Eric Douglas, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Yew Mountain Center Teaches Using The Land

A large wooden sign that says “Yew Here” greets visitors as they drive into the Yew Mountain Center. Nestled in the woods of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, the property for years operated as a farm. A few years ago, a group of community members sought to repurpose the land to create a place for outdoor education.

“It was really a neighborhood effort to turn this property into something that would preserve the land and also serve the community,” said Erica Marks, the center’s director.

Marks explained that when the farm property came up for sale, a group of neighbors wanted to buy it but the price was out of their range. A third party purchased the land and leased it back to the group to use for educational outreach.

Three years ago, the Yew Mountain Center opened its doors. The nonprofit creates educational experiences for groups of children and adults in a natural setting.

During a recent visit, students from the kindergarten class at Marlinton Elementary ventured into the woods to see the story “The Gruffalo,” by Julia Donaldson, come to life.

In the story, a mouse fends for his life using his wits to survive. He has to outwit a snake, a fox and an owl. The kids took owl and snake-themed hikes and participated in a fox activity that included a game and craft making.

“I really like to just kind of step back a little bit and let the children explore and show interest in what they’ve been able to find out themselves in the woods and what they can do on their own,” Marks said.

Students from the Kindergarten Class at Marlinton Elementary School use microscopes on a recent nature tour at the Yew Mountain Center.

Although these activities were created for young children, the science and natural elements weren’t simplified. The kindergarten students used microscopes to look at a snake skin, visited a pond to see frogs and even watched a volunteer dissect an owl pellet to learn what the owl had eaten.

Abigail, a thin, blonde-haired five-year-old enjoyed the microscope.

“I saw a spider web. It looked stringy like string that you would like tie stuff on,” she said.

For Marks, introducing kids to science in the natural world helps bring science to life.

“We’re listening in the forest. We’re smelling things and by using microscopes, they’re seeing this detail that they’ve never appreciated before,” she said. “These kids are 4 and 5 years old, and they’re learning to use this pretty high-tech equipment.”

The volunteers at the Yew Mountain Center make these outdoor programs available to all the local schools in Pocahontas County at no charge and offer experiences appropriate to various age ranges. The program relies largely on donations and fundraising.

Students from Marlinton Elementary School trek off to a pond as part of their recent nature experience at Yew Mountain.

Marks said she prefers to offer programs like this early in the school year because it helps teachers understand how individual students learn.

“The outdoors are great because teachers and students and the family members that are here, they’re interacting with the children in a different way than they do in the school and they can strengthen their relationships with the kids,” she said.

She explained that some students learn well in a traditional classroom. Others learn with worksheets and on the computer.

“I feel like this is a way for students who don’t learn well that way to come out in nature and show that they’re really good at a different way of learning,” Marks said.

Podcast Seeks Greater Understanding Between Appalachia and Arab World

People on the outside looking in often misunderstand Appalachia’s cultural ways and traditions. Those same attitudes are often leveled at people from the Middle East.

The new student podcast Sandstone, by Clara Haizlett, seeks to introduce people from both cultures, with the aim of developing greater understanding between them.

Haizlett grew up on a small homestead farm in Bethany, West Virginia, in the Northern Panhandle and was homeschooled. She said her parents gave her opportunities to explore cultures and languages different than her own, and she spent the years after high school studying Spanish while traveling in Latin America.

Clara Haizlett studying abroad in the Middle East.

“I grew up being encouraged to learn and experience the world through an inquisitive lens. I really was inspired to continue language learning and especially, was attracted to the Arab world,” she said.

Like many people, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, informed Clara’s attitude toward the Arab world. She addresses that in the podcast.

“When men in turbans showed up on my TV screen in the early 2000s, I was horrified. I would shut my eyes, but I could still hear the AK-47s and the Allahu Akbars,” she said in the first episode.

Despite that, when the opportunity came to study abroad in Morocco, Bahrain and Jordan, she jumped at the chance.

Those experiences opened her eyes to different cultures, but she saw similarities to the way she was raised as well. She decided to create a podcast to describe her own travels while giving a voice to the people she met along the way.

Haizlett decided to name her podcast Sandstone because the rock type is common in both places. Sandstone is basic, but it can also be transformed into something greater than itself. Much like her own transformation, she says.

For her, the podcast is about creating a greater understanding between the people she grew up with and the people she has come to call friends.

“I just would like to encourage greater curiosity and empathy towards people that we might not normally empathize with, especially as we interact with refugee populations. And watch the news and being able to greater understand where they’re coming from and yeah, who they are,” she said.

Haizlett explained that she hopes her friends in Appalachia and the Middle East will learn about each other through the podcast. She doesn’t expect it to change the world, but she hopes it might open some listeners’ minds.

“It’s geared primarily toward fellow West Virginians, but also people from the region who maybe don’t know a lot about the Middle East. And maybe don’t really care too much about the Middle East but through storytelling I hope to inspire kind of a deeper understanding of that culture and world,” she said.

For many people in Appalachia, the differences in cultures revolve around differences in faith. The Middle East is primarily, but not exclusively, Muslim. Appalachia is primarily, but not exclusively, Christian.

She interviewed a man from Alabama who is now an imam in a mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia. His name is Kip.

“Right after 911, there was definitely this fear of Muslims as violent people, and the Muslims in America have done a lot to show that that’s not the case. But what worries me is that that hasn’t made people like Muslims any more. Well, look, maybe you disagree with, you know, maybe you think the Amish people are weird, and maybe you are but you let them do their thing. You don’t tell them they have to drive cars or whatever I do give you let them stick to themselves and live their way of life the way they want to as long as they don’t, you know, bother anybody else,” Kip said in the third episode of Sandstone.

She also talked to an evangelical Christian with experience in the Middle East. His name is Pastor Joseph Cumming.

“There are texts in the Koran that can be interpreted to support peace and love through neighbor, self-giving sacrificial love for others, and there are texts in the Koran which can be interpreted which can be interpreted to support war and violence. if we’re honest, the same is true of the Bible. Of course, I believe the Bible teaches peace, but I can find you abundant examples of evangelical Christian leaders quoting Jesus saying ‘I come not to bring peace but a sword’ in order to endorse war in the name of Jesus,” Cumming said.

Haizlett will graduate from West Virginia University in December. She plans four more episodes in the Sandstone podcast but has also applied for a grant to continue her studies in Jordan. If she receives that grant, she plans a second season Sandstone as a live, immersive event during her travels.

Sandstone is available through Apple Podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts.

Numbers Of Children In Concentrated Poverty Increasing In West Virginia

West Virginia is one of ten states where the number of children living in areas of concentrated poverty is increasing. That’s according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Data Snapshot on High-Poverty Communities.”

Concentrated poverty is an area where 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

“In the United States, eight and a half million kids or 12 percent of the kids population in the United States are living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty,” said Scot Spencer, Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. “That is an improvement from our first snapshot. But it still means that there are too many kids living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty.”

The Data Snapshot underscores that living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty undermines a child’s well-being. Nationwide, the number of people living in concentrated poverty is falling, but remains high. West Virginia is lower than the national average, but the numbers are rising.

Between the Casey Foundation’s last report in 2012 and the latest report using 2017 numbers, the number of children in West Virginia living in poverty rose from 30,000 to 38,000.

“Any kids living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty should be an unacceptable number for us. Because what it means for the long run is that their ability to succeed in life is truncated by living in these types of neighborhoods,” Spencer said.

West Virginia and Delaware are the only two states where poverty levels rose last year, according to U.S. Census data. The Mountain State’s overall poverty rate climbed to 19.1 percent last year, making it one of four states with a poverty rate above 18 percent.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re in an urban environment or suburban environment or a rural environment. There are parts of the economy that have left places,” Spencer said. “And so just by the fact that the jobs that were once family sustaining jobs are no longer there. People then fall into poverty and pockets of neighborhoods fall into poverty.”

Spencer didn’t have detailed information on specific locations in West Virginia. But indicators exist that point to which regions are struggling.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, 22 percent of the households in the 3rd Congressional District — which includes the southern coal fields — use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits.

Spencer also noted a lack of access to hospitals and the presence of food deserts in these areas can compound the problems.

“There may just not be places for kids to be kids and to play and to grow up and to do well. There’s a lack of access to quality education, the lack of access to quality housing, the lack of access to jobs,” he said.

Finding solutions to problems like concentrated poverty will involve federal, state and local governments working with the business sector and community groups, according to Spencer.

“How do we focus industry or sector specific job training and opportunities in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty so that people can actually make families sustaining wages? In places where there are large industries, how do they hire and contract locally? How does local government think about how they let their services or hire their contracts, so that they are actually hiring from the communities that they are in?” Spencer asked.

Spencer also notes that financial hardships can cause chronic stress linked to diabetes, heart disease and stroke — all major health problems in West Virginia.

Best-Selling Author James Patterson To Speak At West Virginia Book Festival

The best-selling author of all time will be at the West Virginia Book Festival this weekend.

James Patterson will speak at the West Virginia Book Festival on Saturday, October 5.

James Patterson explained in an interview that he hasn’t always been a good public speaker, but he has improved over the years. Before becoming an author, he had a successful career in advertising.

“When I got hired, the guy that hired me said that I was the shyest person he had ever interviewed. And part of the way I got over that and became a pretty decent public speaker is to tell stories. I just tell story after story after story and if Mayor Goodwin is cool, we will get people laughing and they’ll find out some stuff and I’m not about selling my books. I’m more about, you know, getting people reading,” Patterson said.

Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin was scheduled to moderate Patterson’s presentation, but has had to cancel. Patterson’s talk is scheduled in the Coliseum at 3 p.m. on Saturday during the West Virginia Book Festival.

Patterson gets dozens of requests for appearances and many offer him large speaking fees. Patterson said the West Virginia Book Festival’ s invitation stood out.

“The approach was great. They said the right kinds of things. Libraries are a big deal for me and getting kids reading and getting the adults reading is huge,” he said.

Reading is important for Patterson personally, too, but he has so many projects that he doesn’t have as much time to read as he used to. He said he has 33 live projects in his office right now. That said, he is still in the middle of a couple books.

“I used to be a three or four book a week person. I just read a book “What it takes” by Stephen Schwarzman. He founded Blackstone (one of the largest private equity groups in the world), which is which is pretty cool. I’m reading a Robert Cray mystery. Jason Reynolds is a kids writer I like. I’m reading ‘Ghost’ right now,” Patterson said.

Patterson is a big advocate for children’s reading programs. He created a program called ReadKiddoRead that helps parents find interesting books for their children.

“A lot of people don’t know I write kids books, but I do and I love it. I think they’re actually my best books. And our mission at Jimmy books, which may sound simple, but I think it’s actually pretty smart, is when a kid finishes a Jimmy book to say ‘please give me another book,’ as opposed to ‘I don’t like to read’,” he said.

As one of the most successful authors in the world, Patterson said he makes an effort to return that success to the community.

“We have actually 450 scholarships for teachers. We do a thing with scholastic for another couple of million for classroom libraries. I think we had 112,000 teachers ask us for help. I think we helped 18,000. My mother was a teacher for I don’t know, 192 years so that’s sort of in my blood,” he said.

Listen to an additional Q&A with James Patterson.

To get a book signed by James Patterson at the festival this weekend, you need to show up early. He is on a tight schedule and only 100 ticket holders will be able to meet him.

To receive a ticket, you must purchase either “Killer Instinct” or his children’s book “Max Einstein: Rebels with a Cause” at the West Virginia Book Company booth.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting is a sponsor of the festival, which runs from from 10 a.m. -8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, in the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

There will be a marketplace where local authors will sell their books, along with the used book sale and writing workshops. Other authors that will make presentations include: Salina Yoon, Orson Scott Card, Anthony Harkins, Meredith McCarroll and Denise Keirnan.

To qualify to have Patterson sign your book, doors for the ticket line will open at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5. Patterson’s presentation is at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Patterson will only sign one approved title per person; personalization and photographs are not permitted. A ticket and an approved title are required to enter the signing.

In addition, at the Kanawha County Public Library’s table in the Marketplace, you can enter into a drawing for a ticket. The winners will be announced before James Patterson’s presentation in the Coliseum. If you win the drawing, you must purchase either James Patterson’s “Killer Instinct” or “Max Einstein: Rebels with a Cause” at the West Virginia Book Company booth.

Census Bureau Shows Poverty Decreasing Across U.S., But W.Va. Lags Behind

The U.S. Census Bureau released data last week that showed the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line went down for the first time since the Great Recession of 2008.

Overall, the number of people living in poverty, nationwide, decreased by half a percentage point from 2017 to 2018 covering nearly 1.5 million people.

“We saw some really good news that for the fourth straight year in a row, poverty went down in the United States. But it remains unacceptable that 38 million people still live below the poverty line,” said Amelia Kegan, the Legislative Director on Domestic Policy for the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

The national poverty line is set at about $25,400 for a family of four. The U.S. poverty rate stands at 11.8 percent. But West Virginia is still lagging behind.

“West Virginia ranked number four when we’re looking at poverty rates over 2017 and 2018. And so, it is significantly above the national average of a two year average of about 16.5%,” Kegan said.

Two of the most powerful anti-poverty programs are the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit, preventing 7.9 million people from falling into poverty, including 4.2 million children according to Kegan. Another vital tool is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

“The data also showed that the SNAP program, formerly known as food stamps, prevented about 3 million people from falling into poverty back in 2018,” she said.

More than 340,000 people in West Virginia receive SNAP benefits each month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The participation varies by parts of the state, however. In the first congressional district, about 13 percent of all households receive SNAP.

In the second congressional district, about 15 percent of households receive SNAP benefits. In the third congressional district, that number climbs to 22 percent of all households.

Op-Ed: Never Forget — but Remember Coming Together, too

It’s hard to believe the terror attacks on Sept. 11 were 18 years ago.

In some ways, it feels like it just happened. In other ways, it seems like forever ago.

I still vividly remember where I was and what I was doing that morning. I’m sure you do, too.

It was an awful event in our nation’s history, and we should never forget what happened, what it meant and what we lost on that terrible day.

We were attacked by evil men who perverted a religion as an excuse to do unspeakable and unfathomable acts of hate.

In the days that followed, I still remember President George W. Bush saying:

“The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war. When we think of Islam we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace, and that’s made brothers and sisters out of every race, out of every race. “America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms, and dads, and they need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.”

If there was any good to come from the terrible attacks on Sept. 11, I remember the country coming together in the weeks and months that followed. There was disagreement, of course, but the political rancor was gone – at least for a while.

Today we have forgotten that feeling. People are name-calling and treating each other with incredible disrespect. That doesn’t seem like the America from 18 years ago.

Near the end of his presidency in 2008, standing at the Pentagon, Bush said, “One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11. And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice.”

If you want to “Never Forget” the terror attacks of 9/11, don’t just hold on to the anger. Lend a hand to your neighbor, do something kind for a stranger or just be kind in general. That’s a much greater legacy in the post-9/11 era than hate and anger.

This column ran in the Charleston Gazette-Mail Metro Section on 9/11/19.

Eric Douglas is the Associate Producer for Inside Appalachia, a newspaper and magazine columnist and author.