balancing the scales Volume 30 Number 4 June 22, 2011

Blair Mountain 90 years later pg. 10

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... Marching to preserve Blair Mountain history, abolish mountaintop removal, strengthen labor rights, and invest in sustainable job creation for

all Appalachian communities.

Inside...Mountain Witness Tour provides perspective and insight

pg. 5

Stacy Branch residents claim a victory but continue to fight pg. 8

Primary election suffers from lackluster voter turnout pg. 14

Former Felon Voices: Jason Smith, Hardin County

pg. 15

Renew East Kentucky campaign grows from years of work

pg. 16

Rep. Hal Rogers’ budget cuts target mothers and children

pg. 18

And much more

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page �

Editor’s Note: Members of KFTC’s Executive Committee will be using this new “Executive Committee Corner” to share perspectives on such topics as how they became involved with KFTC, why they’ve stayed, or what aspects of particular issues hold special interest or significance for them.

bySueTallichet

Last month one of my aca-demiccolleaguestookaseatin my office and looking at me rather sternly, asked,“Do you see yourself as anactivist?”Thequestion took

meoffguardbecause,asItoldher,Iwastoobusyworkingon

issuestoworryabouthowIap-pearedtootherswhiledoingso.

But the question forced me to pause and reflect on how I had gotten so involved, how immeasurablyrewarding my work with KFTC has become and howthe most important office you can ever hold is that of citizen. I came to Kentucky in 1993 after being hired byMorehead State University teaching seminars in Ap-palachian sociology and doing research on women inundergroundcoalmining. Foryears I lecturedabout the injusticesof thecoalindustry, especially its exploitation of workers and thestereotyping of Appalachian citizens, and what grass-rootsgroupslikeKFTCweredoingaboutit. I learned as much from my students’ experiencesastheylearnedfromme,butthemostinspiringamongthem was a red-headed firebrand named Joyce Wise. Asaresultofclassdiscussions,shejoinedthenewlyformed Rowan County KFTC Chapter and kept meabreastofthegroup’sprogresspracticallyuntilthedayshedied. It was then I knew that the only way to honor Joyce andherwork,herenergyandherspiritwasformetodomorethanjusttalkaboutKFTC.Itwashightimeformeto“walkthewalk.” During2003Istartedattendinglocalchaptermeet-ings. At first I felt ignorant and rather overwhelmed about local and state issues and knew relatively littleaboutKentucky’spoliticallandscape.Butitwasn’tlongbeforefellowmembersbroughtmeuptospeed.There-after,agreeingtobethechapter’spublicitycoordinatorforcedmetostayontopofissues. Within two years I was meeting with other members of the statewide Land Reform Committee. I will neverforget the moving personal stories I have heard frommemberssuchasTeriBlanton,RickHandshoe,andEricaandRullyUrias.They spokeofdeath,destructionandthe coal industry’s disregard for citizens’ health andwell-being.

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth

is a statewide grassroots social justice organi­zation 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 is 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

Steve Boyce, ChairpersonSue Tallichet, Vice-Chairperson

Dana Beasley Brown, Secretary-TreasurerK.A. Owens, Immediate Past ChairRick Handshoe, At-Large Member

Chapter RepresentativesRosanne Fitts Klarer, Scott County

Erika Skaggs, Central KentuckyTed Withrow, Rowan County

Scott Goebel, Northern KentuckyMary Love, Jefferson County

Meredith Wadlington, Bowling Green & FriendsCarl Shoupe, Harlan CountyTruman Hurt, Perry County

Megan Naseman, Madison CountyPatty Amburgey, Letcher County

Beverly May, Floyd CountyCari Moore, Knott CountyVanessa Hall, Pike County

Alternates: Matt Doolin, Matt Heil, Lisa Bryant, Antonio Mazzaro, Martha Flack, Sandi Joiner, Stanley Sturgill, McKinley Sumner, Steve Wilkins, Jeff Chapman-Crane, Bobby Hicks, and Erica Urias.

Kentuckians For The CommonwealthP.O. Box 1450 London, Kentucky 40743­1450

606­878­2161 Fax: 606­878­5714info@kftc.org www.kftc.org

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.

On the cover: KFTC members Stanley Sturgill, Katey Lauer and Carl Shoupe after the rally on historic Blair Mountain in West Virginia. Lauer is the coordinator for The Alliance for Appalachia and was one of the many individuals who planned and carried out the historic march on Blair Mountain.

Photo provided by Pallavi Podapati

Executive Committee Corner Perhapsevenmoredismaying is thecomplicitybystate officials as coal companies continue to violate the rights of citizens. While all these issues have a factual basis,itwasthehumanfactorthatfueledmyownsenseofmissionandurgency. Then last fall Doug Doerrfeld and Ted Withrow told me that Appalachian Voices had uncovered massivenumbers of Clean Water Act violations in the reports that large surface mining companies had submitted totheCabinet,and thatKFTCwasbeingasked to join inaseriesoflawsuitsthatwouldbeunprecedentedinthestate.Theywereright. Last fall KFTC joined Appalachian Voices, Water-keeper Alliance, and Kentucky Riverkeepers to serveICGandFrasureCreekminingcompanieswithnoticesofourintenttosuethem. Thatactionset intomotionaseriesof legalactionsby the companies and state officials to settle the matter in a “business as usual” manner by fining these companies lessthanonepercentofpossiblestatelevelpenaltiesandkeepingthelitigationinstatecourt.Fortunately,FranklinCircuit Judge Phillip Shepherd recognized our right to intervene against state officials’ actions and ordered us intomediationwiththesetwocoalcompanies. Then this spring KFTC and our allies filed a lawsuit infederalcourt,againstNallyandHamilton,forsimilarviolations of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). While there is much at stake in these cases and the outcomesremaintobeseen,todateKFTCanditsallieshave gone public with their evidence that supports apattern of CWA violations by the 1st,2ndand4th largestmountaintop removal coal mining companies in ourstate, and have exposed the lackluster enforcement ofstate officials. We now have a legal basis for what we always knew was true about the threats of mountaintop removalmining to citizens’ health and well-being. No wonderKentuckyranksthelowestinthenationonindicatorsofwell-being.KFTCmemberVanessaHallsaiditbest–ifcoalissogoodforus,thenwhyarewesopoor,sickanddepressed? But stopping something doesn’t solve what waswrong.Itbegsformoreprogressivesolutions.That’stheessential basis for New Power, which means creatingnew environmental, economic, and political solutions.And as these debates about renewable energy, job cre-ation and progressive politics rage across our nation,Kentuckyisattheepicenterofthatstorm. We are fighting the old power of the privileged among us to merely ensure the most basic of humanrightsofordinarycitizens,which requiresus todoex-traordinarythings.Thatiswhoweare. Eachday,Ilearnjustalittlemorefromeachofyou,which makes KFTC my community, my religion. Andwhenit’smyturntobethevoiceofKFTC,I’mdoingsowhilestandingontheshouldersofgiants.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page �

Table of ContentsExecutive Committee Corner page 2

Letter to the EditorCapping payday lending is only fair page 3

Member CommentaryMountain Witness Tour provides perspective and insight page 5

Local UpdatesThird Louisville Loves Mountains festival is “FUN”draising page 5Jefferson County chapter to host member exchange page 5Localizing a statewide campaign page 6Eastern Kentucky residents experiencing new water damage page 7Stacy Branch residents claim a victory but continue to fight page 8Madison County chapter breaks fundraising goal; Berea Fairness page 9Harlan County members work with allies across state lines page 12

Canary Project UpdateBlair Mountain 90 years later page 10Chapman-Crane works with people of faith for healthy air page 13

Voting Rights UpdatePrimary election suffers from lackluster voter turnout page 14Members begin to prepare for Fancy Farm political festivities page 14Former Felon Voices: Jason Smith, Hardin County page 15Voting Rights Coalition sets plans in motion for 2012 page 15

Renew East Kentucky UpdateRenew East Kentucky campaign grows from years of work page 16Floyd County members look forward to collaborating with Big Sandy page 17

Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance UpdateGreen housing summit unites page 17Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance Update page 18KySEA prepares to advance work in 2012 legislative session page 18KySEA Brief: Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards page 18

Economic Justice UpdateRep. Hal Rogers’ budget cuts target mothers and children page 19

Calendar page 20

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

Brittany Hunsaker use brittanyh@kftc.org

KFTC Offices and StaffMAIN OFFICE

Morgan Brown, Robin Daugherty & Burt Lauderdale

P.O. Box 1450London, Kentucky 40743

606­878­2161 Fax: 606­878­5714

info@kftc.org

FIELD OFFICESLouisville

Jessica George, Jerry Hardt,

Colette Hendersonand Nancy Reinhart901 Franklin StreetLouisville, Ky 40206

502­589­3188

WhitesburgWilla Johnson,

Tanya Turner, and Colleen Unroe P.O. Box 463

Whitesburg, Ky 41858606­632­0051

BereaLisa Abbott, Amy Hogg,

Carissa Lenfert,Sara Pennington and Kevin Pentz

140 Mini Mall DriveBerea, KY 40403

859­986­1277

BereaTeri Blanton

118 Baugh StreetBerea, Ky. 40403

859­986­1648

Central KentuckyTim Buckingham,

Jessica Hays Lucas, Erik Hungerbuhler, Brittany Hunsaker,

Heather Roe Mahoney, Dave Newton, John

Malloy and Ondine Quinn

250 Plaza Drive Suite 4Lexington, Ky 40503

859­276­0563

Northern KentuckyJoe Gallenstein859­380­6103

Floyd CountyBrittany Combs606­422­0100

Capping payday lending is only fairDearEditor, Duringthelastlegislativesession,severalmembersof Kentuckians For The Commonwealth as part of theKentucky Coalition for Responsible Lending met withstate legislators to persuade them to support a billthatwouldcaptheinterestrateonPaydayLendersat36per-centperannum. We were told more than once that the industry claimedthatsuchacapwouldeffectivelyputthemoutofbusinessandprovetobeevenmoreofaburdenonthepoor,whodependonPaydayLenderstogetreadycashandevencashtheirpersonalchecks. OnelegislatorevensuggestedthatwecomeupwithalternativestoPaydayLendersandthatdoingsowouldimprovetheprospectsoflegislatorssupportinganinter-estratecap. The36percentannualratethatKFTCsupportsisnotanewora radical solution to theproblemof excessiveinterestrateschargedbyPaydayLenders,whosecurrentmethodofcharginginterestcanresultinratesupto400

percentayear. Otherstateshavealreadyimposedsuchcapsandatconsiderably lowerrates than the proposed 36 Percent.Ohio caps the interest rate at 28 percent, yetPaydayLenderscontinuetooperateinthestate. Marylandcappedinterestratesat33percentandde-visedanalternativetothepredatorypracticesofPaydayLenders.ThestateinstitutedaBorrowandSaveprogramthat offers the poor low cost loans between$300 and$1,000 at a rate of 7.99 percent, which is much cheaperthancreditcardsorPaydayLenders.Borrowershavetoparticipate in one financial literacy course and open a savingsaccount. The practices of Payday Lenders have become solucrative that they are now being adopted by major finan-cialinstitutionsandbanks.IpersonallyreceivedaletterfromFifthThirdBankadvertisingtheirversionofpaydayloans.Thechargewas$10per$100,butnoannualinter-est rate was quoted anywhere in their letter. Wells Fargo andU.S.Bankalsohavedevelopedsimilartypesofloans

Letter to the Editor

thattheyaremarketing. Itishardtoseehowthesetypesoflendingpracticesaredefensible.Theypreyonthepoorandmostdesperateofourpeoplefornootherreasonthantheyarepooranddonothaveaccesstomorereasonableformsofcredit.Itputsthemonatreadmillofborrowingfromwhichitbe-comes more and more difficult to escape the longer they participate,andeventuallywilldrivetheconsumerintobankruptcy. Asforindustryclaimsthattheyneedusuriousinter-estratestostayinbusiness,itistantamounttosuggestingthat in order to help the poor, those they “help” must first agreetosubmittooutrightrobberybytheirbenefactor. Abusiness thatmust rob its clients in the longruninorder tohelp themin the immediatepresent isnotabusiness that ethically or legally should be allowed tooperate.

Jeff HamptonPiner,Kentucky

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page �KFTC30 Anniversaryth

Looking Back …

KFTC turns 30 in August. We’re recalling some of the history of KFTC and the people involved in each issue of balancing the scales in 2011. In the last two issues we looked at some “pre-history” that set the stage for KFTC’s formation in 1981. In this and the next issue we’ll look at the first fews meetings with the original founders of KFTC as they explored the need for a group that addressed the injustices identified in the Appalachian Land Ownership Study.

25 Years Ago …• AnewKFTCchapterformsinMorganCounty

whenresidentsdiscoverthatacompanywantstobuildahazardouswasteincineratorthere.Theplantwasneverbuilt.

20 Years Ago …• Jefferson County members present a solid waste

managementplantothecityofLouisville,focusingonsourcereduction,recyclingandcompostingratherthanincineration.

• KFTCholdsitsannualSpringPicnicatCaveRunLake,makingthisonea“nowaste”event.

• ThePocahontasCorp.turnsoveracheckfor$296,000 to Martin County officials, representing “the first clear victory of the long-term battle of progressive elements in the coalfields to hold themajorabsenteelandownersresponsibleforpayingtheirfairshareofthecostofsustainingthegovernmentinthecoalcounties,”reportedtheEast Kentucky Sun.

15 Years Ago …• The Steering Committee votes to open a new office

andhireanorganizerforwesternKentuckytoworkwithemergingchaptersthere.

• KFTCmembersandtheCenterforResponsivePoliticsteamupforatwo-daymediatour,meetingwith7majormediaoutletstotalkaboutcampaignfinance reform.

10 Years Ago …• Onehundredpeople

attendapublichearinginMadisonvilleaboutcontrols on confined animal feedingoperations,orfactory farms. Western Kentuckymemberswerepartofeffortstoprotectruralcommunitiesfromaninflux of CAFOs due to lax environmentalcontrols.

• RowanCountymemberschallengeanewandunneededinterstateconnectorroadthatwouldcutthroughthemiddleofthelargestunpavedtractoftheDanielBooneNationalForestinthecounty.

5 Years Ago …• Montgomery Creek (Perry County) residents are

angry when state officials label as “frivolous”theirpetitiontodeclare218acresoff-limitstostripmining.Residents in Eolia (Letcher County) arevictoriouswhenacoalcompanywithdraws plans for a valley fill that wouldhaveburiedtwomilesofstreams.• KFTCmembersusetheMayprimaryelectionsformanylocal,state and federal offices to focus on issuesrangingfromairqualitytorestorationofvotingrightstotheminimumwagetomountaintopremoval.

“Doesacoalitionofgroups,organizationsand/orindividuals,organizedwithinthecoalregionorstatewide,toworkonlandownershipissuesthroughthetaxissue,makesenseforKentucky?” Thatunwieldyquestionwasonethat10individualscametogethertoexploreata meeting in Berea on June 25, 1981. Thefolksallkneweachother.TheyhadahistoryofworkingintheAppalachiancoalfields around land, housing, community service and environmental issues. TheyalsohadaconnectiontotheAppalachianLandOwnershipStudy,recentlycompletedbytheAppalachianAlliance.Thatstudydocumentedwhoownedthelandandwhopaidthetaxesin80countiesinsixAppalachianstates,including12countiesineasternKentuckywherecoalismined. Itfoundthatmuchoftheland,andevenmoreofthemineralrights,wereownedbyabsenteecorporations,andthatforthemostpartthisvastpropertywealthwasunder-assessedandunder-taxed.Asaresult,thelocaltaxbaseforeasternKentuckycommunities–neededtosupportschoolsandotherlocalgovernmentservices–wasbeingcheatedoftensofmillionsofdollarsinrevenue. These injustices were deliberate. The 1978 General Assembly had specifically exemptedunminedcoalfrompropertytaxation.SincetheKentuckyconstitutionrequiresthatallpropertybefairlyassessedandtaxed,lawmakerscreatedthisexemptionbymaking the tax rate so low – $.001 versus $.315 per $100 of value for other property –thattaxassessorsdidn’tevenbothertosendouttaxbills. This was a political tradeoff by then Gov. Julian Carroll, in order to increase the coal severance tax from 4 percent to 4.5 percent. Severance tax revenue went into the

stategeneralfund,withsomeofitbeingsentbacktocountieswherecoalwasmined.Thepropertytaxwasaprimarysourceofincomeforlocalgovernmentsandschools,anditwasseverelyundercutbythistradeoff. Thatsituationiswhathelpedgivetheearlycoalitionitsinitialfocusontaxandcommunityservicesissues. The participants at the June 25 meeting primarily represented organizations that wereworkingonaregionalbasisonavarietyofissues.TheyincludedtheAppalachianResearch and Defense Fund, Kentucky Rivers Coalition (which became the Kentucky Resources Council), the Highlander Center in Tennessee (which had coordinated the Appalachian land study), the Appalachian Alliance, Council of Southern Mountains, andAppalachianCoalition. While helping to give their unnamed coalition their initial goals and a focus on taxpolicychanges,theyalsorealizedalotofotherpeopleneededtobearoundthetable.Theymadealistandsetanothermeeting for July 20 inHazard. As par t o fthe outreach tol o c a l c i t i z e n s ,J o e C h i l d e r s , coordinator of theKentuckychapterofthelandownershipstudy, and othersvisitedgroupslikethe ConcernedCitizens of MartinC o u n t y a n dCitizensOrganizedto Protect theE n v i r o n m e n t(COPE) in Harlan County to explainthe findings of the study. The Martin County group was already starting to challenge taxinjusticesaftersomeotherinitialsuccesses.LandownershipandtaxissueswerenotasfamiliartoCOPEmembers. “When Childers came, that was a turning point in COPE’s focus,” said J.D. Miller. “Afterhispresentation,webeganlookingseriouslyatthedeeper,underlyingissuesrelatedtolandandmineralownershipinAppalachia,andtotalkaboutwhatwecoulddo.”

Noxious odors, infestations of rodents and water pollution had members in western Kentucky organizing for controls on hog and chicken factory farms near their homes.

An early meeting in Leslie County where Joe Childers (standing) talked about the Appalachian Land Ownership Study. Others at the table are Joe Szakos (left), then a field organizer with the Appalachian Alliance, David Rubenstein with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund, and local citizen Raleigh Adams.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page �

Member CommentaryMountain Witness Tour provides perspective and insight

by Julie Yoder

Mountaintop removal coal min-ing is the issue that first brought me to KFTC five years ago. Since then I’ve learned about all the other wonderfulcampaigns that KFTC members areworking on, but mountaintop removalremainsoneoftheissuesIammostpas-sionateabout. NotonlyamIaKFTCmemberbutI am also an artist, and I continue tostruggle to express my feelings aboutmountaintopremovalthroughmyart. BecauseofthisstruggleIfeltitwasimportanttogoonamountainwitnesstour in eastern Kentucky. I wanted tobetter understand the issue so that Icouldexpressmyconcernsmoreclearlyand hopefully contribute more posi-tively to the fight. Thus,earlierthisspring,myselfandseveralotherartistsfromLouisvilleandLexington took a van to Whitesburg in

LetcherCountytowitnesstheimpactofmountaintop removal coal mining first-hand. Seeingthedestructionisimportant,of course, but far more important, Ilearned, was gaining a better under-standingofthedeepcomplexitiesoftheissue.It’snotjustbigcoalcompaniesvs.thelittlepeoplewhosehomesarebeingdestroyed. It’s not just the Friends ofCoalvs.environmentalists. This issue is complicated becausethefolkslivingineasternKentuckywhoare trying to fight mountaintop removal are also trying to live in a community,andthatcommunityismadeupofpeo-ple whose livelihoods depend on coal,whose friends and family have a longhistoryofcoalmining. I already understood these thingson a philosophical level, of course, butIdidn’tgraspthefullimpactuntilIgotachancetotalktosomeofthemembersliving in the coalfields.

Ididn’treallyunderstanduntilIgotthere that despite our best intentions,ourgroupcouldbeperceivedasoutsid-erscomingintojudgeagroupofpeoplewithout really understanding theircommunity, or worse, focusing on theenvironmentalimpactwithoutthinkingofthecommunityatall. Attheendofthedaywewouldbeable to drive home with no repercus-sions, but it was the wonderful peoplewho took the time to talk to us whomight face dirty looks or even harass-mentafterweleft. I’m glad I took this tour, and I’mgratefultothepeoplewhosharedwithusabout their livesand their efforts to

revitalizetheircommunity. Icametorealizethatforthoseofusliving outside of Appalachia, speakingoutandraisingawarenessisnotenough.We need to learn how to be better allies toour friends inAppalachiabyunder-standing and respecting the heritageandhistoryoftheregion,andbybeingawareofhowweareallinterconnected. There is no simple solution to end-ing mountaintop removal coal mining,but the more we can all understand thecomplexitiesofnot justtheenvironmen-tal, but also social and economic issuesthatsurroundmountaintopremovalcoalmining,thebetterwecanallworktowardpositivechangeineasternKentucky.

Third Louisville Loves Mountains festival is “FUN”draising On May 20, the Jefferson County Chapter in partnership with Carmi-chael’s Bookstore and Heine Brothers’Coffee hosted the ThirdAnnual Louis-villeLovesMountainsFestival. The festival’s primary objective isto spread awareness around the issueofmountaintopremovalcoalmining.Inthepastthefestivalhashostedlocalandregionalauthorsandmusicians.

This year’s festival keynote wasKentucky author Wendell Berry. His addresswascoveredeloquentlyby theofficial Louisville Loves Mountains live bloggerandKFTCmemberLauraRead. “Taking a historical perspective,Berry reminded us that our people arenotstrangerstoaforcedeconomy,”Readwrote. “Harkening back to his grandfa-ther’sdaysasa tobacco farmer, comingup empty handed after growing cropsforthegovernment,Berryelucidatedtheharsh reality of today’s coal economy;forced upon people who need workto feed their families, stifling out local economies through purchasing powerand industry, and rapidly crippling thebiodiversityoftheAppalachianregion. “Berry highlighted the importanceofcultivatinglocalfoodeconomiesandemployingsmalleroperationstosustainindustries such as forestry; economiesthat are both fiscally stable and socially responsible.I’mparaphrasing,butBerrypointedoutthatpeopleshouldn’thavetodestroytheirownhomesinordertolivewheretheyare…Apointespeciallyimportant for all of us to remember inLouisville, as we enjoy the luxury of arichlocaleconomy.” Thefestivalwasahugesuccesswith

Members of the Louisville Drum Corps brought the party with them again this year.

more than 800 in attendance. All ven-dorswerelocalandgenerouslydonatedproceedsoftheirsalestoKFTC’swork. In total, the festival raised almost$7,000 and resulted in 52 new members. Sally Campbell, author of Saving Kentucky, donated proceeds from thesale of her book, a total of $5,000, at the

festival (see ad on page 16). Chapter members send a hugethank you to the amazing network oflocal businesses, members, and friendsthat make this event possible everyyear. Read’s blog can be read in full atwww.kftc.org/llm

Wendell Berry spoke to a packed and enthusiastic crowd at the street festival.

Jefferson County chapter to host member exchangeThe Jefferson County Chapter is planning a Member Exchange with members in eastern Kentucky this summer. If you’re interested, contact Jefferson County Chapter Organizer Colette Henderson at colette@kftc.org or call 502-589-3188.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page 6

Local Updates

I want to help KFTC build power! Name:

Address:

City, State Zip: Phone:

Email:

I wish 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 & Vanco Services, LLS 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 notifi cation to KFTC/KY Coalition.

Who asked you to join KFTC?

Suggested membership dues are $1�-$�0 annually.____ One-time Gift: Amount $_________________ Pledger: I will contribute $___ every (check one): __ Month __ 3 Months __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. For checks, please make payable to KFTC or the Ken-tucky Coalition and mail to: KFTC • P.O. Box 1450 • London, Ky. 40743-1450.

Localizing a statewide campaign: Central Kentucky chapter works with city offi cials to support voting rights for former felons KFTC’s statewide campaigns havevariouspointsformemberstoplugintothework.Thecampaigntorestorevotingrightstoformerfelonsisnodifferent. You do not have to be a former felon, or even know someone who is. You can go to Frankfort during the General As-sembly to lobby or can participate inawarenessraisingeventslikeSingingForDemocracyorletterwritingparties. In addition to those efforts, theCentral Kentucky KFTC chapter haslaunched a local campaign focusing oneducating urban county council mem-bersaboutvotingrightsandtourgethemtotakeactiononthematter. While Lexington’s city council does nothave theauthority to restorevotingrightstoformerfelons,theydohavethepower to pass a resolution (a formal ex-pression of opinion or intention) stating thattheybelieveitisgoodforKentuckyandgoodfordemocracytoimmediatelyrestoretherighttovotetoformerfelonswhohaveservedtheirdebttosociety. A public statement could be verypowerfulandhaveapositive impactonfolkswhoarestillunsureabouttheissue. Chaptermembersrecentlyhadtheirfirst lobby meeting with Lexington’sVice-MayorLindaGorton. Their purpose was to talk to heraboutKFTC’sworkoverthelastsixyearsaround voting rights and to share with

her some of their ideas about workingwiththecitycouncilontheissue. Members reported that it was anincrediblyproductivemeetingandgavethe chapter some very clear next steps,including how to talk to council mem-bers about the issue, how to prioritizethose conversations and the process forgettingaresolutionpassedinLexington. Members also learned that Lexing-ton was the fi rst city in Kentucky to pass a fairness ordinance and the fi rst city to passapublicsmokingban. The KFTC members shared severalpersonalstorieswithGortontohelpherunderstandtheimpactofdenyingvotingrights to former felons who have paidtheirdebt. AbigailDoritytalkedabouthowherbrotherservedpartofhisprisonsentencein Kentucky and actually petitioned tohave his parole served in Wisconsin, wherehewouldbeabletovote. LatanyaTorpspokeaboutherneigh-bors on Ohio Street in north Lexingtonwho don’t get involved in communityactivism because they’re former felonsandfeelexcludedfromsociety. The vice-mayor mentioned severaltimes how much she appreciates howKFTC will work to educate people likeherself, and jokingly said in referencetoKFTCmembers,“Getoutof theway,heretheycome.”

Special Summer Offer: 20% off Deep Down for KFTC Students & Teachers!

The makers of Deep Down, an award-winning PBS documentary that follows the inspiring journey of KFTC’s Floyd County chapter to stop a mountaintop removal site, are offering KFTC members specially priced educational DVDs for campus and classroom screenings!

Deep Down has successfully screened on more than 100 college campuses nationwide. Educational copies of the fi lm allow you to use the fi lm for a public screening and to store it in your school’s library for future use – a great educational tool in the fi ght to end MTR!

PLAN NOW to bring Deep Downand the work of KFTC to your school this Fall! Request a code for a 20% discount on your copy of Deep Down

by sending an email with the subject line “Discount” to: sally@deepdownfi lm.org

an award-winning PBS documentary that follows the inspiring journey of KFTC’s Floyd County chapter to stop a mountaintop removal site, are offering KFTC members specially priced educational DVDs for campus and classroom screenings!

“I wish everybody in America could see this fi lm.” -Silas House, NEH Chair in Appalachian Studies at Berea College

Over the summer the chapter willcontinuetomeetwithLexingtoncouncilmembers to discuss the formation of aformalresolutionandtobegintoeducate

councilmembersbeforeavoteisheld. If you’re interested in getting involved please contact local organizer Ondine Quinn at ondine@kftc.org or 859-276-0563.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page �

Local UpdatesEastern Kentucky residents experiencing new water damage from an increase in natural gas drilling and fracking process Naturalgasdrillinghasbeenbuild-ing into a giant industry in the UnitedStates for decades. But with the grow-ingappetiteforenergy“independence”somecommunitiesarebeingbombardedwith increased activities to extract thisnaturalresource. DuringtherecentBushadministra-tion,naturalgasdrillingbecameexemptfromportionsofsomefederallawsthatare meant to protect the environmentandpeople, including the“HalliburtonLoophole” that is now part of the SafeDrinking Water Act. All of this has resulted in a situa-tion that feels to many like an urgentpush for energy extraction and fewsafeguardstoprotectthepublicandtheenvironment. LetcherCounty isoneof thecoun-ties in Kentucky feeling the impact ofthegrowingpush formorenaturalgasextraction. Inthefallof2010,chaptermembersdecided they wanted to learn more onthe issue. Commercials on TV braggedabout natural gas being one of thecleanest ways to generate energy, andyettheykepthearingneighborstalkingabout the struggles they were havingprotectingtheirlandandwatersincethegascompanieshadmovedin. One of the first steps the chapter tooktolearnmorewastohostameetingin the McRoberts community. Severalfolks from the area attended and gavehistoryofthesmalltownthatwasbuilt

bythecoalcompanies. Muchofthelandthereisstillownedbythecoalcompanies.Peopleliveinthevalleysthatareatthefootofthemoun-tains,butdonotownthemountains. Since the mountains are ownedby the coal companies, in the 1990sresidentswere forced to livewithstripminingattheirbackdoor.Nowthecoalcompaniesleasethelandtothenaturalgascompanies. Members were told of how therewere gas wells all over the mountainsides, how the dust from the drillingwouldcovertheircommunitiesandthatsometimestheycouldsmellthegas. During this discussion membersdiscovered that the drillers in LetcherCountyuseadifferentprocess thandomostdrillersinthecountry. When the drillers reach the under-ground level that contains the naturalgastheyuseapracticethattheindustrycalls “fracking” (fracturing) to fracture thegas-bearingrockstratatogetthegasto flow out more easily. Most drilling in the U.S. uses hy-draulic fracking, which pumps hun-dredsofgallonsofwaterandachemicalmixandsandintotheboreholeatgreatpressure to cause the rock to fracture.Thesandinthemixturehelpsthosefrac-tures stay open once the fluid is pumped backout. However, in Letcher County, nitro-genfrackingisthepreferredmethodoftheindustry. Notasmuchwaterisused.Insteada mixture of chemicals and nitrogen isused. Since the industry isn’t by lawrequiredtosharewhattheirmixtureofchemicals is, it has been difficult to learn muchaboutthispractice. WMMT (the radio station hosted out of Appalshop) received a grant to begin a radio research project to study theimpactofnaturalgasinLetcherCounty,Kentucky and Wise County, Virginia. KFTC members collaborated withthemtolearnmoreabouthowcommu-nity members in the area were feeling.While in McRoberts they saw a gas drill thatwas100feetbehindarowofhomes.Onceadrillbegins itmaygonon-stopfor2-3weeks,dayandnight. Veryfewoftheresidentsinfrontofthedrillwhohadtodealwiththemajor-

ityofthenoisewouldspeak.Butupthestreet members sat on the front porchwithanelderlywomanwhotold themthatayearagowhen theydrillednearherhousesomethingwentwrong. Shesaidtheystartedtosmellsome-thing strongoutside.Thegaswellwasnear her vegetable garden and whenshe went over her plants were wiltinganddying.Shecalledandmadeseveralcomplaintsbeforethecompanyreturnedto fix the problem. From there the members walkeduptheroadtowherethewaterplantisfortheMcRoberts,NeonandHemphillcommunities. Just 100-200 feet away from their water source were two gas wells. Just a couplemonthslaterthethreecommuni-ties lost their water unexpectedly, andhadtohavewaterbroughtin. One thing that became clear wasthatpeoplewerefrustrated,buthadnoidea if they had any rights to fight the company. WMMT was already planning to work on a website with informationaboutdrilling,sotheydedicatedapagefrom their site For Landowners. Someinformation on the www.fracturedap-palachia.orgwebsiteisinformationlike:

Does a well operator have the right to use the surface of the land if the gas is owned by one person and the surface is owned by another?

The right to use the surface is often found in the language of any deed or lease that trans-ferred the rights to produce the gas or oil to a person other than the surface owner. If the

Land Owner’s Rights

Someone has approached me about drilling on my land. What should I do?Promptly consult an attorney trusted by yourself or others who knows oil and gas law. If you don’t know one, contact the local bar association for assistance.

What is a lease?A mineral lease is a contractual agree-ment between the owner of a mineral tract (the lessor) who grants the right to mine or extract the mineral to a producer (the lessee). Oil and gas can be sold or leased separately to different parties. Usually, a lessee will insist on the right to sell or reassign a mineral lease to another party. Because a min-eral lease gives the lessee a property interest in the mineral, leases should be recorded at the county clerk’s office of the county where the lease is located. A lease is usually secured by annual payments, or a royalty on production, paid to the lessor.

I own the surface, someone else owns the gas or oil, and a driller is looking over my land. What should I do?• Promptly consult an attorney who knows oil and gas law. If you don’t know one, contact the local bar association for assistance.• Try to work with the driller on the lo-cation of the facilities – well site, access road, gathering pipeline, etc.• Negotiate a reasonable price for damage to crops, cropland, timber, etc., before clearing work begins at the well site.• Request that the well operator pay for a certified lab to analyze any source of water used as a water supply for people, animals or crops before drilling begins. This is to document the pre-drill condi-tions in case the water supply would be adversely affected by drilling the oil or gas well. If the oil and gas operator declines to perform this pre-drilling survey of your water supply, consider hiring a laboratory approved by the Environmental Protection Agency at your expense.

Gas lines, which are supposed to be buried, lay on top of the ground cross-ing a person’s land.

Gas storage tanks in Letcher County.

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balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page �

Local Updates

terms of a deed or lease do not describe how the surface may be used, then the gas or oil owner has reasonable use of the sur-face to produce the gas or oil. Some deeds or leases set out payments for or limits on use of the surface. Other deeds give the gas or oil operator full rights to reasonable use of the surface.

Therearemanymorequestionsandan-swers like this on the site. WMMT also has plans to host public forums in thefuture inviting folks out to discuss theissue. As for KFTC’s role, the LetcherCountychapterisdedicatingitssummer

to talking to folks all over the countyabouttheconditionoftheirwater.Somefolkshavepoorwaterqualitybecauseofnaturalgasdrilling,whileotherssufferatthe hands of mining, logging and negli-gence. Anotherpiecethatthechapterwouldlike to begin is to create a pamphlet tomail to communities when natural gascompanies start to take over, informingeveryoneoftheirrightsandwaystogetmoreinformation. Ifyouwouldliketolearnmoreaboutthisissuecheckoutwww.fracturedappa-lachia.org. You can also help by contact-ing your elected representatives and re-mindingthemthatnaturalgascompaniesshouldnotbeexemptfromthelawsthataremeanttoprotectthelandandpeople.

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Drilling and fracking problems grow

Stacy Branch residents claim a victory but continue to fight Shortly after the last issue of bal-ancing the scales, more than a dozenresidents of Stacy Branch (Perry County) gathered at two separate locations neartheproposedminesitetotalkwiththeirEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerningapendingLEECOmountain-topremovalcoalminingpermitarea. From locations in Perry and Knottcounties, local residents gathered tosharetheirstoriesandconcernswiththeRegion4EPAonaone-hourconferencecall Residents living around the pro-posed 849 acres, six valley fills, and over4milesofstreamsincludedintheproposed mine permit showed up totellGwendolynKeyesFleming,Region4Administrator,andherstaffwhythismine does not belong in their commu-nityandinsistshecomeseeforherself. Severallongtimemembersfromthearea converged at both locations withlocalneighborsandfriends.Manywerenew to KFTC and new to organizing,butallwereexpertsintheircommunityneedsandvisions. These courageous residents camefromandrepresentedfamiliesfromtheheadofStacyBranchinPerryCountyallthewaytothefarreachesofLottsCreekinKnottCounty. Pam Maggard, a special educationteacherofSassafras,couldnotbeatthecallsoshesubmittedaletter,whichwasread in her absence. The letter toucheson the spectrum of issues weighing

heavyonheartsandminds:

Ms. Fleming, Please accept the invitation of Cordia, Stacy’s Branch, and Sas-safras residents to visit our area. You will see first hand the life we are trying to protect. I am very con-cerned about damage from blasting near my home (approx. 1 mile). Po-tential flooding is another concern. I am confident the EPA will want to continue their new commitment to putting clean water and health above mining profits I understand the EPA asked LEECO to make some changes to its permit, to reduce anticipated water quality impacts and monitor stream quality and LEECO refused. This is typical of what we must deal with in the area. Profits before people. That is how we are treated - “Oh, they’re not rich, they don’t matter. We did it before, let’s get the rest of the coal.” We do matter. My neighbors and I are tax paying, modest income to poor people. I have worked hard to own a home. The coal trucks from the last mining in the area have wreaked havoc on our roads and water lines. We can’t take much more I implore you to at least come and see for yourself. Pictures and letters cannot even begin to tell the story.

What is Environmental Justice?

That’sagreatquestion!InregardstotheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA),itactuallyrefersmoretothepeopleandcommunitiesandlesstothephysicalenvironment. TheEPAdefinesEnvironmentalJusticeas“thefairtreatmentandmean-ingfulinvolvementofallpeopleregardlessofrace,color,nationalorigin,orincomewithrespecttothedevelopment,implementation,andenforcementofenvironmentallaws,regulations,andpolicies.EPAhasthisgoalforallcommunitiesandpersonsacrossthisnation.Itwillbeachievedwhenev-eryoneenjoysthesamedegreeofprotectionfromenvironmentalandhealthhazardsandequalaccesstothedecision-makingprocesstohaveahealthyenvironmentinwhichtolive,learn,andwork.” ThisdefinitionandcomponentoftheEPA’sworkisespeciallyimportantinKFTC’sCanarywork,fromextractionineastKentuckytotheburningofcoalinLouisvilleandbeyond.

Residents in Knott County are used to living with the problems that come with mountaintop removal coal mining. Above a children’s playground sits below a mountaintop removal site at Carr Creek Lake in �00�.

Come and visit with us - see it with your own eyes - then help us stop LEECO - for our water, homes, and health!

Knowing the EPA’sprimary concern is withwater quality and envi-ronmental justice, resi-dents were relieved tohear Keyes Fleming say,attheendofthecall,shewouldbecontactingLisaGarciaatEPAheadquar-tersaboutapossibleEn-vironmental Justice tour through Kentucky. Readthe sidebar for more in-formationaboutEPAandenvironmentaljustice. The EPA is still re-viewing LEECO’s appli-cation to dump miningwastesintolocalstreams,but this community hasalreadyhadquiteanim-pactontheirdecisiononthispermit. Since the initial callwasheld,aKFTCactionalert, and a balancing the scales article, a revisedproposal has emerged from LEECOwith only 1 valley fill (instead of 6) and 100lessacrestobemined. On top of that, some EPA officials are still unhappy with the permit be-cause“thecommunityhasseriouscon- (continued on next page)

cernsaboutit.” Thisisn’tthevisitthecommunityisaskingfor,oradenialofthepermit,butitisagreatstartandcouldevenbeseenassomethingofavictory. From writing letters, talking to

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page 9

Local UpdatesMadison County chapter breaks fundraising goal; members work with allies to raise awareness for Berea Fairness

(continued from previous page)Stacy Branch wants EPA tourneighbors, forwarding action alerts,making phone calls, mailing artwork,andnowspeakingdirectlytotheEPA,members, friends, and distant allieshaveabsolutelymadealastingimpacton this permit decision and perhapseven future permits in communitiesseeking equal environmental protec-tionandjustice. An Environmental Justice tour could impact how the Clean Water Act is enforced in east Kentucky movingforwardandthefutureoftrueenviron-mentaljusticeinourcommunities Please continue this journey forjusticebycontactingGwendolynKeyesFleming, EPA Region 4 Administrator

and Lisa Garcia, Environmental Jus-tice. Let Keyes Fleming and Garciaknow these communities appreciatetheirattentionandwillingnesstolisten.However, an Environmental Justice tourineastKentuckyandinthesecom-munitiesiscrucialtotheEPA’sdecisiononLEECOpermit#897-0480andfutureprotection under the Clean Water Act. ThefutureofStacy’sBranchandLottsCreek should not be sacrificed. EncourageKeyesFlemingandGar-ciatovisitand,asPamMaggardstatedto“continuetheirnewcommitmenttoputting clean water and health abovemining profits.”

ACTION Needed: Environmental Justice Tour Needed in Eastern Kentucky

EPA officials need to strengthen their resolve to protect the community by enforcing the Clean Water Act. Please send a message in support of local residents’ request asking EPA officials to come visit Stacy’s Branch and neigh-boring Lotts Creek before they make a decision on Leeco permit #�9�-0��0.

Send your message to:

Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming Lisa GarciaEPA Region 4 Administrator Environmental JusticeAtlanta Federal Center USEPA Headquarters61 Forsyth Street, SW Ariel Rios Building Atlanta, GA 30303-3104 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. 404-562-8357 Mail Code: 1101A Wash, DC 20460keyesfleming.gwendolyn@epa.gov 202-564-1259 garcia.lisa@epa.gov

On a beautiful June day in Madison County, the local KFTC chapter heldtheir annual Spring “Friend-Raiser.”More than 125 KFTC members and friendscameouttoHomeGrownHide-Aways (homegrownhideaways.org), a gorgeous farm outside of Berea, tospend time together and celebrate allofthehardworkthatKFTCdoesyear-round. Members ate a delicious potluckdinner, danced to live bluegrass musicfromtheBlindCornLiquorPickers,hadfun outbidding each other on a silentauction that raised money for KFTC,and some younger members even

playedaroundinthenearbycreek. The silent auction was bigger andbetter than ever. KFTC members do-nated everything from an inoculatedmushroomlog toa tattoo froma localtattooshop.Therewerealsoaliveduckandchicken,alocalbandofferingtheirsong-writing services, home-madegoods,andsomuchmore! Thechapterevenbrokeitspreviouschapterfundraisingrecordsbybringinginmorethan$1,000fromthesingleeventandgaineddozensofnewmembers.

FAIRNESS Chaptermembershavebeenactive

inalocalcampaigntobringaFairnessOrdinance to Berea. KFTC joined astrongcoalitionof localbusiness lead-ers,faithleaders,studentsandcommu-nitygroupsinstandingupandspeak-ingoutforfairness. Similar to legislation passed inCovington,LexingtonandLouisville,aBereaFairnessLawwouldprohibitdis-crimination in employment, housingand public accommodations based onsomeone’sperceivedsexualorientationorgenderidentity. “Thisisalawthatwereallyneed,”said Berea KFTC member Jason How-

ard.“Ifthisispassedbythecitycoun-cil,Bereawouldbecomeonlythefourthcity in Kentucky to have this (fairness ordinance). Fairness is a family value, fairnessisareligiousvalueandfairnessisaBereavalue.” KFTC members and others in thecoalition have been organizing to getagoodpresenceatpublicforumsheldby the city council and written com-mentssubmittedtothecouncilaswell.Avoteislikelytooccursometimethissummer. KFTC membersplan to keeporganizing until they win the fairnessforBereans!

KFTC member Jason Howard spoke at a June 9 press conference with Berea citizens, KFTC members, and allies in attendance. The groups gathered united under the name Bereans For Fairness. The citizens are working to make Berea the fourth city in Kentucky to adopt a Fairness ordinance.

Happy Birthday KFTC

30 Years of Action For Justice!

Save-the-Date August ��, �011

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page 10

from having their camping permits re-voked (at 10 p.m. after camp was set up) toconstantnoiseandthreatswhiletheytriedtosleep. Organizerswerequicktoreacttotheadversity and pressure placed on thembyindustryinterestsandpoliticiansact-ingforthecoalindustry. Marchers had to adapt and move

Canary Project UpdateBlair Mountain 90 years later – unions, labor and citizens fight to protect the historical site and a better future for Appalachia Ninety years ago, 10,000 coal min-ers marched on Blair Mountain in West Virginia to fight for workers’ rights and theirunion.Thiswasthelargestarmed,working-class uprising in the UnitedStates.Theseminersweremetbyindus-try gun thugs whom they battled, andby theirowngovernment thatdroppedbombsontheminers. The march on Blair Mountain wasthe first time the U.S. government had brought arms against its own people.The battle for Blair Mountain ensued,killingandwoundingmany,andexpos-ing the industry’s contempt for unionandlaborrights. Fast-forward to Blair in early June 2011 and one could witness the samestruggleoccurringagain,90yearslater. PeoplefromallovercametoMarmet,WV to march on Blair Mountain – to pre-serve it, to fight to abolish mountaintop removalcoalmining,tostrengthenlaborrights, and to fight for an investment in sustainable job creation for all Appala-chiancommunities. This time it was not only minerswho strapped up their boots. It wascitizens from all over the community,environmentalgroupsandlaborunionsincluding the United Mine Workers of

America local chapters. Together theymarched and rallied in solidarity tohonor those who fought 90 years ago,and also to protect the land, water andpeopleofAppalachia. In a sea of “rednecks” – marcherswore red bandanas to show respectto those original 10,000 miners – theymarched for 50 miles from Marmet to Blair, WV. At times the crowd was 300 people deep wielding homemade signsthatread,“AppalachiaDeservesaClean,LocalEconomy,”“SaveBlairMountain,”andmanyothers. Hundredsofpeoplemarchingalongnarrow, winding mountain roads doesnothappenoften,isnotparticularlysafe,andinvolvedinherentpersonalrisk. The actual march was not the onlyrisk to the participants. Many weregreeted with taunts, signs, horns andclose-running coal trucks from thosewhosupporttheindustry. Inaninterestingjuxtaposition,min-ers and their families, many of thosewho enjoy the benefits that the original miners fought for in1921,harassed themarchers. “Over half of the local residentsalongtheroutewereverysupportiveofour march,” said Russell Oliver, KFTC

member from Perry County. “On the first dayofthemarchalocalmanwhosup-portedussatonhisfourwheeleralongthe road, with flowers and a sign that said ‘Thank You’ He felt that he could not stand up for this march for fear hemightloosehisjob.” Harassment did not stop each dayattheendofthemarch.Everynightthemarchers faced a different challenge

Some KFTC members reunited on the final day of the march before the rally.

One of the many creative signs on the march. These youth showed the context of this march, just like the original one in 19�1, was by and for workers and their supporters, against an abusive industry that fights labor and union rights.

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Long-time KFTC members Sue Tallichet (Rowan County), Doug Doerrfeld (Rowan County), and Bev May (Floyd County) met up at the rally and showed their KFTC unity in matching shirts.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page 11

forward,soeverymorningandeveningmarchers were shuttled from a homebase (a warehouse in Marmet) to the starting point and back in the evening.This added significant logistics, time and cost to the mobilization but marcherswerewillingtodowhathadtobedonetoraiseawarenesstoprotectBlairMoun-tain. “The thing that impressed me themostaboutthewholeweekwasthede-gree of commitment and sacrifice I saw fromagenerationofyoungpeoplewhoaresooftenaccusedofbeingdetached,shallow, and unconcerned with socialjustice,” said KFTC member John Hen-nen.“Itwasparticularlyinspiringtoseethe respectful interaction and genuineaffectionbetweentheyoungerandolderfolks.” The marchers moved forward, dayafter day, escorted by police the entireroute until they reached their finaldestination, Blair Mountain. Marchersjoinedwithhundredsofother support-ers, which included Bobby Kennedy Jr., Kathy Mattea, Ken Hechler and manymore. Together, a thousand strong, theyrallied for the preservation of BlairMountain and for a different visionand path forward for the Appalachianeconomy.

Canary Project UpdateThe fight for historic Blair Mountain – 90 years later

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KFTC members John Hennen (Rowan County), Bev May (Floyd County) and Russell Oliver (Perry County) marched and helped with daily logistics for the March on Blair Mountain.

After the rally more than 150 indi-vidualsdecidedtoheaduptothetopofBlair Mountain to reclaim the battlefield. “We ran up a side trail onto coal company property. This was trespassandsubjecttoarrest,whichweallknew,and everyone clambered over an iron-bar fence crossing the trail,” Hennenrecalled. “A red Wackenhut security truck wasontheothersideofthegate,withaguy videotaping everything. He askedme if we knew we were trespassing, Isaid, ‘Yup,’ and stayed to help others overthefenceandupthetrail. “We proceeded over a mile up this rockytrailuntiloneofourlegalteaman-nounced we were officially on the battle site,” Hennen continued. “We erupted in cheers and singing. We ‘reclaimed’ the battlefield for the people of West Virginia andthenation.” Thesecond“battle”forBlairMoun-tain is far from over. The coal industrystillplansto turn it intoamountaintopremoval site unless the mountain canonce again be protected and placed ontheNationalRegisterofHistoricPlaces. This march was the second massmobilization planned by AppalachiaRising. The first was in Washington, D.C.inthefallof2010wherethousandsof citizens from Appalachia descendeduponthecity,andmanywerearrestedin

anactofcivildisobedienceinfrontoftheWhite House. “We’re much stronger when we all stand up together for what is right,”Floyd County member Bev May statedattheendofthemarch.

Bobby Kennedy Jr. and KFTC member Stanley Sturgill both spoke at the rally after the March on Blair Mountain. The crowd of more than 1,000 people sang “Happy Birthday” to Sturgill.

“The march was more successfulthan could have been imagined,” saidOliver. “It was a historical march thatmany felt could not be done, but over1,000ofusthatwereonthetopofBlairMountainonSaturdayknewdifferent.”

Read and watch more about the March on Blair Mountain by visiting www.MarchOnBlairMountain.org.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page 1�

Local Updates

TAKE ACTION FOR Benham and LynchPleasetellGov.SteveBeshearandEnergyandEnvironmentCabinetSecretaryLenPetersthatyousupporttheLandsUnsuitableforMiningPetition,LUM-10-1.SayyouopposeA&Gpermit848-0287andNally&Hamiltonpermit867-0472.

Talking Points1. Basedonavisionfortheirfuturethatincludedbuildinganeconomicbase

notdependentonmining,millionsofdollarswerespenttocreatePortal31,theCoalMiningMuseumandothertouristattractions,andpreservelocallandmarks.BysupportingtheLandsUnsuitablepetition,Gov.Beshearwouldhelpprotectthisinvestmentandaffirmlocalinitiatives.

2. TheA&GminewilldamagethestreamsthatprovidewaterforthecityofLynch.TheKentuckyDivisionofWaterhasa“FiveMileRule.”Itissupposedtopreventdischargesfromstripmines“withinfivemilesupstreamfromanypublicwatersupplyintake.”Itshouldfollowthisrule.

3. TheproposedNally&Hamilton stripminewoulddestroyLooneyRidgedirectlyabovePortal31.

4. TheA&GandNally&HamiltonstripmineswouldplacescoresofsedimentpondsaboveLynch.Blastingwouldbenearhomesandhistoricbuildings.

5. A&GandNally&Hamiltonwouldstripminethroughexistinggaswells.6. TheA&GandNally&Hamiltonstripmineswoulddestroytheviewsfrom

thehistoriccitiesofLynchandBenham.

Contact Sendacopyto

GovernorSteveBeshear700CapitolAvenue,Suite100Frankfort,Ky.40601(502)564-2611Fax:(502)564-2517Onlineemail:www.governor.ky.gov/contact/contact.htm

For more information and additional actions to support Benham and Lynch, please visit www.kftc.org/benham

LenPeters,CabinetSecretaryEnergyandEnvironmentCabinet5thFloor,CapitalPlazaTowerFrankfort,Ky.40601502-564-5525,ext.214Fax:502-564-3969Len.Peters@ky.gov

Harlan County members work with allies across state lines Whether you’ve been to Harlan County in the last month or not, youcould have run into Harlan CountyKFTC members in many places. FromAppalachia,VirginiatoBlairMountain,West Virginia, they’ve been traveling all overtosupporttheirfriendsandalliesinneighboringAppalachiancommuni-tiesworkingtowardsthesamepositivevisionforAppalachia. At the beginning of June, a van full ofHarlanCountyKFTCmembers,rang-ing in age from 8 to 65 years, drove over beautiful Black Mountain to join theirfriends, Southern Appalachian Moun-tain Stewards (SAMS) in Wise County, VA,foramarch,rallyandcelebrationtoSaveIsonRockRidge. Sincehearingaboutasisterstrugglein neighboring Virginia communities,with the same coal company (A &G)

that is threatening Lynch, the HarlanCounty chapter joined SAMS in orga-nizingefforts.Fromawatermonitoringtraininglastyear,totherecentrallyfortheirmountains. Carl Shoupe described their alli-ance: “A & G would love for this state line to keep us apart. But it can’t andthey [A & G] can’t!” Learn more about SAMS and thecampaign to save Ison Rock Ridge inAppalachia,VAatwww.samsva.org. Soonafterthisadventure,thatsamevan,fullofKFTCmembersfromallovereasternKentucky,madeitswaytoBlair,WV for the March on Blair Mountain. Coverageofthemarchcanbefoundinthis issue of balancing the scales and atwww.marchonblairmountain.org. While attending, Stanley Sturgill of Lynch spoke to a crowd of more than

a thousand about KFTC’s vision andwork to save Black Mountain. But be-fore they heard from him, they — thewhole thousandof them—sangStan-leyHappy Birthday. Aftergraciouslythankingthehun-dreds who had been marching the 50 miles over the past week, Stanley toldthem,“I’mrightwhereIneedtobeonmybirthday.” In the midst of all this travel, thechapter has also managed to producea brochure about the communities

working to save Black Mountain. ThisbrochureoutlinesthehistoryofBenhamand Lynch, the community’s visionandurgency,whatisatstake,andhowpeoplecangetinvolved. Download this brochure at www.kftc.org/saveblackmountain, learnabout these communities, and thenprintasmanycopiesasyoucantosharewith others. You can also fi nd a larger visioning booklet on the web page tohelpgettoknowthepeoplebehindthestory.

KFTC member and Harlan County resident Stanley Sturgill marched to protect Ison Rock Ridge in Appalachia, Virginia. Members from Harlan County traveled to show support for their neighbors across state lines, showing that the coal-fi eld struggle to stop the destruction from mountaintop removal coal mining is a united regional effort.

Bev May shared a sample of her water with Governor Beshear, 2011

Happy 30th Birthday, KFTC

30 Years Of Action For JusticeTo celebrate our 30th birthday we are publishing a historical booklet full of

campaign time lines, stories and ads of support.

If you, your church, organization or business would like to purchase an

inexpensive ad, contact Jerry Hardt for more information and rates.

Jerry@KFTC.org or call502-614-6637

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page 1�

Canary Project UpdateChapman-Crane works with people of faith for healthy airIn May, Letcher County member Sharman Chapman-Crane was a Clean Air Ambassa-dor to the 50 States United for Healthy Air convening. She was accompanied by Jeff, her husband.

bySharmanChapman-Crane

It began as an invitation from theNationalCouncilofChurchestorepre-sentKentuckyaspeopleoffaith.NCCsponsored Jeff and me to go to Wash-ington, D.C. May 2-5. The event was cosponsored by the American NursesAssociation, EarthJustice, the HipHop Caucus, the NCC, and Physiciansfor Social Responsibility. There werepeople from all 50 states, native nations withinourboundaries,andPuertoRicorepresenting 43 other organizations.You can check out people and their stories on the internet at: earthjustice.org/50states. We met simultaneously with Inter-faith Power and Light folks who werealso gathered to speak to the same is-sues.Around200peoplegatheredwiththesamevision,thesamevoice. Tuesday morning included every-one introducing themselves and thensometrainingineffectivelobbying.Theafternoon held meetings with White House officials and Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator. Wednesday was packed with ap-

pointments and fortunately we wereassignedalobbyingfacilitatorwhogotusfrompointAtopointB–meetingtomeeting,buildingtobuilding. Our11a.m.meetingwaswithEricKing inSenatorMitchMcConnell’sof-fice. I think Mr. King may not refer to coalas“cheapenergy”everagain. At1p.m.wereconnoiteredtomeetwith Aaron Jones in Rep. Hal Rogers’ office. Mr. Jones insisted he wasn’t the point person for mining issues, buthealth issues. We insisted that using coalforpowercreateshealthissues.Hefinally agreed if he lived where we did, he’dbeinD.C.tryingtogetsomeonetolisten. At3o’clockwereportedtoSenatorRand Paul’s office to talk with Rachel Latta.She saidSenatorPaul“supportsthe Clean Air and Clean Water Acts without reservation.” We shall see. Our 4 o’clock meeting was with a“friendly”staffer,PatriciaBeneke,Dem-ocratic Senior Counsel for the SenateCommitteeonEnergyandNaturalRe-sources. She was very welcoming, hasa good grasp of mountaintop removalandcoal ash issues. Shealso providedseveralleadstolearnmoreaboutnitro-fracking.Shehadneverheardofit. Jeff and I quickly fell into a tag-teamapproachthatwasquiteeffectiveat pushing back. We left Rep. Rogers a written invitation to contact Stanley

Sharman Chapman-Crane (pictured left) has been a longstanding KFTC member in Letcher County. In the picture above, Chapman-Crane was one of the many voices who worked with the Beehive Collective on their True Cost of Coal project.

Sturgill, KFTC member, about coming“home”forameetingwithus.Andweleftliteratureandphotographsforeachrepresentative. We were invited to stay an extra daytobeasilentpresenceonThursdaymorningataspecial“hearing”calledbyRep.BobGibbsofOhioon“EPAminingpolicies–AssaultonAppalachianjobs.”You may have seen Jeff talking with Kentucky’s Dr. Leonard Peters, secre-taryofEnergyandEnvironmentCabi-net.Dr.Petersandhisfellowwitnessestestified that we (environmentalists) are wealthy outsiders, we’ve created thedomestic energy crisis, helped foreignenergyproducers,andshutdownmanysmall coal companies – costing jobs,creating undue burdens on the coalindustry,creatinghighunemployment,pushing for water quality criteria thathasbarelybeenstudied… The most truthful thing that wassaidwasthatthecoalindustryhasover160 applications waiting on the EPA –because they (the coal companies) don’t knowwhata“good”applicationlookslike,onethatwillbegrantedapermit. Now, since returning home, I’vewritten thank-yous and reminders toeveryone we met with, letters to theeditorsfortheWashington PostandtheLexington and Louisville newspapers,andlastlynowsigningoffascorrespon-dentforLetcherCounty.

Canary BriefsClean Water Mini-Lobby Week

KFTCmemberswillreturntothehallsofCongressinJulyforthenextMini-LobbyWeekinsupportoftheCleanWaterPro-tectionAct.MembersfromothergroupswiththeAllianceforAp-palachiawillalsoparticipate. ThelobbydaysareJuly25-27,withthe24thand28thtobeusedfortravel. Anyoneinterestedinbe-ingpartoftheKFTCdelegationshouldcontactKevinPentzatKevin@kftc.orgor606-335-0764.

Surface Mining Law Training

Peoplecanlearnmoreaboutusingthe1977federalSurfaceMineControlandReclamationAct(SMCRA)toprotecttheirhomesandtheircommunitiesataworkshopJuly29-30inPittsburgh.ItissponsoredbytheCitizensCoalCouncil,anationalnetworkofcitizensgroupsfrommoststateswherecoalismined(thereare26)andNativeAmeri-cannations. TheAllianceforAppalachiahassomescholarshipsavailableforKFTCmembers.Ifinterested,contactKevinPentzatKevin@kftc.orgor606-335-0764.

Mediation in Clean Water Case

Court-orderedmediationintheCleanWaterEnforcementcaseagainstICGandFrasureCreekminingcompaniessetforJune8waspostponedattherequestofthemediator,forper-sonalandprofessionalreasons.Themediatorsaidhereceived1,500pagesofcasefileslessthan48hoursbeforethemedia-tionsession,whichdidnotgivehimadequatetimetoprepare. AttorneysforKFTCandourallies,theKentuckyEnergyandEnvironmentCabinetandthetwocompaniesinsteadwentbeforeFranklinCircuitJudge

PhillipShepherdtorequestthatthedeadlineformediationbeextended,whichhedidwithaJuly26deadline. JudgeShepherdalsoaffirmedhisgoaltoeitherhavethecaseheard,oramediatedsettlementpresentedtohim,inlateAugust. ThecompaniesareguiltyofthousandsofviolationsoftheCleanWaterActineasternKentuckyoveratwo-yearperiod.KFTCandouralliesintervenedwhenstateofficialsproposedasettlementwithweakcorrec-tiveactionandminimalfines–whichhavedonenothingtostopongoingviolations.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page 1�

Voting Rights UpdatePrimary election suffers from lackluster voter turnout The 2011 Kentucky Primary Elec-tionhascomeandgone,andnowKFTCmembers are taking some time to ana-lyzetheresultsandthe impactof theirVoterEmpowermentworkbeforemov-ingforward. The strongest theme throughoutelection day, unfortunately, was lowvoter turnout. Predicted tobebetween9 - 10 percent, actual turnout was stillquitepoorbutbeatthepredictionsabitto hit 10.35 percent – a good bit above the abysmal 1999 primary turnout butstill a far cry from the numbers manythinkrepresentastrongdemocracy. KFTC members typically have amuch higher voter turnout percent-age.This information for theMaypri-mary will not be available for severalmonths. KFTC’s non-partisan Voter Em-powerment work this primary electionwas modest, but important, includingvoter registrationevents inmanycom-munities earlier this year, solid votermobilization phone banks in severalchapters, distributing voter guides, re-ceiving 13,000 page views at www.KentuckyElection.org, running a votermobilizationaddonFacebookthatwasseen 800,000 times, getting 950 people topledgetovotethroughaKFTCFace-bookevent,mailingapostcardto13,400households of KFTC members andfriends, and keeping up a good drum-beatofnewscomingthroughtheKFTCblog,balancing the scalesandotherchan-nelsabouttheprimary.

Therealsoweresomechapter-leveleventstoeducateandmobilizevoters. Hereare someof theactual resultsoftheraces:

Governor - Republican PrimaryName Votes Vote%Williams, David 68,540 48%Moffett, Phil 53,950 38%Holsclaw,Barbara 19,616 14%

Secretary of State - Democratic PrimaryName Votes Vote%Grimes, Alison 85,438 55%Walker, Elaine 69,202 45%

Secretary of State - Republican PrimaryName Votes Vote%Johnson, Bill 66,430 50%Legg, Hilda 65,332 50%

Auditor - Republican PrimaryName Votes Vote%Kemper, John 70,874 57%Wuchner, Addia 52,876 43%Treasurer - Democratic PrimaryName Votes Vote%Hollenbach,Todd 106,17471%Hamrick,Steve 43,463 29%

Agriculture Commissioner - Democratic PrimaryName Votes Vote%Farmer, Robert 45,666 30%Lackey, John 31,560 21%Wilson, B.D. 29,245 19%Gritton,Stewart 24,897 17%

Williams, David 18,879 13%

Agriculture Commissioner - Republican PrimaryName Votes Vote%Comer, James 86,322 67%Rothenburger,Rob 43,142 33%

An interesting take-away from thisisjusthowfewvotesitmayhavetakentoshifttheresultsofsomeoftheseracesonewayoranother. Theclosest raceby farwas theRe-publican Secretary of State’s race, wonby just 1,098 votes. But just 14,000 to18,000 votes separate such large racesas the Democratic Secretary of State,Republican Auditor, Democratic Ag-riculture Commissioner, and even theRepublicanGovernor’sPrimary.

As for KFTC’s non-partisan VoterEmpowermentwork,candidatesurveyswill be sent out shortly to candidateswho did not have primary contests, tostartthingsmovingonKFTC’sfallvoterguides. Therearealotofplanstobemadeabout KFTC’s door-to-door work,voterregistrationcampaignsandphonebanks. Read balancing the scales orcheck www.KFTC.org/blog for up-dates.

*Note that the deadline to actually file for office has not yet passed for independent candidates and so the field could widen a bit between now and then.

2011 Primary Election Matchups

Governor - Steve Beshear (D) vs. David Williams (R) vs. Gatewood Galbraith (I)

Secretary of State - Alison LunderganGrimes (D) vs. Bill Johnson (R)

Agriculture Commissioner -BobFarm-er (D) vs. James Comer (R)

Attorney General - Jack Conway (D) vs. Todd P’Pool (R)

Treasurer - Todd Hollenbach (D) vs. KC Crosbie (R) vs. Ken Moellman (I)

State Auditor - Adam Edelen (D) vs John Kemper (R)

On the first Saturday in August ev-eryyear,hundredsofpolitically-mind-edpeoplealongwithmanycandidatesand public officials come to a tiny town infarwesternKentuckyforarigorousday of stump speeches and barbecuecalledtheFancyFarmPicnic,aneventthattendstosetthetoneforthefollow-ingthreemonthsofelectionseason. This year, KFTC wants to bringa lot of members out to talk to can-didates and others about importantissues like voting rights, progressivetaxreform,andmountaintopremovalmining. They’ll be passing out hundredsofstickersandnewslettersandshow-ingcandidates thatourmembersare

Members begin to prepare for Fancy Farm political festivitiesinvolvedinthepoliticalprocessatalllevels. Fancy Farm festivities in GravesCounty fall on Saturday,August 6 thisyear. KFTC will have carpools leavingfrommanycommunitiesacrossthestateon August 5 (it’s a long journey from all chapter areas). The political speeches start at 2p.m., so much of the field work will be from10a.m.to2p.m. IfthereisamemberwithanRVwhowouldliketojointheKFTCdelegation,thatwouldbeespeciallyhelpful.

Anyone interested in participating is asked to contact Dave Newton at Dave@kftc.org or 859-420-8919 for more information.

KFTC members and allies have made it a habit to have a presence at the annual Fancy Farm picnic to help create political awareness for restoring voting rights.

Important Voter Dates:

Voter registration deadline: Oct. 11

General Election: Tuesday, Nov. �.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page 1�

Voting Rights UpdateFormer Felon Voices: Jason Smith, Hardin CountyTo share more of the stories from former felons across the commonwealth, this is one part of a series of short interviews that will run in balancing the scales.

A couple of weeks ago, Jason Smith, 32, from Elizabethtown succeeded inregainingtherighttovote.Heplansonvoting for the first time in the election thisNovember. But it wasn’t an easy path gettingthere,hesaid. “My father was an alcoholic and Ihadalotofproblemsathomegrowingup. I fled from that at a young age and managed to get my way through highschoolonmyown,butIdidn’talwaysmakethebestdecisionsbackthen.” “When I was 18, I got caught with ½ ounce of marijuana and an improp-erly stowed handgun in my car, andthatwasenoughtoputmein jailwitha felony. Igotput inwithsomeprettyhardenedcriminalsandgangmembers,whichdidn’texactlyhelpmeinturningmylifearound,”saidSmith. “Tobehonest, I looked tosomeoftheolderguysasmentorsthenandtheyweren’tverygoodrolemodels.I’mnotblaminganybody formyownchoices,butitwasabadpathtogeton. “AfterIbecameaparent,though,IdecidedthatIreallyneededtoturnmy

life around. It brought everything intofocusforme.Butmychoicesarereallylimitedbymypast. “I went to college and did reallywellinschool,though,learningtobeachemicaldependencyabusecounselor.ItellpeoplethatIgotaPhDinthestreetandthensharpenedthattoapointwitha college education. In all of that, I’velearnedalotthatIcanusetoreallyhelppeople. “AfterIrealizedIcouldapplytogetmyvotingrightsbackthroughapartialpardon from the governor, I knew Ihad to try. Because being silent in thisdemocracy and having my kids be si-lenced too, by extension, didn’t seemright.” “I applied to get my rights backand then followed up by phone everycoupleofdays,butneverheardback. “Finally, I visited the court in per-son and asked about my case. TheyclaimedthatIhadafailuretoappearincourtoffenseonmyrecord,butIknewthat wasn’t right. When I contested it, they toldme that I’dprobablyhave togetalawyer.” Smithpushedbackandstubbornlywaited in the office until he could con-vincesomeonetotakethetimetolookinto it more deeply. Eventually, theyfound that the records of the Jason

Jason Smith worked relentlessly to regain his right to vote. Through flawed systems and clerical errors, Smith over-came each barrier to be an example for his son and for others.

Smith they had on file belonged to a man with a different birthday, so Jason’s application had stopped because ofsomething another Jason Smith did. “Admittedly, it’s a pretty commonname,” Smith said, laughing. Still, henoted that most people wouldn’t havebeen persistent enough to push theirwaythroughasnaglikethat. “I’m pretty bull-headed, really,”Smith said. “I have a great educationandIwaswillingtoreallyfollow-uponmyapplication,butthere’speoplewhodon’thavemybullheadednessorluck,andI’mafraidthey’renotgettingtheirrightsback.” Andindeed,morethan120,000Ken-tuckians haven’t been able to navigatethe process that Smith went through.He’sdedicatedtohelpingthem,too. “AfterIgotmyrighttovoteback,Iposted the certificate on Facebook and a few other people approached me toseeifIcouldhelpthemgettheirrightsback.I’mhelpingafewthroughthepro-cessrightnow.” He also spent some time lookingfor organizations that work on VotingRights and discovered KFTC by find-ing a news story about KFTC’s VotingRights Rally in Frankfort earlier thisyear.Hemanagedtoblowuponeoftheimagesbigenoughthathecouldmake

outtheletters“KFTC.” “Ihavealoudenoughvoiceonmyowntogetmyrightsback,”saidSmith.“Alotofpeopledon’t,butKFTChelpsother people to have a loud voice andI want to be a part of that. I’ve neverdoneanythingsmallinmylifeandI’mlookingforwardtodoingsomethingbigwiththis.”

Voting Rights Coalition sets plans in motion for 2012 More than 40 KFTC members andallies came together in Louisville onJune 11 to revitalize the Voting Rights Coalition work to restore voting rightsto former felons who have paid their

debttosociety. Representativesfromaboutadozenorganizations came from Louisville,Lexington, northern Kentucky, George-town, Elizabethtown, Frankfort and

Prestonsburg.Tenformerfelonswereinattendance,providingkey insightsandpersonalstories. It’s been more than a year sincethe group last met as a coalition on

this scale. Members spent much of themeetingsharingananalysisofhowthecampaignisgoing,talkingaboutrecentworkandbuildingrelationships. Storytelling was another key partoftheday.Participantsbrokeintopairsto practice telling powerful personalstoriesaboutwhytheyindividuallycareaboutthisissue. Theydidsomeworkthatresultedina continuation of a series in balancing the scalescalled“FormerFelonVoices”thattellsstoriesaboutindividualformerfelonsfromacrossthestate. Alotwasaccomplishedatthismeet-ing, and folks were eager to organizeanother meeting soon to build moresolidplansmovingforward.TheideaofhavingthismeetinginGeorgetownandincluding a field activity (like a door-to-door canvass) got some traction. Watch KFTC’swebsiteatwww.KFTC.orgforaspecific date.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page 16

Renew East Kentucky UpdateRenew East Kentucky campaign grows from years of work KFTC’s Renew East Kentucky campaign devel-opedoverthepastfewyearsfrommembers’worktoreformthe ruralelectric co-opsand tostop thecoal-burningSmithplant. KFTCmembersgotinvolvedinthisworkbecausethey had a vision, one in which “our communitieshave good jobs that support our families withoutdoing damage to the water, air, and land.” KFTCmembers and leaders identified that the Smith plant proposed by the East Kentucky Power Cooperative,andsupportedbyits16distributionco-ops,stoodinthewayofthatvision. Inthespringof2009,KFTCbeganactivelyorga-nizingtohelpco-opmembersbecomemoreinvolvedintheirco-ops,includingrunningforco-opboardsofdirectors,andtostopconstructionoftheSmithplant. Throughout the campaign, KFTC members werevision-centered and solutions-oriented. At co-op an-nualmeetingsandpermithearingsmemberscarriedthemessagethat“thereisabetterway.”Thesolutionsthatmembersproposed–astrong investment inen-ergy efficiency and local renewable energy to offset theneedforthedangerousplantandtocreatemuch-neededlocaljobs–wassupportedbyresearch. Inthesummerof2010,KFTCpublishedanarticlein the journalSolutions thatused this research to layout a detailed vision and plan for what the co-opscouldbedoing insteadofspendingnearly$1billiononariskycoalplant. Thisplancalledforanaggressiveprogramofen-ergy efficiency and renewable energy – funded with $100 million per year for five years with loans from the federalgovernment–throughouttheco-oparea.Theplan called for the co-ops to help their members af-ford the energy efficiency upgrades through an on-bill financing mechanism, in which members would pay back thecostof theupgradeswith theirenergysav-ingsrightontheirbill;therewouldbenoprohibitiveup-frontcosts. Additionally, the plan called for a coordinatedworkforcedevelopmenteffort,solocalworkerswouldbeproperlytrainedtostepintothesethousandsofnewjobs that would be created. And finally, the plan called for a virtual roundtable of stakeholders – from non-profit housing groups to local governments – working togethertoensurethesuccessoftheseinvestments. InNovember2010,theSmithplantwascancelledandKFTCwasabletopivotandconcentrateonorga-nizingaroundthisplan.Thisnewcampaignofworkto make this plan a reality, ramping up this springandsummer,iscalledtheRenewEastKentuckyCam-paign. “Renew East Kentucky” has a double meaning;“EastKentucky”isshortfortheEastKentuckyPowerCooperativeaswellasthegeographicareaofeasternKentucky – and both the co-op and the region areprimedforrenewal. TheRenewEastKentuckyCampaignisanimpor-tant and achievable first step in the Appalachian Tran-

sition.Thisworkwillbeabletohavenotonlytangibleenergy, economic and job creation benefits, but can alsobegintoshiftpublicperceptiontowardtransition,offeraproactiveplanthatallbut themost fearfulorcoal-captive politicians can promote, and launch anew,growingsectorofthenationaleconomyrightineasternKentucky. Itisanimmediatesolutiontothehostofcomplexproblemsfacingtheregionandcouldbemodeled inruralareasacrosstheUnitedStates. Sincelastfall,twoimportantpartsoftheplanthatKFTC is working to make successful with the cam-paignhavebeensetinmotion. The first is the Demand Side Management and RenewableEnergyCollaborativethatKFTCandalliesarenowapartof,alongwithEKPC,the16distributionco-ops, and the Attorney General’s office. This Collaborative is a key first step in bringing to-getheraregionalroundtableofstakeholdersinchart-ing a clean energy path forward for the region. Thenextissueofbalancing the scaleswillincludeareporton

theworkofthisCollaborative. A second critical piece to the plan – on-bill financ-ing – has made significant progress as well. This past winter, the Kentucky Public Service Commission(PSC) approved an on-bill financing pilot project, called How$mart, in four of EKPC’s co-ops. KFTCmembersarenowbeginningtomeetwiththeirco-opleadershiptolearnhowKFTCcancollaboratetomakethisprogramasuccess. Sofar,theworkoftheCollaborativeandthemeet-ingswiththeco-opshavegoneverywell.StaytunedinthecomingmonthstolearnmoreaboutotherofKFTC’sstrategies,and theirprogress, in theRenewEastKen-tuckyCampaign,andtolearnhowtoparticipateintheofficial “launch” of the campaign later this year. If you are interested in getting involved in the Renew East Kentucky Campaign, whether you’re a co-op member or not, contact organizer Sara Pennington at 606-276-9933 or sara@kftc.org. As with all of KFTC’s campaigns, there is plenty of work to do, and we are in a truly exciting moment in which to be working to Renew East Kentucky.

Announcing a beautiful new book …

Saving Kentucky is about preserving not only land and historic property, but also a way of life. It tells the stories of an eclectic group of Kentuckians – including KFTC member Daymon Morgan – both in their own words and through the extraordinary photographs of Thomas Hart Shelby. From tenant farmers to urban revivalists, they have one thing in common: a deep connection to their heritage and a fierce determination to preserve it for future generations.

In these pages you will meet families who see, with uncommon clarity, the human value of the land. You will meet leaders, innovators and visionaries—people who are thinking about forever, not just tomorrow. Sally Van Winkle Campbell has traveled Kentucky, driving the roads of the Bluegrass, seeing first-hand the majesty, as well as the heartbreak of the eastern Appalachian Mountains, and witnessing the renewal of the commonwealth’s urban centers. More than a warning, it is an invitation – a call to each of us to embrace the future with hope and, most of all, imagination, even as we hold tight to the past.

Pick up a copy at a local independent bookstore or order online at: www.savingkentucky.com

A portion of the proceeds from this book will support the work of KFTC to save the mountains and heritage of Eastern Kentucky from mountaintop removal and valley fills.

Daymon Morgan

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page 1�

Renew East Kentucky UpdateFloyd County members look forward to collaborating with Big Sandy Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation OnMay31, threeruralelectricco-op members, along with KFTC staff,metwiththemanagementofBigSandyRuralElectricCooperativeCorporation(RECC). BigSandyRECCisoneofthefourco-ops in the East Kentucky PowerCooperative service area participatingin the new How$mart on-bill financing program,sponsoredbyMACED. KFTC members in Hueysville(Floyd County), including Rick Hand-shoe and Lowell Shepherd and theirneighborCoryHeintzelman,requestedameetingwithBigSandyRECCstafftolearn more about how the How$martprogram works, how co-op memberscan participate, and how KFTC mem-bersandotherscanjoinwiththeco-opto make the program a success. ThemembersmetwithDavidEstep,presi-dent & general manager, and Jeff Prater, operationsmanager. Themembersthankedthestafffortaking this important first step toward agreatprogramthatwillbothhelpthemost vulnerable co-op members saveontheirutilitybillsandcreatelocaljobsinanareadesperatelyinneedofthem. The co-op is just beginning to im-plementtheprogram:theyarebuildingalistofpotentialparticipantsbasedonenergyauditsthey’veperformedinthepast, and they are planning their first fewHow$martinvestmentscarefullytomakesuretheprojectisasuccess. ThemembersthensharedalittlebitabouthowKFTCworks–thatwearea

grassroots organizing group and haveexperience tabling and going door-to-door to win issues. The membersandstaffdiscussedhowtheco-opandKFTCcouldcollaboratetobringatten-tion to the program and to promotemore energy efficiency among all co-op members. Memberswerepleasantlysurprisedwhen the co-op staff began providingsuggestionsandaskingquestionsabouthow the two nonprofits can coordinate and assist each other in communica-tions and community organizing tobringsupporttotheprogram. The group left with next steps– including further conversations andideas for joint outreach –andpositivefeelingsallaround. “Ifeltgoodaboutthemeeting.Ibe-lieve we achieved something,” LowellShepherdsaid.“Ibelievewe’reonthesamepage.Thatwassurprisingtome.Iwaspleased.” Members in the three otherHow$mart co-op areas are in the pro-cessofschedulingmeetingswiththeirown co-op staff and management andlookingforwardtosimilarsuccessandopportunitiestocollaborate. Along with other key strategies,includingleadershipdevelopmentandcommunityoutreach,membersbelievethis approach will put citizens on thepath to a renewed East Kentucky andbeginaneconomictransitioninAppa-lachiaandbeyond.

Renew East Kentucky Member Profile: Lowell Shepherd

DuringthemeetingwithBigSandyRECC,LowellShep-herdsharedhisappreciationforthewaytheco-opranitsannualmeetingearlierthisyear. The staff fromBig SandyRECC and EKPC spoke aboutthenewdirection theco-opsneed to take,and theyem-phasizedthecooperativeprinciplesthattheco-opsshouldadhereto–animportantsetofqualitiessuchas“ConcernForCommunity” and “Education, Information, andTrain-ing”thatsetruralelectriccooperativesapartfromfor-profitandotherutilities. Shepherdsaidthatthiswasthefirsttimeinageneration

thatco-opleadersdiscussedtheseissuesattheannualmeeting. Heshouldknow:ShepherdhasattendedeverysingleannualmeetingofBigSandyRECCforthepast34years!Evenwhenhelivedoutofstateforawhile,hewouldreturnbackhometotakehisfamilytotheyearlymeetings. Shepherdhas seenmanychangesduringhisdecadesasaBigSandyRECCmemberandwasparticularlypleasedbyGeneralManagerDavidEstep’sreceptive-nessduringtheMay31meeting. Shepherdsaid,“Asthemeetingadvancedhebecamemorecomfortablewithus.Heknew thenwewere there trying tohelp themembersof theco-op savemoneyontheirelectricbillbyusingtheHow$martproject,andworkingwithBigSandyRuralElectricCo-optoachievethat.”

Big Sandy Rural Electric Co-op members Rick Handshoe (ctr), Lowell Shepherd (ctr right), and Cory Heintzelman (right) met with the management and staff of their co-op: President & General Manager David Estep (ctr left) and Operations Manager Jeff Prater (left).

More than one hundred Kentuck-iansincludinghomebuilders,architects,affordablehousingprovidersandinter-ested people from across the state at-tendedthe2011GreenHousingSummithostedbyKentuckyHabitatforHuman-ityinMay. Participants were eager to learnabout how “green” and “affordable”work together in housing constructionandremodeling. Kentucky Habitat for Humanity isaKFTCallythroughtheKentuckySus-tainableEnergyAlliance. KFTCmemberandKentuckyHab-itat’s Sustainable Building SpecialistGinger Watkins played the lead role in makingthesummitasuccess. Homebuilder and presenter KrissLowryencouragedotherbuildersinthecrowd to think “green” for more thanjusthigher-incomefamilies. Lowry noted that energy efficient housingisn’tjustanicethingtodo–itmakeseconomicsense. “The lowest income Kentuck-ianspay thehighestbillsbecause their

homes are so inefficient. This makes no sense. The more efficient we can make homes,themoremoneyweareputtingbackintopeople’spockets.” Andy McDonald, director of theKentucky Solar Partnership, told thecrowd about the Kentucky SustainableEnergyAlliance,notingthatthealliancepromotes sustainable energy solutionsthatareaffordableforallKentuckians. McDonaldexplainedthatthepolicysolution supported by KySEA, knownas the Clean Energy Opportunity Act,would require utilities to invest a sub-stantial amount in efficiency upgrades to housing with lower-income familieslivinginthem. Howfarcan“green”goandstillbeaffordable? Architect, builder and KFTC mem-ber Dick Levine, who has decades oflocal,nationalandinternationalexperi-ence in the design and building fields, reiterated other speakers’ commentsthat the creation of affordable zero netenergyhomesacrossthestateshouldbeasharedgoal.

Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance Update

Green housing summit unites

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page 1�

KySEA Member Groups:•AlternativeEnergiesKentucky,LLC•Appalachia-ScienceinthePublicInterest

•AveryandSun•BluegrassGreenworks,Inc.•CLEANCalltoAction•CleanEnergyActionProject•CoalitionfortheAdvancementofRegionalTransportation(CART)

•CommunityFarmAlliance•CumberlandChapter,SierraClub•DovetailSolarandWind•EarthWorks,LLC•EarthwellEnergyManagement,Inc.•EcosMaterialsandServices,LLC•effEnergy,LLC•EnergySystemsGroup•FederationofAppalachianHousingEnterprises,Inc.

•FrankfortClimateActionNetwork•FrontierHousing•GenesisDevelopmentofKentucky,LLC

•GlobalEnvironmentalServices,LLC•GolfwoodServices,Inc.•HomelessandHousingCoalitionofKentucky

•ImpactEnergy,LLC•KentuckiansForTheCommonwealth•KentuckyConservationCommittee•KentuckyEnvironmentalFoundation•KentuckyHabitatforHumanity•KentuckyInterfaithPowerandLight•KentuckySolarEnergySociety•KentuckySolarPartnership•KentuckyStudentEnvironmentalCoalition

•LeagueofWomenVotersofKentucky•LexCoolCity.org•LouisvilleClimateActionNetwork•LoweCreekFarm•MadisonCountyHomeEnergyIm-provementProgram

•MetropolitanHousingCoalition•MountainAssociationforCommunityEconomicDevelopment

•PassionistEarthandSpiritCenterInc•Phinx,LLC•PhoenixComfortSystems,LLC•RegenEnSolar•TheGreenConvene•ShakerLandingHydroAssociates,Inc.•SolarEnergySolutions•WomeninTransition

Kentucky Sustainable Energy Al-liance (KySEA) members gathered on May24toexplorelessonslearnedoverthelastyearandtoplanfortheupcom-ingyear. KFTC was a founding member ofthis alliance and was represented byMaryLoveandSteveBoyceatthemeet-ing. Membersdiscussedthecurrentstateof Kentucky’s energy landscape andfuture, as well as reflection about the lessonslearnedfromthe2011legislativesession,duringwhichKySEAmemberslobbiedandgavepowerfultestimonyinsupport of the Clean Energy Opportu-nityAct. TheCleanEnergyOpportunityAct,sponsoredbyRepresentativeMaryLouMarzian in the2011GeneralAssembly,was designed to increase Kentucky’suse of energy efficiency and renewable energy, while creating thousands ofjobs. KySEA members have agreed tosupport theCleanEnergyOpportunity

Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance UpdateKySEA prepares to advance work in 2012 legislative session

Actagainifitisintroducedinthe2012legislativesession.

Primary goals for KySEA in the coming year are:• Build support for the Clean Energy

OpportunityAct,

•Seekpassageofgoodenergylegisla-tionduringthe2012GeneralAssem-bly that defines a new direction for Kentucky,

• Build the capacity and effectivenessofthealliance,

• Promote conversation about thebenefits and feasibility of energyefficiency and renewable energy in Kentucky.

Duringthemeeting,membersbegantoplotoutacourseofactionintheareasofresearch,outreachandeducation,andalliance-buildingeffortsinordertomeetthesegoals.

KFTC Chairperson Steve Boyce and member Mary Love represent KFTC at the May meeting of the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance (KySEA).

KFTC co-founded the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance with other groups in 2009. Since then, KySEA has grown tremendously in many different sectors. KySEA now has 46 member groups across many sectors and a number of indi-vidual members.

KySEAmembersalsogotapreviewof an outreach presentation called theCleanEnergyRoadShow. Itcovers thebasics of what types of clean energyexistinKentuckyandexplorestheirfea-sibility.Italsoconsiderswhatobstaclesare currently in place to widespreaddeploymentofthoseresources.

KFTCstaffandmemberswillbeof-feringthispresentationtochaptersandgroups throughout the state over thenextyear,solookforitinyourarea!

If your group or church is interested in joining KySEA or hearing a presentation of the Clean Energy Road Show, contact nancy@kftc.org.

To learn more about the Clean Energy Opportunity Act or to find general informa-tion about energy efficiency and renewable energy in Kentucky, visit the KySEA website

at www.kysea.org.

In 2009, the Ohio state legislaturepassed an energy efficiency portfolio standard, similar to the one that theKentucky Sustainable Energy AlliancehassupportedforKentucky. ThestandardrequiresOhioutilitiestooffsetaportionofelectricitydemandintheirserviceareasthroughenergyef-

ficiency investments each year. AcostanalysisoftheOhiostandardestimates the efficiency standard has saved Ohioans $56 million over and above its costs during its two years inplace. (Source: Environmental and Law Policy Center and the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy)

KySEA Brief: Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards

Happy Birthday KFTCSave-the-Date August ��, �011

Cathedral Domain

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011 Page 19

Economic Justice UpdateRep. Hal Rogers’ budget cuts target mothers and children

While U.S Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget has receivedthebulkof the nationalmedia’s atten-tion, it’s Ken-tucky’sownRep.Hal Rogers whoappropriates thefunding in that

budget. As chair of the House Appropria-tions Committee, Rep. Rogers decideshowtoallocateallofwhatiscalled“dis-cretionary” spending – investments ineverythingthatisn’thealthcareorSocialSecurity. AbouthalfoftheU.S.discretionaryspendingisspentforthemilitary. The other half goes to the variousstructures of the federal governmentthat were created to meet the nation’ssharedgoalsandpriorities–education,public safety, transportation, housing,agriculture, food safety, environmentalsafeguards, and other programs thathelpholdtogetherthefabricofsociety. The Women, Infants, Children (WIC) nutrition program is one if these. WIC ensuresabaselineofhealthcareandnu-tritionforlow-incomepregnantwomen,breastfeeding women, and infants andchildren under five years old. Its goals are to improve the resultsof pregnancies, lower the risk of infantdeath and low-birth-weight babies,andensurethatbabiesandchildrenarehealthyandwell-nourished. Women and children who partici-pate in WIC get access to nutritious food

likeeggs,milk,cereal,peanutbutteranddried beans, nutrition education andcounseling,andcanbereferredforfoodstampsorhealthcareprograms. Despite the program’s importanceandsuccess,Rep.Rogers’budgetaimstocut the WIC nutrition program by more than$832million. The Center for Budget and PolicyPrioritiesfoundthatunderRogers’bud-get, if food prices remain stable – andeconomistswarnthattheyareonasharprise – 200,000 to 350,000 WIC-eligible women and children would be turnedawayfromtheprogramnextyear. How would this impact Rep. Rog-ers’owndistrict? VanessaHall,aKFTCmemberofthePikeCountychapterandateacher,saidthat cuts to theseprograms don’t serveKentucky’schildren. “We should be concerned about our communities. Our children are ourfuture.Ifyoudon’tfertilizeyourgardenyou’re not going to get a good crop,”Hallsaid.“Ifwewithholdnourishmentfromthefuturegeneration,wehavenofuture.” HallalsowonderedwhatRep.Rog-ers has done in his 30 years of holdingCongressional office to move the 5thdis-trictforward. “The people who have the pull toget the tax breaks aren’t the kind ofbusinesses we want in here. We need to figure out what a good job really is, then wehavetocreatethoseourselves. “We have to stop the brain drain. My child left, one of my nieces is inLexington, and others left,” said Hall.“Onehundredpercentofthekidsinmy

family have leftthe area. I wantmy family here.I need my fam-ilyhere.” Hall added,“I don’t thinkH a l R o g e r shas done all hecould. Maybehedoesn’tknowtheanswers,buthe has the re-sources to findthem. He needstodoabetterjobof getting thatdone.” Rep.Rogers’

budget also makes some striking cutsto the Department of Energy’s (DOE) renewable energy and energy efficiency programs—weatherization, implemen-tation of a smartgrid, wind energy re-searchandimplementation,andseveralothers. Alongside these cuts are increasestotheDOE’sfossilfuelsprograms;he’sproposed giving the Office of Fossil Fu-elsmorefundingthanitevenrequested.KFTCstaffandmembersarecontinuingto learn about these cuts, and will besharingoutoverthecomingweeks.

In the meantime, KFTC members are de-veloping strategies to help Kentuckians, especially East Kentuckians in the 5th district, hold Rep. Rogers accountable for these proposals. Here’s what you can do today:

• Write a letter to the editor. What do you think about Rep. Roger’s pro-posals, and their impacts on fami-lies,smallbusinessowners,andjobs

Economic Justice Quick Hits

• CEOs of the U.S.’s top companiesenjoyedan11percentjumpinpaylastyear.

• An April 17 Washington Post/ABCpoll found 72 percent support raisingtaxesonAmericanswithincomesover$250,000 per year as the bestway toeliminate the national debt. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/poli-tics/polls/postpoll_04172011.html)

•ThelatestnationalsurveybythePewResearch Center for the People & thePress found that about two thirds ofcitizens are okaywith: a) rolling backcorporate tax breaks, and b) raisingtaxesonwealthyindividuals.

• The New York Times/CBS foundthat 72 percent of the people in theU.S. approve of increasing federaltaxesonhouseholdsmakingmorethan$250,000ayear,startingin2013.Fifty-fivepercentofRepublicanswantthetaxhike,alongwith74percentofindepen-dentsand83percentofDemocrats.

• Still, SenatorMcConnell and othersinCongressarepushingforalong-term

extensionoftheBush-erataxbreaksforthewealthy.AccordingtoareportfromCitizens forTax Justice, extending theBush-erataxbreaksfrom2013through2022wouldcosttheUnitedStates$5.5trillion inpublicdollars. This is twicewhat these taxcutshavecostus sincetheywereimposedin2001.

•TheU.S.’swealthiest400peopletakeinanaverageof$270millioneach.Butonly 8 percent of that income is fromsalariesorwork.Mostoftheirincomeis from capital gains and dividends,whicharetaxedatalowerratethanthemoneyyouearninyourpaycheck.

• The Fairness in Taxation Act (co-sponsored by Kentucky’s Rep. JohnYarmuth)would close these loopholesandcreatenewincometaxbracketsforpeoplemakingmorethan$1millionayear.Ifenacted,theFairnessinTaxationActwouldraisefederaltaxrevenuebymorethan$78.9billionin2011alone,according to Citizens for Tax Justice.That would more than cover the $61billion dollars in GOP-proposed cutsto Pell grants, community health cen-ters, high speed rail, Head Start, NIHfunding,housingcutsandTitleXfamilyplanning.

in the 5thdistrict?

• Helparrangeforaworkshopforyourchurch or community group. Rep.Rogers’ budget proposals haven’tmade many front pages. HelppeoplelearnaboutthembyhelpingtoarrangeaKFTCworkshopaboutwhathe’sproposing,andhowtogetinvolved with organizing for solu-tions.

• KFTC is working for solutions torenew East Kentucky and providea just transition from a coal-basedeconomy. Learn more by talkingwith your chapter organizers, andgetinvolved!

• Let Rep. Rogers know what youthink,andaskhimtojoinusinsup-portingtheFairnessinTaxationAct.Until the August recess, he’ll be at2406 Rayburn House Office Bldg, Washington, DC 20515; (202) 225-4601.

balancing the scales, June 22 , 2011Page �0

Kentucky Screening

July �9 - Aug.�Kentucky Theater

�1� E. Main St.Lexington, Kentucky

��9-��1-�9��

FREE Parking After 6 p.m.In the City Annex garage next to the Fayette County Clerk’s

offi ce...

visit www.kentuckyTheater.com for show times and tickets.

Calendar of EventsJune 27 Madison County chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian

Center (205 N. Main St., Berea)

July 4 Central Kentucky July 4 parade and table event. 9 am - 6pm. Contact Ondine@kftc.org or 859-276-0563 for more information.

July 6 Letcher County chapter meeting. 6-7 p.m., Jenkins City Lake Picnic Shed, contact Willa at 606-632-0051 for more information.

July 7 Harlan County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. in Room 219 of Southeast Community College’s Appalachian Center in Cumberland.

July 7 Scott County chapter meeting, 7 p.m., at the Georgetown Public Li-brary. Email Dave@KFTC.org or 859-420-8919 for more information or to volunteer.

July The Last Mountain screening at Village 8 Movies in Louisville KY8 - 14

July 9 Land Reform Committee Meeting 10:30 am - 4:30 pm. Contact Kevin@KFTC.org for more information.

July 9 Northern KY Voter Empowerment Strategy Meeting, 3-5 pm, Reality Tuesday’s Cafe, Email Joe@KFTC.org or call 859-380-6103.

July 11 Jefferson County chapter meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 809 South 4th Street

July 19 Northern Kentucky chapter meeting,7 pm, 25 W 7th Street Covington, KY. Email Joe@KFTC.org or call 859-380-6103.

July 19 Perry County chapter meeting, 6 pm in Hazard; contact Colleen Unroe for more information, Colleen@kftc.org or 606-632-0051.

July 21 Central Kentucky chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at the Episcopal Diocese Mission House (on the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and 4th Street) in Lexington.

July 21 Rowan County chapter meeting, 6 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church on 5th Street in Morehead.

July 23 Euchre for Justice Northern Kentucky Fundraisier. Email Joe@KFTC.org or call 859-380-6103 for more information.

July 25 Madison County chapter meeting, 7 p.m. at Berea College Appalachian Center (205 N. Main St., Berea)

July 26 Western Kentucky chapter meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm Universal Uni-tarian Church, 2033 Nashville Rd.

July 29 - The Last Mountain screening at the Kentucky Theater, Lexington KY.Aug 4

Aug 6 KFTC members travel to Fancy Farm Political Picnic. Email Dave@KFTC.org for more information.

Aug. 27 Happy 30th Birthday KFTC! All day family reunion/birthday celebrat-ing 30 years of Action for Justice. Cathedral Domain, Irvine KY. Stay tuned for more information and details about this fun event.

KFTC members mounted a successful statewide electoral campaign against the

Broad Form Deed in 1988.

Happy 30th Birthday, KFTC

30 Years Of Action For Justice

KFTC Member Max Thomas joined more than 1,000 other Kentuckians as he

rallied for New Power in 2010. statewide electoral campaign against the statewide electoral campaign against the than 1,000 other Kentuckians as he than 1,000 other Kentuckians as he

KFTC 30th Birthday PartySaturday, August 27

Noon - 10 p.m.Cathedral Domain Irvine, KY.

Family reunion, games, dinner, stories, music, hiking, swimming, night-time square dance, and �00 of your closest KFTC Family Members

Please RSVP at www.KFTC.org/birthday and be on the lookout for more details and a schedule of the birthday events.

For more information, call 606-878-2161