David Adkins, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Mural Project Honor’s Huntington’s Fairfield District and City’s Rich Black History

A large crowd, including the mayor and two city council members, attended the celebration of a new mural painted in Huntington’s Fairfield District aimed at honoring African American history in the neighborhood.

The brightly painted offers a powerful visual in one of the busiest areas in Huntington. It depicts a black child in a garden blowing on a dandelion. His clothes are covered with important faces from Fairfield’s black history.

Ernel Martinez painted the mural on the side of Ebenezer Daycare with the help of the daycare children. Martinez is a renowned muralist from Philadelphia. He says he’s honored to take on this project. “There’s so much energy and love in a city like Huntington, and they’ve been so welcoming to me as an artist,” he said.

The mural was painted as part of the Past to Our Future: 3 Building Mural Project. The project is done through a partnership with Unlimited Future, a not-for-profit development center and business incubator.

Project organizer Mitzi Sinnott said that the important African American history of Fairfield is often overlooked. “Our Black history here in Huntington is powerful,” she said. “Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black history was here. This should be a feather in everybody’s cap, black, white, Latino, native, and all.”

Some of the organizations helping with the project are the Carter G. Woodson Lyceum in Huntington, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation in Connecticut, Cincinnati Artworks, Philly Mural Arts, and Forecast Public Art in Minneapolis.

During her speech to the crowd, Sinnott highlighted moments of acceptance and collaboration from organizations, both local and national. She said, “how do we change? In the Ohio River Valley? All we do is say no. And whether that’s about being scared, our family, systems, legacy, whatever it is, let’s start saying yes more often. Because when we say yes, this is what happens. When we let go of our fear, and come to each other with love.”

After an hour of music and guest speakers, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams announced that the two city council members in attendance, DuRon Jackson and Teresa Johnson, would be sponsoring a $5,000 donation from the city to the project. “Individuals throughout the Ohio River Valley keep saying no. It doesn’t happen here. It’s not happening in the Fairfield area.”

The 3 Building Mural Project will continue with the J.W. Scott Center and the Unlimited Future Center. For more information, you can visit the project’s website at www.unlimitedfuture.org/3buildingmural/.

Solar Energy Finds A Foothold in Cabell, Wayne Counties With Expanding Co-op

In Huntington, some local residents are banding together around harnessing the power of the sun as clean energy. They have created a co-op with the help of Solar Holler, an organization that brings people together to provide financing and a group discount on solar installations to ultimately help people save money on their energy bills.

Solar Holler offers co-ops for West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Southern Ohio, and the Western tip of Maryland. The Huntington co-op spans both Wayne and Cabell counties.

Before installing solar panels, Solar Holler conducts free surveys to make certain that the property has enough space for installation and enough sunlight. Not everyone who wanted to join the Huntington co-op was able to pass the property assessment.

Solar Holler’s Director of Marketing Jessica Edgarly Walsh said that the Huntington area co-op was formed when the Southside Neighborhood Organization contacted them.

“They were vetting us to understand if solar would work,” Walsh said.

After talking within the organization, and with other folks in the greater Huntington area who’d worked with the company, the Southside board moved to set up a solar partnership and to share that information with more in the community.

Southside Neighborhood Organization President Connie Reed Beaty took notice of the price decrease she was seeing. Beaty noted that homeowners could finance the swap and simply switch a utility bill for a solar payment, with no upfront cost. Often, their monthly payments were lower, she said.

Walsh said it’s a common misconception that solar power is more expensive. “Most people assume they’re going to have to put a bunch of cash on the table, and maybe they’ll see a return but the idea that, in year one, you could be spending less on your power than you would if you had just stuck with a utility bill. That’s really surprising.”

Through net metering, a system that adds surplus solar energy to the grid in exchange for credits, owners of solar installations are also compensated for the surplus energy they put on the power grid. “If the home isn’t using power at that time, all that solar energy flows onto the grid, and the utility meter actually spins backwards, building up a credit for the home, recognizing that the home is pushing power onto the grid.” she said.

Walsh adds that she has not had any maintenance done in the six years of having a solar panel. “Every time I go down the basement to do the laundry, I hear a little tick tick tick… reminds me it’s chugging away up there on the roof. It’s an electrical system and so there’s no moving parts. So it’s very different than a vehicle or something that needs ongoing maintenance. It’s an electrical system that’s going to work as part of your household.”

Beaty said that the step to solar energy is a way of modernizing Appalachian homes. “We live in old houses and we need new ways to refurbish them and take care of them. They’re our homes and we invest in our future and our home’s future.”

Walsh sees the transition toward modern energy sources as a natural extension of Appalachia’s energy production heritage.

“Many, many of our staff come from generations and generations with their feet firmly planted in central Appalachia,” she said. “We do feel a close tie to this idea that we power the nation, that that has been our legacy and our responsibility in a way. In addition, we build our communities by supporting our families with good jobs.”

Solar Holler works with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to train a skilled Appalachian workforce to install and repair panels for buyers in Appalachia. Walsh said they’ve, “grown 50 percent in the last 12 months, and so we’ve really leaned on the IBEW membership folks to make sure we can grow our crews with really highly experienced, talented, trained electricians.”

Beaty said that she believes the success in Appalachia has paved a way through a variety of opportunities. “It’s a great thing for Cabell and Wayne County and for all of the state that we have cost-effective options.”

The Huntington Co-op is open for home-owners, business-owners, and non-profits in both Cabell and Wayne County. The final date to make a request for a free property assessment is Aug. 13, and the signing deadline for the Huntington-Area co-op is Aug. 31. More information can be found at https://www.solarholler.com.

New West Side Clinic Offers Health, Hope for Charleston Residents

The opening of a small, community clinic brought out a big crowd on Charleston’s West Side Tuesday including many of the state’s top political and elected officials who came to the grand opening of the city’s new Health Right Clinic.

Health Right clinics provide free, comprehensive health care for uninsured and low-income people. State officials and members of the Charleston West Side community say the new clinic is meant to bridge a gap in health care coverage in the capital city.

“Having health here, and promoting health equity is so important, and it’s something brand new for the city and it’s even brand new for the state,” said Shayla Leftridge, Health Right director of outreach, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Both of the state’s U.S. senators, Charleston’s mayor, state delegates and community faith leaders spoke to the value of having another health provider in this part of the city.

“We have communities that sometimes need more attention, need more help, and sometimes they’re forgotten. They’re not forgotten today,” said Sen. Joe Manchin. “If you don’t have your health, you have nothing, and a person who’s gonna be productive has to be healthy in order to be productive.”

Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin lauded the importance of having a community health facility on the West Side.

“The West Side has been deeply neglected for more than two decades… in health care, in housing, in public recreation, in transportation… the laundry list goes on,” said Goodwin. “When the pandemic hit, we saw the most serious effects on the West Side because it was already a community in which folks were suffering. There’s been so much talk of planning. There’s been so many discussions on what we should do. Now we’re seeing the fruits of those discussions.”

Decades of neglect on Charleston’s West Side has left the community with little resources. The goal of the new Health Right clinic is to help provide equity and stability there. Many who live in the area see the clinic’s opening as a strong and concrete step to improving the quality of life for residents there.

“The West Side, over the years, they’ve been promised a lot of things, and those promises disappeared, they just evaporated,” said Bishop Robert Haley. “Our young people are leaving West Virginia mainly because of job situations, but also, there’s nothing to do. Those things have to change, and Health Right being here is just the start.”

Health Right now has two clinics in Charleston. One on the East End opened in 1999.