Boone County Updates: Take A Different Kind of Sunday Drive - See Mountain Massacre Up Close and Personal As It Destroys Our State

OVEC is organizing in the mountaintop removal-impacted communities of Ashford, Ridgeview, James Creek, Twilight and Lindytown in Boone County.

In Lindytown, morning blasts are an extremely rude awakening. In Ashford, the people are forced to watch as the mountain, the backdrop of the community, disappears.

The people of West Virginia would be appalled by a drive through these communities. OVECs Boone County organizer challenges you to pile into a car with a bunch of friends for a Sunday drive to one of the many disappearing communities throughout Boone County. It is heart-wrenching to see the locals with tear-filled eyes, angered by daily blasting and dusting of their beloved communities, with no real remediation from the regulatory agencies sworn to protect them.

WARN Works

Thanks to citizen-led efforts, the Boone County Reverse 911 emergency monitoring system, WARN, is operating countywide. On Oct. 30, Van residents learned of a boil water advisory via WARN. We know the system is working. Thanks again to all the great volunteers who made this system a reality. This will help us all to rest easier and it could save lives!

OVEC and CRMW volunteers and staff have been working with SouthWings to offer West Virginia state legislators a birds-eye view of mountaintop removal. So far, four legislators have flown over sites in southern West Virginia, comparing the wind-energy viable ridges to the mountaintop removed ridges-that-used-to-be. One flyover can immediately debunk the coal industrys assertion that "West Virginia needs more flat land."

The legislators dont seem to be pleased with what they are learning about the community and environmental impacts of mountaintop removal. We plan to keep offering the flyovers to all legislators who want to see the truth for themselves.

For three years, writer Peter Britton has been working on a libretto, which could potentially be a Broadway musical entitled Hollow Girl, loosely based on the work of OVEC organizer Maria Gunnoe. Hes released a CD of the songs from the musical. The CD, titled CO2AL Train to Amos, is available at cdbaby.com/cd/peterbritton. One-third of the proceeds from the sales of this CD go to OVEC, so please give the CD a listen.

Coal trucks are running amok in Boone County. It is time to speak up for your community. Attend the Public Service Commission (PSC) meetings in Charleston with other Boone residents to make certain the agency hears your concerns about overweight, speeding coal trucks. But dont wait till the next meeting call in your complaints to the PSC at 1-866-SEE-TRUX.

Thanks to national effort, water-testing training is coming to Boone County. Let us teach you how to test your water and how to read the results. Get your name on the list of trainees now.

Be a "stream saver" in your area. Keep an eye on local streams and call in complaints to the DEP on blackwater spills. The spill hotline number is 800-642-3074. Keep a good record of the conversation (dates, times and who you talk to). Follow up on the complaint to make certain it is investigated.

For details on PSC meetings, water testing and other Boone County activities, call (304) 245-8481.