A number of people have inquired about getting a copy of the text from Wendell Berry's impassioned speech at the I Love Mountains Day Rally.  For anyone who is still interested in reading it, we've put it online, and you can download it here.

With a single AP photo and a two sentence caption, the Lexington Herald-Leader appeared uninterested in reporting on our I Love Mountains Day rally.  The paper has since been flooded with calls and letters criticizing their  poor coverage of this important event.  Eleven of these letters were published in Saturday's editorial page.

Clean water matters

The Herald-Leader can cover every aspect of meaningless news but can't provide adequate coverage of an important issue to all Kentuckians: clean water.

There was a rally in Frankfort on Feb. 14 in support of the "Stream Saver Bill," but there was no news story in the Herald-Leader. More than 1,200 Kentucky citizens and taxpayers who actually want to protect Kentucky's water attended, but the Herald-Leader seems only interested in covering meaningless stuff.

Having clean water and protecting against a water shortage should be more important issues to Kentuckians than deciding what to buy their sweeties for Valentine's Day.

What is wrong with the Herald-Leader? Has it been bought, as legislators in Frankfort have?

Clean water and air matter, not profits for coal mining executives and their bought flunkies.

Linda Sizemore
Richmond

Disappointed in paper

The Herald-Leader's lack of significant coverage of the large rally on the ice-covered steps of the state Capitol on Valentine's Day is very disappointing.

Attempts by legislators to ignore such input from citizens trying to get a hearing on the "Stream Saver Bill" may be attributed to their being in bed with surface-mining interests. I hope the Herald-Leader is not subject to the same sordid connections.

Maybe the rally was too peaceful and friendly. Civil disobedience or a few arrests might have made better news copy.

John Payne
Berea

Publish Berry's speech

What a shame that the Herald-Leader did not see fit to give more attention to the huge rally that took place in Frankfort on Valentine's Day. More than 1,200 people from all over the state came to protest mountaintop-removal in Eastern Kentucky.

Kentucky author Wendell Berry gave a wonderful speech, which, at the very least, deserved publication in the paper. People from Eastern Kentucky were there to testify to the devastating effects of mountaintop removal, which is ruining their drinking water and turning their beautiful land into a horrible moonscape.

I'm disappointed that the Herald-Leader did not provide more enlightening coverage of this vital issue.

Dianne Shuntich
Richmond

Along with the many, many people who were taking photos at Thursday's I Love Mountains Day rally, we had a number of people there shooting video.  So if you weren't able to come, take a few minutes and see what you missed!

Here are a couple of clips shot by Mimi Pickering of Appalshop

People filling the tunnel between the Capitol and the Annex.
By Laura Heller

And here are some by Jim Pence, from the HillbillyReport.com

Randy Wilson performing at last year's I Love Mountains Day

Last Valentine’s Day, I hopped a ride with two of my friends from Berea to go to KFTC’s I Love Mountains Lobbying Day in Frankfort. After navigating the icy roads and getting turned around a few times, we made it to the Capitol. I remember feeling intimidated by the place—I had never lobbied before and hadn’t been to Frankfort since elementary school—but after an orientation, I joined a group of KFTC members with lobbying experience and headed off to meet with legislators, which proved to be worthwhile as a few of the people we met with expressed interest in co-sponsoring the Stream Saver Bill.

Later on in the day, we were told to gather in room 316 of the Capitol building for a press conference. Several KFTC members from Eastern Kentucky spoke about how Mountaintop Removal mining has devastated their homes and communities. That room was packed full of members from across the state, and many more stood just outside the door, listening. 

Randy Wilson put us in good spirits as he played the banjo and sang his rendition of “This Little Light of Mine,” just as he did later when we all lined the tunnel connecting the Capitol Annex and the Capitol Building to greet legislators heading to chambers.

I was one of about 200 people lobbying for the Stream Saver Bill that day, and it was a hell of a day—well worth missing four classes and a few hours of work for. I left Frankfort that day excited and filled with vigor to do more.

And here we are, a year later.

Madison Co. members meeting with their legislators

Rep. Lonnie Napier also dropped in to talk with people from Madison County. Another sponsor of the Stream Saver Bill, Rep. Napier said, “I feel like everybody’s entitled to good clean water, no matter who you are or where you come from…When it comes to things like this, I don’t think it should be partisan politics. I don’t see why anybody would be partisan when it comes to human life.”

Soon after meeting with Madison County legislators, I stood in the hall above the Rotunda, watching people gather. I got downright giddy looking at how many people were down there, shaking my friend Amy’s arm and nearly shouting, “Look how many people are here!” That sight didn’t prepare me at all for what I saw when I stepped outside. People lined the Capitol steps all the way to the bottom. It was so surreal to see such a huge crowd; I had never been a part of anything so big before. There were people from all over, people of all ages and of all backgrounds gathered on the steps, holding signs, braving the piercing cold, all to make their voices heard. Just a year ago, we had packed into a room; now, no room could possibly hold us.

Randy Wilson started us off right, again singing a revised version of “This Little Light of Mine.” Several people from Eastern Kentucky addressed the crowd this year, talking about how they’ve been personally impacted by destructive mining practices. Wendell Berry moved the crowd with a rousing speech, saying that we’ve been patient for too long on this issue, calling us all to do more to bring an end to the devastation in the Appalachian coalfields. Carl Shoupe got the crowd fired up with his booming voice and spirited words, and damn, were we fired up! Teri Blanton led chants of “Our mountains! Our streams! Our future!” between speakers, and around 1,200 voices joined hers each time for one hell of an outcry. The rally was simply amazing. I feel lucky and honored to have been a part of such a large group of people coming together for positive change. There’s no other feeling like it.

Beth delivering some Valentine's to the Governor's office

Back inside the Capitol, after my feet had sufficiently thawed, I delivered a valentine to Gov. Beshear’s office and then another 50 valentines made by Berea College students to members of House leadership. After a quick lunch, I walked downstairs to join other members in lining the tunnel connecting the Annex and the Capitol. Once I planted myself halfway down the tunnel, I looked around and again felt overwhelmed and giddy. When I looked to my left, I couldn’t see where our line of people ended. I turned to the right, and again, there is no end. People lined both sides of the tunnel and overflowed out of each end, making their way up the stairs and down the hall. From where I stood, I had my choice of chants to join in on. One end of the tunnel would shout “Our mountains! Our streams! Our future!” while the other started up with “164 on the floor! 164 on the floor!” We were loud and unrelenting. We refused to be ignored. And in between the chants and chats with my neighbors, I smiled from ear to ear.

At the day’s de-briefing, we heard a few stories, some good, some bad. What struck me the most during that session was hearing about a group of fifth graders who took it upon themselves to learn about Mountaintop Removal and to find a way to come to Frankfort so they could lobby to legislators about the Stream Saver Bill. Throughout the day, different speakers commented on the strong youth presence, and to see that people are learning about such important issues at such a young age was so refreshing and inspiring. If these kids are doing such important work as fifth graders, just imagine what they’ll do next.

When I left Frankfort on Thursday on a van full of Madison County members (over 100 had come out for the day!), my body felt exhausted (thanks to a lack of sleep and standing in the cold in thin sneakers) but my spirits were high. I was thrilled to see that people from all over the state, from Paducah to Hazard, came to Frankfort to stand together on this issue. Hell, we even had people from other states travel to Kentucky to stand with us in solidarity. At the day’s end, I was excited about the work we had come together to do, and I’m still excited—excited to see what will come of our efforts and excited for us all to keep doing more.

We knew it was going to be a great day, and by 8 a.m. our room in the Capitol Annex slowly began to fill up with people arriving early to lobby.  A few of the people there had arrived in Frankfort the night before, staying in a hotel room or with friends, so they could start extra early.  The stream of people arriving was so steady, we resorted to holding rolling lobbying orientations, starting every 15 minutes or so to keep people moving through.  The larger groups from Louisville, Berea, and Lexington had their own rooms where they could orient themselves separately and meet with their local legislators.  Elsewhere, in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floor reception areas, members from other areas, grouped by legislative district, worked to arrange meetings with their own legislators.  Those who were unable to get a meeting filled out Valentine's cards for House Leadership, the governor, and their representatives.  By the end of the day we had handed out nearly 3,000 of these Valentines.

Jefferson County members met with their legislators in House Chambers.

In the lobby meetings many members expressed frustration that the "Stream Saver Bill" was being stalled in the House Natural Resources Committee.  "If you're going to have forward thinking about economic development in eastern Kentucky you will have to give us more choices than just mountaintop removal mining.  Pretty soon we will have no coal, no jobs, no mountains or streams," said Cari Moore from Knott County in a meeting with Rep. Keith Hall.  All told we likely had more than 300 people lobbying in the morning before the rally, more citizen lobbyists than we have ever had before on one day.

Rallying on the Capitol steps

Randy Wilson at the Rally

As we filed out onto the Capitol steps it became readily apparent that we had met and even possibly exceeded our goal of 1,000 people.  Randy Wilson started off the rally with a radicalized version of "This Little Light of Mine."  KFTC Fellow Teri Blanton emceed the rally, keeping the energy level high by leading chants.  Father John Rausch spoke of the necessity of caring for God's creation, and read off a long list of faith communities who opposed the practice of mountaintop removal mining.  Wendell Berry gave a fierce and inspiring speech, calling our state legislators to task and our supporters to action.  KFTC members Bev May, Carl Shoupe, and Rick Handshoe spoke of their daily experiences living near mining sites, explaining the urgency to the issue and its relevance to their lives, and Ronnie Banks, a high school student from Harlan county read a poem to the crowd about mountaintop removal.  The rally wrapped up with Clack Mountain String Band performing "Sow It On the Mountain, Reap It In the Valley."  By the end of the rally we could confidently say that we had more that exceeded our goal for the day, making this the biggest rally against mountaintop removal ever held in Kentucky.

Those who could stay after the rally spent the next hour either trying to get lunch in the packed cafeteria or doing some last minute lobbying before the legislators went into session.  Then around 1:30 the several hundred people who were still there lined up along both sides of the tunnel between the Annex and the Capitol building in hopes of catching legislators as they traveled to their chambers.  Co-sponsors of the Stream Saver Bill were met with cheers, however the tightly packed tunnel formed a sort of gauntlet for legislators who refused to meet with us, forcing them to meet eyes with those they had let down.

We ended the day with a debriefing session in one of the Annex committee rooms.  Members shared personal reflections on the day, discussed next steps, and laid the groundwork for organizing future actions.

Our rally just ended, and it was amazing.  We almost certainly hit our goal of 1,000 people.  In a few minutes we will be lining the halls to catch the legislators as they move the Capitol building at 2pm.

Check out these photos from the rally!

It is hard to judge the exact numbers, but certainly hundreds of KFTC members and allies are already here in the Capitol Annex flooding the hallways in a sea of red.  In fact, the groups from Louisville, Lexington, and Madison County are so large that we decided to reserve large rooms just to accommodate each group in an attempt to bring the legislators from each area to us, instead of flooding their offices with hundreds of individual meetings.

Despite this, the reception area from the House offices on the 3rd and 4th floors of the annex are completely filled up with KFTC members from other parts of the state, all of whom are concerned about mountaintop removal mining.  Also of note, the House Natural Resources committee (where the Stream Saver bill is being held up) scheduled for this morning was canceled.  I don't know if we can claim responsibility for that, but it is an interesting fact.

Here are some photos from earlier this morning.  Check back on the blog later today for more updates!