The opioid epidemic has long devastated Appalachia. Drug overdose deaths are falling both within West Virginia and the United States, but the epidemic has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the past two decades — including tens of thousands of West Virginians.
The opioid epidemic has long devastated Appalachia. Drug overdose deaths are falling both within West Virginia and the United States, but the epidemic has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the past two decades — including tens of thousands of West Virginians.
In part, addiction experts have traced the origins of the opioid epidemic to the over-prescription of painkillers. In the 2000s, facilities dubbed “pill mills” began popping up and distributing narcotics to individuals without medical documentation to support their need for the medication.
A doctor based in southern Ohio, Paul Volkman, stood trial in 2011 after being charged with operating such a facility between 2003 and 2006. Author and journalist Philip Eil’s father attended medical school with Volkman, and recounted the case in his new book, “Prescription for Pain.”
In the 2000s, many doctors took jobs in Appalachia “at these sketchy pain clinics that were almost always not affiliated with local hospitals, that were often owned by people who did not have medical backgrounds,” Eil said. This “opened this spigot of prescription drugs into an area that was really vulnerable.”
Ultimately, Volkman’s trial resulted in his conviction. He received the longest sentence given to any U.S. doctor for drug-related crimes during the opiate epidemic: four consecutive life sentences in prison.
Eil said his book includes more than a decade’s worth of correspondence with Volkman. Volkman’s crimes resulted in the deaths of several patients in Ohio and across the Ohio River in Kentucky; his trial also included testimony from a West Virginia pharmacist.
“In the book, it was really important to me to zoom out to tell that broader story of Appalachia and the opiate epidemic,” he said.
While the fallout from Volkman’s criminal proceedings came more than a decade ago, Eil said its lessons on accountability are still resonant for readers today, especially in Appalachia.
“The opiate epidemic, I always emphasize, is a manmade crisis. It’s not a natural disaster. It’s not a hurricane. It’s not an earthquake,” he said. “This has a lot of different people and institutions and organizations that are in some way responsible.”
Philip Eil will visit West Virginia bookstores this month on his promotional tour for the new book. You can find more information on the events on his website.
Numerous vegetables handled by the Ohio-based Wiers Farm were recalled by the United States Food and Drug Administration last week over a potential listeria contamination.
Numerous vegetables handled by the Ohio-based Wiers Farm — including peppers, cucumbers and squash — were recalled by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week over a potential listeria contamination.
Bulk produce items from the farm were sold at Aldi and Walmart locations in West Virginia, alongside several other states. The announcement expands an initial July 12 recall of Wiers Farm cucumbers, adding additional vegetables to the FDA order.
The FDA said no illnesses have been reported due to the contamination. Representatives for Aldi said customers should discard recalled products immediately or return them for a refund, and Walmart officials say they are looking into the cause of the contamination.
Listeria is a bacteria that can contaminate food products, and is most likely to affect pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with “weakened immune systems,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
The CDC estimates that roughly 1,600 people get listeriosis, a disease derived from the bacteria each year, with around 260 of those people dying from the illness.
The full list of produce handled by Wiers Farm that has been recalled is as follows:
Anaheim peppers
Cilantro, in bunches
Cubanelle peppers
Cucumbers, whole
Green beans
Green bell peppers
Habanero peppers
Hungarian wax peppers
Jalapeño peppers
Mixed vegetable box
Mustard greens, in bunches
Pickling cucumbers
Plain parsley
Poblano peppers
Serrano peppers
Tomatillos
For more information on the recall order, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website.
On this West Virginia Morning, imagine packing all the highlights of things to do in West Virginia into one fun-filled trip. That’s what the inaugural Governor’s School for Tourism did recently for several dozen high school students. But as Maria Young reports, there are some high hopes riding on the career choices these students will make in the years ahead.
On this West Virginia Morning, imagine packing all the highlights of things to do in West Virginia into one fun-filled trip. That’s what the inaugural Governor’s School for Tourism did recently for several dozen high school students. But as Maria Young reports, there are some high hopes riding on the career choices these students will make in the years ahead.
Also, in this show, we have the latest story from The Allegheny Front, a public radio program based in Pittsburgh that reports on environmental issues in the region. Their latest story is all about the final recommendations after the East Palestine, Ohio rail accident.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Emily Rice produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
More than 2,200 West Virginia residents traveled out of state to receive an abortion in 2023. Among them, 820 went to Maryland, 600 went to Pennsylvania and 590 went to Virginia.
At least 2,240 West Virginia residents traveled out of state to receive an abortion in 2023, primarily to neighboring states with less strict abortion laws.
Among them, 820 residents traveled to Maryland, 600 traveled to Pennsylvania, 590 traveled to Virginia and 230 traveled to Ohio, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that researches reproductive and sexual health.
This coincides with a growing percentage of abortions provided to out-of-state residents in Maryland, Ohio and Virginia.
Two years ago today, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 ruling that protected abortion access nationally for decades. The decision allowed states to set their own policies on abortion.
In September 2022, Gov. Jim Justice signed a near-total abortion ban into law, prohibiting abortions outside of medical emergencies or instances when a fetus has no chance of survival.
The law makes some exceptions for some pregnancies conceived through rape or incest, but only until eight weeks of gestation for adults, and 14 weeks of gestation for minors.
New restrictions on abortion in West Virginia led some health care providers to bolster out-of-state reproductive health resources.
Located in Charleston, the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia — previously the state’s only abortion clinic — moved its abortion services from Charleston to Cumberland, Maryland, just two miles away from the state border.
Katie Quiñonez serves as executive director of the Women’s Health Center of Maryland, where the West Virginia facility’s abortion services were transferred.
“We did a market analysis and looked at what health care was available in those counties in mountain Maryland,” Quiñonez told the West Virginia Public Broadcasting podcast Us & Themearlier this year.
“We found that, not only was there not an abortion provider, [but] the nearest abortion providers for people living in mountain Maryland were at least 100 miles away,” she said. “We met directly with folks on the ground … in those communities to determine that, yes, there is a need here.”
The 2023 figures for out-of-state travel for abortion also omit residents who received reproductive health care remotely.
Human beings have used music to do everything from soothe children to sleep or to fire up crowds during football games, but there are other benefits, too. Folkways Reporter Liz Pahl explored them during an old-time jam session in Athens, Ohio.
This story originally aired in the June 23, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.
This story is about the powerful connection between two unexpected things: old-time music and mental health.
You can see how the two come together in the middle of a cozy living room in Athens, Ohio, where the furniture has been moved out to create a circle for six musicians. This is the home of Hilarie and Mark Burhans, two seasoned old-time musicians who host a weekly jam session.
“I have been playing banjo for like 50 years,” says Hilarie Burhans. “I live in the town where I met my husband in high school and kind of had a crush on him because he played the fiddle. And I thought, ‘Well, you know I’ll play the banjo.’ But I quickly learned to love banjo for its own sake.”
For the past four years, the Burhans’ old-time jam session has been thriving. This particular group of musicians came together during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have stayed together for a reason you may not think of immediately.
For their mental health.
Bass player Julie Elman explains why the jam session means so much to her.
“It’s community and it’s through music and it’s uplifting,” says Elman. “It’s just so amazing. And I think a lot about how we started this during the pandemic. It was a sanity saver, I think for all of us.”
It certainly has been for Caitlin Kraus, a musician who also happens to be a music therapist.
“There’s the social and community aspect that people have mentioned, but I think for me, too, it’s a time at the end of what’s usually a busy work day,” Kraus says. “It helps me to zone out and relax in a way … There’s the social connection, but also the sort of inner inward connection.”
Mark Burhans, Hilarie’s husband of 45 years and the cute fiddle player she fell in love with long ago, supports what his fellow musicians are saying.
“That’s a good point, the zoning out part of it is really good,” Mark Burhans says. “I can see how it would be really good for you. You deal with so much stress all day long at your job, and then to just sit there and [you] get to pound away at the guitar!”
One especially great thing about old-time jams, is you can be a beginner musician and be welcomed into the fold, adds Hilarie Burhans.
Pictures of musician family members and collected stringed instruments adorn the living room wall in the Burhans’ home.
Photo Credit: Liz Pahl/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“Everybody who attends our jam is at a different sort of stage in their musical progression,” she says. “And one of the things that I love about the inclusivity of old-time music is that a bunch of people who are at different places in their musical progression can happily sit down together and play a tune.”
Music Therapist Cheyenne Mize’s work focuses on how community music making increases the well-being of individuals and groups. Mize explains some of the science behind the mental health benefits of jam sessions.
“There’s a wealth of research literature showing the benefits of active music making and group music making. And in that research, we see evidence of enhanced social and emotional and cognitive well-being, including improvements in concentration and memory; reports of improved mental health and confidence, everything to a sense of purpose and connectedness and even protection against stress and depression,” Mize says.
Even though we live in an age where technology allows us to easily be in touch, Mize points out that playing music together provides a more tangible type of connection.
“We’re learning a lot more about loneliness and the devastating effects that loneliness has on an individual, and, you know, we all need more opportunities to connect to other people,” she adds.
A creative piece of folk artwork serves as a warm welcome on the front porch of the Burhans’ home. This work was made by Indiana artist Sam Barlett, and features old-time musicians.
Photo Credit: Liz Pahl/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Back at the jam session, Hilarie Burhans couldn’t agree more.
“I’m sure it’s improved my mental health to be involved in a weekly old-time jam session,” she says. “You can’t go through life alone. I think I’m happier and healthier. I think that playing music with other people is a lot more — I mean, it’s stress-reducing just to play on your own, but I think everybody needs to feel like they’re just sort of hooked up with other people.”
And that’s just what Monday nights at the Burhans feels like — welcomed arms of community and music.
The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts and culture.
This week on Inside Appalachia, hip hop started in New York and took root in places like West Virginia. We explore some of the history of the music and where it is today. Also, food deserts are places where it’s hard to find nutritious food, but they’re found in more than just rural counties in Appalachia. Food deserts are also in disenfranchised neighborhoods, like in East Knoxville.
This week,hip hop started in New York and took root in places like West Virginia. We explore some of the history of the music and where it is today.
Also, food deserts are places where it’s hard to find nutritious food, but they’re found in more than just rural counties in Appalachia. Food deserts are also in disenfranchised neighborhoods, like in East Knoxville.
And, the Reverend George Mills Dickerson of Tazewell, Virginia, was born in the years after slavery ended. During Juneteenth, he’s remembered especially through his poetry.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
Eric Jordan has led a West Virginia hip hop movement.
Photo Credit: Vanessa Peña/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Last year, communities celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip hop. Over the past half century, hip hop has gone from a marginalized art form to a mainstream powerhouse. It developed in major metropolitan centers like New York, Los Angeles and the dirty South, but took root in Appalachia, too.
Folkways Reporter Vanessa Peña reports on hip hop in West Virginia.
Food Apartheid In Appalachia
Femeika Elliott uses food to heal her neighborhood.
Photo Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Across the country, poor and largely Black neighborhoods were bulldozed and replaced with new highways and civic centers in the 20th century. That concept is known as urban renewal — and it tore communities apart. Now, one woman in Knoxville, Tennessee, is using food to try to heal generations of damage in a city neighborhood.
Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch has more.
Dirt Songs Sing Of Remembrance
Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour’s latest book is Dirt Songs.
Courtesy Photo
Ohio poet laureateKari Gunter-Seymour often writes about disenfranchisement, racism, poverty and addiction. In her new collection of poems, Dirt Songs, she recalls her small town upbringing and remembers the original owners of the land she now lives on.
Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Gunter-Seymour about her new book and what she sees as good in Appalachia.
Celebrating A Poet During Juneteenth
Jeanette Wilson holds a portrait of her grandfather, Rev. George Mills Dickerson, standing to the right of his son George Murray Dickerson.
Photo Credit: Connie Kitts/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Poetry has been an enduring tradition in Jeanette Wilson’s family. They’ve recited the poems of Wilson’s grandfather and her uncle George for nearly 100 years. Now, these poems about African American life in southwestern Virginia are read during the Juneteenth celebration in Tazewell, Virginia — where they reach a wider audience and connect the past to the present.
Folkways Reporter Connie Kitts brought us the story.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Ed Snodderly, Frank Hutchinson, Hazel Dickens, Johnny Statts and Dinosaur Burps.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editors Nicole Musgrave and Jennifer Goren.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
