An urban “glut” of new lawyers hides the fact that many rural communities lack legal expertise that could help them address personal and societal issues. One lawyer who returned to her rural roots from the big city is part of an effort to change that. Last summer, I quit my […]
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Prosecutors Unearthed This Catholic Abuse Case — How Many Other Scandals Stay Buried?
It’s been a tough month for American Catholics. Court documents released in mid-August revealed more than 1,000 allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct by hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania over the last seven decades. Given the length of time that has passed, new criminal charges are unlikely for most of […]
Read More‘Deliverance’ Continues to Define Burt Reynolds’ Career and Stereotypes in Appalachia
The recent passing of actor Burt Reynolds has left the nation celebrating the man Rolling Stone deemed “The Last Good Ol’ Boy movie star.” His career spanned decades and roles in films like “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Boogie Nights” made him a household name, but in Appalachia, Reynolds is […]
Read MoreDocumenting the Opioid Crisis in Numbers and Film
I find myself having to drag my fingers over to click a Twitter link to read Caity Coyne’s Aug. 30, 2018, Charleston Gazette-Mail story headlined “Number of fatal drug overdoses in 2017 surpasses 1,000 mark in WV.” The story is a grim check-up on how much worse the opioid overdose […]
Read MoreIn the Black: Clearing the Air about Coal Dust
Gary Bentley is a former underground coal miner from Eastern Kentucky who writes about his experience working in the mining industry. Read more of his columns here. As I drilled the outside hole on the last row of roof bolts, I looked down to make sure that the air-sampling cartridge I […]
Read MoreAn Epidemic of Opioid Documentaries — Who Is that Stranger with a Camera?
It’s been more than five years since documentary filmmaker Sean Dunne of Peekskill, NY, released Oxyana. The IMDb description reads, “The ‘Hillbilly Heroin’ epidemic that’s slowly rotting the soul of rural America.” As the film begins, a harrowing mist rolls over the hillsides and wooded ridges of Oceana, WV , while […]
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