Bobby Kenedy and Kathy Mattea come to the Coal River Valley
July 17th, Bobby Kennedy Jr. Visits Coal River Valley, WV at Rebecca Chapel. This was an uplifting experience for the community here. After Bobby talked to the audience for awhile, he answered some tough questions about jobs and government, heard the stories of some local residents, and declared his solidarity with the people of Appalachia who are fighting mountaintop removal. It was an honor to have him here in the valley. If some of you don't already know, Bobby has a new documentary film based on his book Crimes Against Nature. His film crew was here with him and got some excellent footage that we hope will be included in the final edit of his film. Our volunteers from Mountain Justice Summer spent a whole day cooking home grown food for Bobby and his crew.Mountain Justice Summer: Once again this summer, Coal River Mountain Watch has sponsored an MJS crew in the Coal River Valley. We have had some wonderful volunteers here so far and are so thankful for all of their help. Our volunteers have been involved with water testing, newsletter writing, a mapping project, community outreach, gardening service projects and getting the Coal River Mountain Watch campaign house in order. This summer was kicked off by yet another great camp. The camp was help at the "off the grid" Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy center in Washburn, TN.
July 10, Grammy Award winning country singer Kathy Mattea came back to her home state of WV, went on a flyover, toured what is left of Kayford Mountain, talked with mountain community residents and held a press conference at the Capitol. Click here to watch a video summary of her visit: http://media.cnpapers.com/mattea/ Kathy is currently working on a new album entitled Coal. Ms. Mattea is now the national spokesperson on mountaintop removal for the Sierra Club.