IG2BYITM Conference reaffirms one Appalachian’s hope for the future...

It’s been nearly two weeks since the It’s Good 2 Be Young in the Mountains conference in Harlan, Ky., and still it’s ripples are growing outward. (Photo courtesy of IG2BYITM Facebook) The “festival that breaks out into a conference,” as it was billed, was quite unlike any other conference about or for young people that’s I’ve been to in the region to date, for a few key reasons: It was wholly organized and carried out by young people; It’s social media presence was pervasive and effective in the weeks prior to the conference; And of the couple hundred or so people that attended, there may have been 10 people over 40. What’s also significant about IG2BYITM is the level of commitment and dedication flowing throughout all aspects of the conference. Commitment and dedication to place, that is – Central Appalachia, to be exact. This commitment and dedication is not to be confused as a love-fest for our mountain home. While much adoration and appreciation for our place was shared and talked about and embraced, much talk was had about the challenges we face as a region – challenges that are not small or insignificant by any measure. But while those challenges were in everyone’s minds as the conference chugged along, they were not necessarily the focus. The spotlight was reserved for what’s next – the collective future we are all building together and how we don’t want to be mired in or by the past – past mistakes, past failures, past romanticized –...

Local support for POWER+ Plan growing like wildfire

Support for the POWER+ Plan is picking up steam in Central Appalachia, as several localities have now passed resolutions in support of the plan. The Norton, Va., City Council became the first in the nation to pass a resolution supporting the POWER+ Plan in July. They were joined shortly after by the Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission and the Wise County Board of Supervisors in Virginia. City Councils in Whitesburg and Benham, Ky., passed similar resolutions last week, and have been followed this week by the Kentucky Fiscal Courts of Letcher and Harlan Counties, and the Campbell County Commission in Tennessee. In each case, the resolutions passed unanimously, which goes to show that local leaders have no qualms about accepting assistance for their communities when it is desperately needed. They live with the reality of coal’s collapse surrounding them every day, and they know the billions of dollars being offered to Central Appalachia through the POWER+ Plan would be an enormous help in bolstering their local economies. Mountain people might be prideful, but they also aren’t too proud to accept help when it comes, no matter from where it derives. The resolutions being passed are worth quoting: “The POWER+ Plan includes programs that would disburse $1 billion in funding for Abandoned Mine Land (AML) projects that create long-term business and economic opportunities; would invest millions in workforce development and job training programs in communities impacted by the decline of the coal industry; and would strengthen the health and pension plans of 100,000 retired...