WVEC Action Alerts

December 11, 2001

Our web page has a new webmaster, Don Alexander.  There is a slightly different look to the site.  There is a Calendar of Events that is updated often.  Check it out at  WVEC/GREEN  or www.wvecouncil.org

1. Granny D
2.  The Gift That Gives Twice
3.  Regional Coordinator Position
4. Nominations for WVEC Annual Awards
5.  Logging to TRIPLE in Monongahela National Forest
6.  CORL Meeting
6.a  InDepth

7.  In Memory of Laura Forman


Granny D

Campaign Finance Reform Activist Doris Hadock, better known as Granny D will be returning to West Virginia on December 14 and 15.  She will be speaking and signing her book, Walking Across America in My 90th Year, written with Dennis Burke.  

Granny D walked from Pasadena, CA to Washington, DC to promote campaign finance reform.  Come out and hear Granny D at one of the following events.


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14

12pm to 1pm at the Senior Center, 2428 Kanawha Blvd., Charleston
7pm to 9pm at Walden Books in the Grand Central Mall, Parkersburg (485-7361)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15

11am to 12:30pm Walden Books in the Meadowbrook Mall, Clarksburg (842-2303)
2:30pm to 4:30pm The Book Shelf, Morgantown (599-4601)

To find out more about Granny D and campaign finance reform, visit Granny D's website at www.grannyd.com.

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THE GIFT THAT GIVES TWICE

For the third year in a row, Pilgrim Glass is selling a limited edition set
of holiday ornaments, designed by master glass artist Kelsey Murphy, that
depict flora and fauna whose habitat is vanishing due to mountaintop removal
coal mining. All profits from the sale of the ornaments are donated to OVEC.
Pilgrim Glass is closing its doors this winter, so these ornaments are sure
to become collectors' items.  The 2001 holiday ornaments feature Murphy
's
etchings of a cerulean warbler on a cobalt blue bulb and the bloodroot
flower on a white bulb. Pilgrim made only 200 ornaments of each design.  The
previous years' OVEC ornaments are sold out.

The ornaments cost $35 each and can be purchased either from the OVEC office
in Huntington or the Pilgrim Glass showroom in Ceredo. For more information,
call Pilgrim Glass at (304) 453-3553 or OVEC at (304) 522-0246.

E-mail vivian@ohvec.org if you want an e-photo of the ornaments.

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Regional Coordinator Position

WEST VIRGINIA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES INTERFAITH GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE CAMPAIGN REGIONAL COORDINATOR POSITION  

Seeking one part-time (15-20 hours per month) regional coordinator for the North/Central Region of West Virginia.  The regional coordinator will report to the state coordinator of the campaign.  Funding for the position is pending grant approval. The West Virginia Council of Churches is continuing to sponsor an Interfaith Global Climate Change Campaign during the year 2002. Representatives of many faith communions have been trained to work in their congregations and communities to educate and advocate about the issue of global warming.  A person is needed to continue the work in the region, which began in 2000, with those trained in the regions and with the state coordinator to achieve the goals of the campaign.

Qualifications:
-         active in a faith community;
-         concerned about stewardship of creation and environmental issues (does not   have to be an expert in the area);
- has organizational and communication skills;
-         access to computer and computer skills;
-         ability to resource, network, and monitor regional campaign activities;
-         attend meetings of the North/Central region, the Campaign Steering        Committee and the Executive Committee.
Send resume' & letter of recommendation to:      
Marcia Leitch, coordinator P.O. Box 226, Talcott, WV  24981-0226      
Email: jmleitch@cwv.net        Phone: 304-466-0982 Fax:  304-466-4790 Application Deadline:  December 31, 2001

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Nominations for WVEC Annual Awards

The WVEC board of Directors are accepting award nominations in the following categories:

1)  Mother Jones
2)  Chuck Chamber Public Service
3)  Grassroots Environmental Activist
4)  Linda Schnautz Courage

Deadline:  January 13, 2002.  Please send all nominations to: Bob Hamburg, WVEC Secretary;  Rt. 1, Box 51, Orma WV 25311, or call Bob at: 304-655-8662.

The awards will be voted on by the WVEC board of Directors in January, and awarded to recipients on February 22nd at our annual E-Day! at the capitol festivities during the legislative Session (hope many of you can attend!!!).

A full list of past recipients will be posted in G.R.E.E.N. by December 20th.

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Logging to TRIPLE in Monongahela National Forest

I have just received reliable information that Monongahela National Forest
has received orders to triple timber harvest.  They are currently producing
about 7 million board feet/yr, but orders from Eastern Region headquarters
are to up it to 20 million/yr.  This will destroy any real attempts to
preserve or enhance biodiversity on the forest and the rate of harvest is
way beyond the ability of their biologists to assess the results.  None of
the sales can be adequately assessed.  This really sets back the practices
to pre-1980 conditions or worse.  I have not yet been able to determine
whether other Nat Forests in the eastern region have received similar
orders, but am trying to find out.

Please pass this on to others who should be aware of the problem.

Kind regards to all.

George
Department of Biological Sciences
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama 36849-5414
(334)844-9251
FAX 844-9234

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CORL Meeting

The WV Coalition for Responsible Logging will meeting Wednesday, the 12th,
at 6:00 PM at Larry's Steak & Buffet (formerly Western Steer) off I-79,
Flatwoods Exit # 68.

The agenda will include: (1) developing legislative strategy on logging
issues (2) hearing report(s) from the recent Model Legislation Summit
meeting in Nashville, Tennessee (3) discussion about recent state Supreme
Court ruling on timber harvest permit requirements and exemptions.

Some of us think this is a really important meeting.  It is crunch time for
any legislation we want to advance this year and we
may be missing a real opportunity if we do not pull together and make a very strong show this year.
The floods have brought the immense distruction of these abusive practices
to the fore and we really need to build upon this.  It's regrettable that it
takes such events but it will be more regrettable if we do not act in
response to it.

Please RSVP by "reply" that you are coming to this meeting so that we can
know how many to expect.

Frank Young, CORL treasurer and
acting e-mail coordinator fyoung@wvhighlands.org     

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December issue of InDEPth

A new issue of InDEPth is on the Web.  Here's the hot link:
http://www.dep.state.wv.us/pio/indepth/indepth_2001_12.pdf

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In Memory of Laura Forman

Laura Forman   2-01-62 to 12-10-01
OVEC Organizer

"a sterling organizer"
"spent lots of time talking to people"
"got people involved"
"helped give them the courage to speak out"
"planted lots of seeds in this state"
"when people saw her fire, her grit, it encouraged them to speak out"

Laura had organized the event, to protest the Army Corp if Engineers
nationwide permits for Mountaintop Removal Sites, specifically the permits
issued for valley fills.

Immediately after she gave her speech, then took a few steps away, then
collapsed.

Janet Fout thought she had tripped and fallen backwards, when she just
slumped to the sidewalk.

Janet described Laura's condition as immediately serious, as her jaw was
really clinched shut.  Janet noted, "we all gathered around her."  OVEC had
already notified the Huntington Police, as they always do when planning a
protest or event, to let them know that OVEC would be protesting at the
Corps' Huntington Offices.

Initially people thought she was having a seizure, but then began providing
CPR.  Paramedics arrived at the scene quickly.  They shocked her heart 3
times.  She never appeared to recover.  Then the ambulance took her to
Cabell Huntington Hospital.

Fox Channel 8 had already interviewed Laura, and was shooting when the
situation occurred.

Half of the protesters followed the ambulance to Cabell Huntington Hospital
The emergency staff worked on her for about a half an hour, but could not
revive her.

She was in perfect health, a non-smoker.  Her doctor, interviewed later,
noted she had no health problems whatsoever that might lead you to think
this could happen.
She had never complained about being sick.

Laura was 39 years old.

Laura had one son Donald 5, and husband Mike.  Laura had two sisters and a
brother, and was originally from Schenectady, New York.  She moved to the
Huntington area in 1992, when Mike's job as an air traffic controller
brought them to West Virginia.

Immediately, Laura got involved with OVEC, after meeting Janet Fout at an
Audubon meeting.  If you would like updated information on services or arrangements for Laura Forman you can contact OVEC at 304-522-0246 or via e-mail Vivian Stockman at vivian@ohvec.org or Janet Fout at ohvec@ohvec.org  they will make sure to contact anyone who requests information.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2001/December/11/LNlist1.htm is an article on the rally yesterday and Laura's work.


****************
Chris Hogbin
WVEC E-mail Action Alert Coordinator

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