This week, we reflect on Dolly Parton’s passing and her legacy in the region. Also, the Adaptive Climbers Festival at Kentucky’s Red River Gorge feels like home for climbers with disabilities from around the world. And, a new book spotlights Appalachian plants and encourages readers to get in touch with nature.
A Decade After Millions Of Opioid Pills Hit Kermit, W.Va., Can The Town Rebound?
Debbie Preece of Kermit, W.Va., lost two brothers to the opioid epidemic.
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At the peak of the opioid crisis, drug companies sent 12 million hydrocodone pills to Kermit, W.Va., a town of about 350 people. Cars would line up at the one pharmacy with people waiting to pick up pain pills. The so-called pain clinics of a decade ago are gone. In their place, a continued need for addiction treatment and recovery resources. Lawsuits against big pharmaceutical companies continue to bring in settlements, but so far Kermit hasn’t seen any money from the litigation. We head to Mingo County to see how the community is healing and what the future might look like.
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Kermit residents Michael Duty, Sister Therese Carew and Etta Lea Blankenship-Kiser share their stories about the long road to recovery for individuals and the small West Virginia town they love.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council. Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond. You also can listen to Us & Them on WVPB Radio — tune in on the fourth Thursday of every month at 8 p.m., with an encore presentation on the fourth Saturday at 3 p.m.
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On this West Virginia Week, a client for a big data center is revealed, flock cameras see resistance and social media settles in court.
Bill Lynch is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt...
This week, we reflect on Dolly Parton’s passing and her legacy in the region. Also, the Adaptive Climbers Festival at Kentucky’s Red River Gorge feels like home for climbers with disabilities from around the world. And, a new book spotlights Appalachian plants and encourages readers to get in touch with nature.
In the wake of Dolly Parton's death on Tuesday, her Imagination Library of West Virginia has had an outpouring of comments and calls about the late singer's impact.