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Press Release |
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October 13, 2004
Contact:Janet Fout
,
Ohio
Valley
Environmental Coalition, 304-522-024
Julie Archer
, WV Citizen Action Group, 304-346-5891
Si Galperin
, 304-343-1635
Former
State
Senator to Receive OVEC’s Laura Forman
Passion for Justice Award
HUNTINGTON
, W.
Va.
—On October 23, former
State Senator Si Galperin
will receive the
Ohio
Valley
Environmental Coalition’s
Laura Forman Passion for Justice Award. Galperin, a
Charleston
resident, will receive the award during the group’s
7:30 p.m.
benefit concert featuring
Walkin’ Jim Stoltz at the LaBelle Theatre,
311 D. St. South
Charleston
.
During the
1970’s, Galperin led efforts to ban stripmining in
West Virginia
. He is currently a member of Common Cause,
West Virginia
, which is working with OVEC and the Citizens for Clean Elections to
pass state campaign finance reform law. Galperin is leading efforts
to establish Fair and Clean Elections legislation here. The
legislation would allow qualified candidates, who voluntarily choose
to adhere to strict spending limits, limit campaign spending and
take no contributions from private sources, to receive funding from
a public election fund.
Similar
laws are already working well in
Maine
and
Arizona
. They have helped reduce the influence of special interest
contributors, allowed more women and people of color to run for
office, increased voter turn-out and resulted in legislation that
benefited the general public--not just wealthy contributors.
“Si has
dedicated his life to protecting the people and the
land
of
West Virginia
,” said Janet Fout, OVEC’s co-director. “We are so excited to
be honoring him with OVEC’s very special award.”
Forman, for
whom Galperin’s award is named, was OVEC's organizer from
1993-2001. On
December 10, 2001
, the 39-year-old collapsed and died at an event that she had
organized to protest the US Army Corps of Engineers’
rubberstamping of mountaintop removal permits. The corps has already
permitted the destruction and degradation of more than 1200 miles of
West Virginia
streams.
In addition
to the award ceremony, the benefit concert will feature one of
America
’s most unique folksingers and backcountry travelers, Walkin’
Jim Stoltz. His moving multi-media show, “Forever Wild,” uses
photography, stories, and music to take the audience on an inspiring
journey into our nation’s last wilderness areas.
The suggested donation for
concert tickets is $10. Tickets will be available at the door and in
advance by calling 304-522-0246.
The concert is a fundraiser for the
Ohio
Valley
Environmental Coalition, www.ohvec.org
for its Stop Mountaintop Removal campaign.
Stoltz is available for
pre-concert interviews. Call Janet Fout at 304-522-0246 to arrange
an interview.
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