunities and challenges we face in our state and region as we work together to build the next economy here in eastern Kentucky. This threeday gathering in Harlan will feature information on the changing economy, lessons from other regions that have gone through transition, and examples of entrepreneurs and communities beginning to build our bright future.
April 19 - 21 Harlan Convention Center
For more information, contact Lisa Abbott, lisa@kftc.org
“We can have a bright future here, if we build it.” Carl Shoupe, Harlan County
Calendar of Events Jan. 28
Madison County chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian Center, 205 N. Main St., Berea.
Feb. 7
Economic Justice Lobby Day, Capitol Annex Room 125, 8:30-9:45 am, or cafeteria after 9:45 am, for lobby orientation and lobbying throughout the day. Tell legislators; Kentuckians deserve good schools, college affordability, safe and healthy communities, and the opportunity to attract good jobs for our workers. For more information visit www.kftc.org/ej-lobby
Feb. 7
Scott County chapter meeting, 7 p.m., at the Georgetown Public Library. Email Dave@kftc.org or 859-420-8919 for more information.
Feb. 11
Jefferson County chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street in Louisville.
Feb. 11
Floyd County chapter meeting, 7 - 8:30 p.m., St. Martha’s Catholic Church in Prestonburg. For more information contact Kristi@kftc.org or call 606-226-4159.
Feb. 12
Letcher County chapter meeting, 6 p.m., Whitesburg KFTC office. Contact Tanya@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051.
Feb. 14
I Love Mountains Day! Join hundreds of Kentuckians standing up for our land, water and people. Gather at noon at the Kentucky River for a march that will start at 12:30, followed by a rally on the Capitol steps at 1:15 p.m. Wear red, bring a home-made sign and a valentine for the governor. Register online and find information at www.kftc.org/love.
Feb. 19
Northern Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at Roebling Books and Coffee at 306 Greenup St. Contact Joe@kftc.org or call 859-380-6103.
Feb. 19 Perry County chapter meeting and potluck, 6 p.m., Bring a dish to share if you like, or just enjoy some food and fellowship with us! HCTC Tech Campus Owens Building 115B. Contact Tanya@kftc.org or call 606-632-0051. Feb. 21
Voting Rights Lobby Day (the smaller version). This year we have added an additional voting rights lobby day to help move HB 70 forward. Meet in Capitol Annex Room 125, 8:30-9:45 a.m. and cafeteria after 9:45 a.m. for a drop-in lobby orientation, and then lobby visits until 2 p.m. Email Dave@kftc.org or call 859-420-8919 for more information.
Feb. 21
Central Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocese Mission House (corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and 4th Street) in Lexington.
Feb. 21
Rowan County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church on 5th Street in Morehead.
Feb. 25
Madison County chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian Center, 205 N. Main St., Berea.
Feb. 26
Bowling Green chapter planning meeting, 6:30 p.m. at The Foundry, 531 West 11th St. Contact JessicaBreen@kftc.org or call 859-276-0563.
Feb. 28
Southern Patriot - Screening of the Anne Braden documentary, 6 p.m., Downtown Lexington Library in the Farrish Theatre. Anne Braden: Southern Patriot is a first person documentarby about the extraordinary life of this American civil rights leader. Braden was hailed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail as a white southerner whose rejection of her segregationist upbringing was “eloquent and prophetic. For more information contact Ondine Quinn at Ondine@kftc.org or call 859-368-4438.