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Whitesburg Mountain Eagle - 4.16.26 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Witzburg. Your reader to day is Bill then Arsdale.
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We will begin with the addition dated April fifteenth, two
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thousand twenty six, which the publishers have donated to a
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Radio Eye as a reminder. Radio Eye is a reading
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service intended for people who are blind or have other
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disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material. The
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first article is While Eastern Kentuckians sleep this time of year,
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thousands of birds are flying overhead as they go north.
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Most nights this time of year, while Lectra County sleeps,
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thousands of birds are flying overhead. They are traveling north
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from wintering grounds as far away as South America, crossing
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Kentucky under cover of darkness, navigating by stars, wind patterns,
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and the Earth's magnetic field. By sunrise, they settle into
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trees along ridges like Pine Mountain and Black Mountain, often
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unnoticed by the people living below. But for a few
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short weeks each spring, those birds become visible, and right
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now that window is opening. In eastern Kentucky and across
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central Appalachia, spring migration is now following a predictable pattern
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that begin with early movement in March, with a further
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build up in early April. Beginning April fifteenth and lasting
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through May tenth is the peak migration period, followed by
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late migrants that will appear in mid to late May.
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That means the period beginning this week is the most
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active stretch of the entire year. One of the most
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surprising facts for many people is that most birds migrate
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at night. They take off shortly after sunset and travel
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for hours, often at altitudes of one thousand to five
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thousand feet. Warm southern winds and clear skies can trigger
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especially heavy movement. By morning, those same birds drop in
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to rest and feed. That's why birdwatchers often wake up
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to what feels like a sudden explosion of activity, trees
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alive with species that were not there the day before.
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Geography plays a major role in what Letcher County sees.
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Long ridgelines like Pine Mountain act as natural funnels, guiding
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migrating birds along predictable paths. Black Mountain, the highest point
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in Kentucky, also serves as a key waypoint. These features
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concentrate birds, making the area one of the best migration
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corridors in the region. By mid April, the first big
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wave of migrants is already underway, with the arrivals of
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blue gray gnatcatchers, ruby crowned the kinglets, hermit thrushes, and
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yellow bellied sapsuckers. Early warblers and hawks riding thermals along
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ridges may already be coming. Fruit. From April fifteenth into
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early May, the diversity increases dramatically. The headline birds of
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migration are warblers, bright, fast moving forest birds the Blackburnian warbler,
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fiery orange throat, cape May warbler, golden winged warbler, regionally
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significant Nashville warbler, colorful migrants, scarlet tanager, bright red body,
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black wings, Baltimore oriole, indigo Bunting songbirds are wood thrush,
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fury rose breast to grossbeak. These birds often arrive in
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waves lasting just one to three days, then move on.
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What to watch for locally, residents don't need to travel
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far to experience migration. Look for sudden increases in bird
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activity overnight, new species appearing at feeders, brightly colored birds
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in backyard trees, increased singing at sunrise. Even a single
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tree can host multiple migrating species during peak days. This
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burst of activity is short lived, as trees leaf out
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and birds continue North, visibility drops sharply. By early summer,
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many of these species are gone or harder to see.
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That makes the next few weeks a rare chance to
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witness one of nature's largest migrations without leaving home. This
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headline is less than twenty thousand people live here now
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for first time in over a century. Letcher County's population
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has dropped below twenty thousand for the first time in
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more than a century, according to the US Census Bureaus
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Mintage twenty twenty five estimates, released March twenty sixth, twenty
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twenty six and reflecting population as of July one, twenty
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twenty five, the latest marker in a long demographic unraveling
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that stretches back to the collapse of the region's coal economy.
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The Census Bureau estimates nineteen thousand, nine hundred and fifty
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two people now live in Letcher County, down from twenty
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one thousand, five hundred forty nine counted in the twenty
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twenty census. That five year loss of one thousand, five
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hundred ninety seven people decline of seven point four per
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cent puts the county at less than half the size
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it reached at its peak. Lesser county had fewer than
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two thousand, six hundred residents in eighteen fifty. Coal changed everything.
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By nineteen twenty, the population had grown to more than
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twenty four thousand, and it kept climbing through the boom
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decades that followed. In nineteen forty, the county reached its
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all time high of forty thousand, five hundred ninety two people.
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What followed was a century of loss. The first great
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exodus came after World War II, when mechanization gutted mining
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employment and tens of thousands left the mountains for factory
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jobs in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. By nineteen sixty, the
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county's population had dropped to thirty thousand, one hundred two.
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A brief rebound during the energy crisis of the nineteen
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seventies pushed the number back up to thirty thousand, six
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hundred eighty seven by nineteen eighty, but the recovery didn't hold.
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The coal economy contracted again, and the county has been
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losing people ever since. The two thousand twenty five estimate
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of nineteen thousand, nine hundred fifty two represents a loss
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of more than twenty thousand, six hundred people from the
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nineteen forty peak, a decline of more than fifty one
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percent over eight decades. The Census bureaus Vintage two thousand
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twenty five data break down the sources of population change.
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In the year ending July first, two thousand twenty five,
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Letcher County lost two hundred fifty five people, a rate
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of one point three percent in a single year. Of
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that loss, approximately one hundred fifty six people represent a
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natural decrease. More residents died than were born. Approximately one
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hundred fourteen more left through net domestic out migration, with
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small additional adjustments reflected in the Census Bureau's methodology. The
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county's median age of forty three point three years, roughly
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four years older than the Kentucky average and nearly five
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years older than the national median, according to the Census
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Bureau's American Community Survey, helps explain why deaths are outpacing berths.
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As the population continues to age and younger residents leave,
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that gap is likely to widen. Long range projections from
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the Kentucky State Data Center at the University of Louisville
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offer a stark outlook. The k s d C projects
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Letcher County will hold about eighteen thousand, one hundred nineteen
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people by two thousand thirty, fall to roughly fourteen thousand,
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nine hundred by two thousand forty, and reach approximately twelve thousand,
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two hundred nineteen by two thousand fifty. That would represent
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a loss of forty three percent from the twenty twenty
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census count and would leave the county with fewer than
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thirty percent of the people who lived here at the
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nineteen forty peak. Among all Kentucky counties, the KSDC ranks
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Lecture second statewide for the largest percentage population loss projected
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between twenty twenty and two thousand fifty, behind only neighbouring
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Nott County. Letcher County's trajectory is shared by its neighbors.
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The Census Bureau's Village twenty twenty five data show losses
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across every surrounding county. Pike County, the largest in the region,
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fell from fifty eight thousand, six hundred sixty nine in
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twenty twenty to an scip scimated fifty four thousand, seven
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hundred twenty one in twenty twenty five, a loss of
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three thousand, nine hundred forty six people six point seven percent.
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Pike once counted more than eighty one thousand residents during
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the nineteen fifty coal era. The KSDC projects the county
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will fall to about thirty five thousand by two thousand fifty,
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the largest numeric loss of any Kentucky county over that period.
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Totally nearly twenty three thousand, six hundred people. Harlan County
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dropped from twenty six thousand, eight hundred thirty one to
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twenty four thousand, seven hundred twenty five, a five year
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loss of two thousand, one hundred five people seven point
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eight percent. At its nineteen forty coal era peak, Harlan
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held seventy five thousand residents, nearly three times its current population.
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It is now projected to fall to seventeen two thousand,
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seven hundred seventy three by two thousand fifty, leaving the
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county with fewer than one in four of those peak
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year residents. Perry County peaked at forty seven thousand, eight
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hundred twenty eight residents in nineteen forty before the long
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cold fuel contractions set in. It declined from twenty eight
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thousand to four hundred seventy three in twenty twenty to
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twenty six thousand, five hundred fifty five in twenty twenty five,
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a loss of one thousand, nine hundred eighteen people or
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six point seven percent. Its two thousand fifty projection of
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twenty four thousand, seven hundred forty nine is the most
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moderate in the group, representing a thirteen percent decline from
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twenty twenty. Knott County fell from fourteen thousand, two hundred
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fifty one to thirteen thousand, three hundred twenty one, a
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loss of nine hundred thirty people six point five percent.
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The KSDC projects KNOT will reach just eight thousand eleven
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residents by two thousand fifty, a forty three point eight
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percent decline from twenty twenty, ranking it first statewide for
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the largest projected percentage loss of any Kentucky county. Leslie
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County dropped from ten thousand, five hundred thirteen to nine thousand,
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six hundred twenty seven, a five year decline of eight
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hundred eighty eight people or eight point four percent. It
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is projected to fall below seven thousand residents by two
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thousand fifty. A region in decline. The losses extend well
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beyond eastern Kentucky. Analysis of US Census Bureau data compiled
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from the sixty county Central Appalachian Coalfield, spanning portions of Kentucky,
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West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee, shows a combined five year
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popuulation laws of approximately forty nine thousand, one hundred people
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between twenty twenty and twenty twenty five, a decline of
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two point nine percent from a twenty twenty base of
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nearly one point seven to one million. West Virginia's sixteen
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coal fuel counties recorded the steepest rate of decline among
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the four states, losing an estimated thirty three thousand, seven
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hundred ninety six residents, a drop of five percent. In
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the same five year span, Kentucky's thirty arc counties lost
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approximately sixteen thousand, two hundred and sixty five people, a
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decline of two point five percent. The Census bureaus vintage
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twenty twenty five estimates provide the most current population benchmarks
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available for county level analysis of the ongoing demographic contraction
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across the Central Appalachian Coalfield, data that state and federal
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policy makers will likely weigh as they consider the region's
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economic future. The next headline is think You're done paying
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for heat used? In January you're not. State regulators have
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approved Kentucky Power Company's request to defer millions of dollars
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in storm related costs from severe winter weather earlier this year,
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a move that could eventually affect customer electric bills. In
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an order issued March thirty first, the Kentucky Public Service
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Commission authorized the utility to create a regulatory asset to
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account for extraordinary expenses tied to major storms that struck
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eastern Kentucky on January fifth and February fifteenth. The storms,
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which brought heavy snow, ice, flooding, and high winds, caused
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widespread damage to power lines and equipment, knocking out service
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to thous thousands of customers and requiring large scale restoration efforts.
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Kentucky Power reported total restoration costs of about sixteen point
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seven million dollars, including more than ten point seven million
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dollars in additional operating expenses beyond what is already built
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into customer rates. The PSC agreed those costs were extraordinary
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and non recurring and could not have been reasonably anticipated,
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allowing the company to defer them for accounting purposes. However,
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the Commission emphasized that the decision does not mean customers
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will automatically pay those costs. Instead, the utility will be
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allowed to track the expenses as a regulatory asset, with
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any decision on whether and how much can be recovered
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from customers to be made in a future rate case.
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The Commission also limited the amount Kentucky Power can defer,
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ruling that only costs exceeding about one point one million
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dollars already included in its base rates for storm related
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expenses can be considered. Regulators used the order to reiterate
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concerns about how the company handles storm costs. In a
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previous rate case, the PSC warned that allowing utilities to
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routinely defer storm expenses could create what amounts to automatic
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true ups, reducing incentives to control costs and potentially leading
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to higher bills for customers over time. In this case,
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the Commission said Kentucky Power provided sufficient evidence that the
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January and February storms met the threshold for major events,
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noting extensive damage that included broken poles, damaged transformers, down lines,
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and flooded substations. Still, regulators signaled they will closely scrutinize
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the company is spending going forward. The PSC ordered Kentucky
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Power to provide more detailed explanations in future filings about
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how it controls costs during storm recovery and how it
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selects contractors for repair work. The Commission also established new
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guidelines allowing the company to record storm costs as regulatory
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assets throughout the year, as long as it notifies regulators
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within five days and files a formal request within ninety days.
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For customers in eastern Kentucky, the order means the financial
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impact of this winter's storms is not yet settled. While
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the costs will not immediately show up in monthly bills,
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they could be included in a future rate case, adding
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to ongoing concerns about rising electric rates in the region.
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The case has been closed by the Commission, but the
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question of who ultimately pays for the storm damage remains unresolved.
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The next headline is a life documenting Appalachia earns highest
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UK honor. When Malcolm Wilson got the call from University
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of Kentucky President Eli Cappeluto, he didn't quite know what
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to make of it. The longtime photographer, now a regular
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contributor to The Mountain Eagle, was told he would receive
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an honorary Doctor of Arts degree, the highest honor of
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the university can bestow. I am both honored and humbled,
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Wilson said, But I don't see this as an honor
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for me. It's an honor for you. For Wilson, you
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means the people of Central Appalachia, the miners, musicians, families,
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and neighbors whose stories he has spent more than four
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decades documenting. Wilson, an Electric County resident now living in Blackie,
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has built a career not just taking photographs, but telling
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stories he says too often go unheard or misunderstood. His work,
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including the widely recognized Humans of Central Appalachia Project, pairs
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portraits with personal narratives, allowing Appalachian people to speak for themselves.
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That mission traces back to a moment in his childhood
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when his father warned him never to be ashamed of
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where he came from. Those words would shape his life's work.
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I spent my life trying to get to that truth,
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Wilson said in one interview cited in his nomination Dassier
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National Recognition Local Roots the University of Kentucky cited Wilson's
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creative achievement and principal leadership in announcing the honorary degree,
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noting his role in bringing national and international attention to
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Appalachian life. His photography archive, more than two hundred fifty
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thousand images spanning over forty years, has been donated to
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the university, preserving a visual history of the region for
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future generations. Wilson's work has appeared in publications ranging from
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local newspapers to national outlets such as USA Today, Sports Illustrated,
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and The Chicago Tribune, but his focus has remained close
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to home. He engages his subjects as collaborators, not objects.
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One nomination letter noted emphasizing the dignity and authenticity in
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his work. Beyond the camera, Wilson has spent decades teaching others,
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from college classrooms to workshops at Pine Mountain Settlement School,
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where he has mentored generations of photographers. In recent years,
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he has focused heavily on working with young people in
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eastern Kentucky, teaching them photography and oral history as tools
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to tell their own stories. After the devastating twenty twenty
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two floods, Wilson helped equip students with cameras and recorders,
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encouraging them to document their communities. As part of the
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healing process. Some of those students have gone on to
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careers in photography and film. A voice for Appalachium, Wilson's
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work has also extended beyond documentation into advocacy. During the floods,
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he mobilized support through his platform, connecting thousands of followers
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with families in need. At its core, his mission has
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remained simple, tell the truth about Appalachiam. If you want
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to hear the honest story of Appalachia, ask an Appalachian,
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he has said. He is dedicating the recognition the honorary
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doctorate brings to his parents, mentors, fellow artists, students, and
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the Appalachian community itself. This is an acknowledgment for every
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single Appalachian who has trusted me to stand before my camera,
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he said. In doing so, he joins a small group
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of notable Appalachians who have received honorary degrees from the
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University of Kentucky, including musicians Jeane Ritchie and Loretta Lynne,
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and Weitzburg attorney and author Harry Caudle. Still, Wilson insists
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the spotlight doesn't belong to him alone. While I may
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be the icon representing you on stage, he said, this
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award is for all Appalachians. The next story is work
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may begin soon on housing at Jenkins. Construction could begin
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soon on the entrance road and for the proposed Grand
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View high Ground subdivision in Jenkins. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
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approached the Jenkins City Council last week with a proposal
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to acquire the remaining land needed for the road in
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the city's name. The council voted to allow that pending
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review by a city committee to ensure there are no liabilities.
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Chris James of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet told the council
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that property already owned by the city or state is
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being cleared in preparation for hiring a contractor to build
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the roads. If you've driven by the site recently, you've
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started to see some action taking place, James sid trees
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are starting to come down, and we're getting close to
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actually having this project let for construction. The roads are
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to be built in two phases, but both phases are
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expected to be put out forbid at the same time.
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The new road will leave U. S. Twenty three at
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the current entrance, follow the hillside at a gradual angle,
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and then turn onto the level portion of the property.
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From there, it will loop back to the original exit
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and connect to a street system atop the former Mountain
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Top Removal mine site. Grand View is expected to include
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about one hundred fifty homes as part of flood recovery efforts,
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with the potential for more than three hundred total homes,
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including those built by private developers. The owners of Johnson
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Equipment of Pike County donated the land for the publicly
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developed homes and retained a portion of the property for
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private use. The entrance road and streets will be maintained
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by the city. The state plans to purchase the property
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for the roads in the city's name to avoid delays.
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The thought all along was that we would purchase it
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and trans for it to you, said Charlie Dale of
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the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The reason for doing it this
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way is to save some of the paperwork. The state
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has provided the city with a copy of a resolution
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used in Perry County for a similar project. A committee
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appointed by Mayor Todd de Priest will review the proposal
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and has been authorized by the council to approve it
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if it meets the standards of the City attorney and
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the Committee. The next story is federal suit is dismissed.
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A federal lawsuit against a former Electric County Sheriff's deputy
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and the Electric County Sheriff's Department has been officially dismissed.
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Plaintiff Sabrina Atkins, former court security officer Ben Fields, Sheriff
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Billy Jones, and the Electric County Sheriff's Office agreed to
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dismiss all remaining claims in the case. A U. S.
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District Court judge entered the distress missile order last week.
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Each party will bear its own legal expenses. In March,
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the court approved a settlement involving Fields and Jones in
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their official capacities. And the next headline is in Letcher
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County new prosthetics law hits close to home for many
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in need. Every day, three hundred to five hundred people
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in the United States lose a limb to disease or injury.
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When combined with workplace injuries, automobile accidents, and veterans who
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lost limbs in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the
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number of people in the United States living with amputations
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or limb differences climbs to more than five point six million.
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Fewer than half of those individuals have prosthetic limbs. Artificial
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limbs can be expensive, and insurance companies have traditionally been
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reluctant to cover the cost. That changed with a new
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law passed by the General Assembly and signed last week
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by the governor. Senate Bill ninety seven, sponsored by Representative
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Rick Girdler of Somerset, requires insurance companies to cover up
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to three prosthetic devices every three years. The measure allows
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aputees and those born with limbed differences the flexibility to
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obtain different prosthetics for different purposes. The bill passed with
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broad bipartisan support. This concludes the reading of the Mountain Eagle.
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Your reader has been Bill ven Arsenal. Now please stay
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tuned for continued programming on behalf of every one here
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at Radio I thank you for listening, and have a
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good day.