On Sept. 29, more than 70 people gathered at Laurel Lake in Mingo County for a community picnic, enjoying gospel and country music and good food provided by citizens from across the county.

The picnic, titled "This Land is Our Land, This Land is Our Home," was organized by OVEC members and supporters from Mingo County, folks who have a concern for what is happening to the water, land and economy in Mingo County.

"We wanted to bring people together to share ideas on how we can better our communities," said Donna Branham of Lenore, one of the event’s organizers. "Because people need to see that where we live is something worth throwing your shoulders back for. It’s something worth saving."

Branham mentioned the need for citizens to speak up about how to make the county more prosperous. She encouraged people to contact their county commission and redevelopment authority with ideas and suggestions. She also mentioned the Clean Elections campaign in the state, "so that we can get politicians into office who are accountable to the people and not to the big businesses." Everyone was also invited to fly over the county in a free small airplane ride provided by SouthWings and OVEC on October 13.

"I’ve got a whole sack of grandkids now and we have to think about what they will be left with if things keep on as they are," said Donna’s husband Charlie. "We have to take part in making sure they have land to live on and good water to drink and fish in."

A variety of groups were present at the picnic, with a variety of concerns. Wilma Steele, an area high school art teacher who lives in Meador, helped to organize the event out of concern for "our state and the people in it." Said Steele, "Sometimes we don’t realize other people care, and this was a good place to bring us together."

Citizens at the picnic talked both generally and specifically about what they want to see happen in the county, including the need for a database of elderly or disabled people who might need assistance from county officials to evacuate in the event of an emergency, such as a sludge dam failure.

"I’m glad I came to the picnic," said Amber McCoy, 14, of Matewan. "I thought it was a good opportunity to find out about the people and groups interested in helping our community, and I’ve already talked to people in my group about it." McCoy founded R.O.A.R., Restoring Our Appalachian Respect, a group of teens in Mingo County that want to help their community.

Musicians playing at the event included Howard Branham of Ragland, Tolbert Marcum of Canada, KY, and Ralph Curry of Chapmanville.