In a recently released court video, Capt. Matt Hilbrecht of the Marshall County, Kentucky, Sheriff’s office testifies about his interrogation of Gabriel Parker, the15-year-old accused of a mass shooting at Marshall County High School in January. “We asked him initially when he had the thought of the school shooting,” Hilbrecht […]
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In post-Depression-era Appalachia, moonshining was a way of life. It was a respected, although technically illegal, profession. It kept food on the table for the Butler family for over 100 years. Raymond Butler recalls his first job in the family business: “I was about six. My dad put me down […]
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Arlie Boggs Elementary sits between Kentucky’s two tallest mountains in a remote area that once had a booming coal economy. Ten years ago there were over a thousand coal miners employed here in Letcher county. Today, there are just 28. “We were left with many unemployed miners,” eighth-grader Nicholas Sturgill […]
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After a nine-day statewide strike, West Virginia teachers and school service employees are back to work with a hard-won commitment from lawmakers of a 5 percent pay raise for all public workers. Gov. Jim Justice also ordered the creation of a task force to explore long-term solutions to the public […]
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We are residents of Letcher County, in the Eastern Kentucky coalfields. Some of us have worked as coal miners and operators; for others, they are our family and friends. Some of us were born and raised here; all of us have chosen to make it our home. Many of our […]
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West Virginia educators and state employees have spent the last nine days picketing and striking for better pay and health insurance premiums. Schools have been closed, and tensions have been high. But that strike came to an end yesterday as a 5 percent pay raise was approved by West Virginia […]
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