Even if diabetes runs in your family, if you find out that your own A1C, or blood sugar level, is in the diabetes range, that doesn’t mean your future with diabetes is set in stone. Fannie Callahan, of Lee County, KY, is living proof. 
Despite having a family history of diabetes, when Fannie found out her A1C had crossed over into the diabetes zone, she jumped into action, changing what she ate every day and starting to go out walking as often as she could. Before long, her A1C had fallen back down into a safer range, and, she says, she just felt better in general. In this episode we visit with Fannie, as part of our ongoing storytelling series Prevent Diabetes EKY, and hear about her diabetes journey— including how, even if she’s exercising more, she still makes time to watch basketball.

On March 9, 1976, the Scotia mine in Eolia in Letcher County, KY, exploded killing fifteen coal miners. On March 11, the mine blew up again, killing eight miners and three federal inspectors. The Scotia mine was owned by Blue Diamond Coal Company in Knoxville, TN

This Making Connections News episode features a discussion on April 5th, 2025, with some of the members of the Westmoreland Mine Rescue Team who were the first to enter the mine to attempt rescue and recovery. They were then called back to enter the mine after the second explosion.

Brian McKnight, professor of history at the University of Virginia at Clinch Valley, led the panel at the Harry M. Caudill Library in Whitesburg. Rescue team members David Breedlove, Gerald Tate, Allen Wolfe and J.R. Kimberlin share vivid and at times painful details of their experiences. At the time of the disaster they worked at Westmoreland mines located in Wise County, VA.

Diabetes is a very serious disease that can lead to loss of limbs, heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, blindness, and death. Kentucky has the 9th highest death rate from diabetes in the nation. The good news is that Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or managed. Individuals with prediabetes can cut their risk of getting type 2 diabetes IN HALF by losing weight, eating healthy food and being more active. People with diabetes can get help from health care providers and take these same steps to manage their diabetes and even put it in remission. Individuals with prediabetes can cut their risk of getting type 2 diabetes IN HALF by losing weight, eating healthy food and being more active. People with diabetes can get help from health care providers and take these same steps to manage their diabetes and even put it in remission. Listen in to hear some inspiring stories from East Kentucky folks who are doing just that, and the programs that are helping them.

Delving into the WMMT archive to hear from two amazing Appalachian women artists, poet Nikki Giovanni and folk singer/songwriter Jean Ritchie.

Nikki Giovanni died on December 9th, 2024, at age 81. A native of Knoxville, TN, she is a celebrated African American poet, writer, and activist who gained prominence in the 1960s during the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements. Since 1987 Giovanni has taught at Virginia Tech and lived in Blacksburg, VA. She came to see herself as one of the Affrilachian poets and her writing on race, love and justice have significantly influenced Appalachian poetry. Giovanni is the narrator and the subject of one of the 15 interviews included in “Tell It On The Mountain: Appalachian Women Writers,” a series created by WMMT producer Maxine Kenny that first aired in 2015. That interview is shared in this episode.

The program concludes with a feature on internationally recognized folk singer and songwriter Jean Ritchie, who was born in Viper, KY in 1922. This story comes from “Southern Songbirds: Women Pioneers of Country and Old Time Music,” a series produced by Rachel Goodman and WMMT and originally aired in 2001.

Photo credit - U.S. Air Force photo/ Airman 1st Class Stephany Miller, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This program features a special selection of conversations with Appalachian African Americans. There's no Appalachian history without Black history. Despite so many of the stereotypes about this region, African Americans have long been a vital part of the fabric of mountain communities. As part of a project called AppalHealth, we've been conducting oral history interviews with Black East Kentuckians, talking to people both about their lives and experiences in general, and also asking folks in particular about their experiences with healthcare. The interviews were led by Appalshop's Tiffany Sturdivant, and Tiffany will take things from here.

This Making Connections News edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk shares some good news from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Appalachia for Letcher County kids and their parents. Then Conan Cao, summer intern at Appalachian Citizens Law Center, describes the prevalence of black lung disease in his native China and the US, and offers some thoughts on the hopes of local folks in both countries. The episode ends with Hazel Dickens’ powerful rendition of her song “Black Lung.” Listen to Mountain Talk on WMMT on Thursday at 6 pm, with encore broadcasts Mon at 10 am and Tuesday at 11 am.

Harm Reduction specialists, law enforcement, business people, faith leaders and directly impacted Kentuckians relayed personal experiences and offered policy advice during Dream.org‘s first event in their Public Health Is Public Safety campaign. The event took place April 19, 2023 at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in eastern Kentucky. The campaign goals are to bring together communities across Kentucky to work for more effective drug policies, substance abuse recovery programs and harm reduction efforts. About 75 people attended this kickoff meeting. It was organized by John Bowman, who lives in eastern Kentucky and is Dream.org’s Kentucky Campaign Coordinator. Dream.org is a national organization working for criminal justice reform, climate solutions, and job opportunities for people in places that are often overlooked.

Substance abuse continues as a serious public health crisis in Kentucky. In fact, 2021 saw a 14.5% rise in drug overdose deaths. Harsh penalties for drug-related felony offenses enacted during the War on Drugs are a major reason Kentucky has very high rates of incarceration Research clearly shows that criminal drug laws neither prevent substance use nor address substance use disorder and overdoses. Advocates hope that members of the Kentucky Legislature will take steps to reduce incarceration and increase recovery opportunities in the 2024 General Assemly

A Production of Appalshop Community Media Initiative and WMMT.org.

Feb. 26, 2023 was the 51rst anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Flood, a coal mining disaster that killed 125 people and left 4000 homeless in this Logan County, WV community. This episode features audio from "Buffalo Creek Revisited," a 1985 documentary film produced by Mimi Pickering that looks at the impact of the disaster ten years after the flood, a story that is particularly relevant as many are questioning how, or if, Eastern Kentucky will recover after the devastating floods of July 2022. That is followed by a powerful remembrance of the disaster by survivor Billy Jack Dickerson from the 50th anniversary event held at Man High School on Feb 26, 2022.

In Sept. 2022, the Bureau of Prisons announced that it was reviving a plan to build and operate a federal correctional institution and prison camp in Letcher County, KY, an area that was devastated by flooding on July 28, 2022. This episode shares the comments, both pro and con, that members of the public delivered to Bureau of Prisons representatives regarding bringing this facility to the county.

Plans for a prison originated in 2006 when Congress authorized a study for a high security facility which was eventually approved for a site in Roxanna, KY, in 2018. However, that plan was withdrawn in 2019. Now the Bureau of Prisons is proposing a medium security prison and work camp and began the process of creating a Draft Environmental Impact Statement with a public meeting on November 17 at Letcher County Central High School. One hundred-fifty people signed in at the high school and another 54 were attending by way of the internet.

While some supporters said they thought the prison would bring jobs and economic revitalization to the area, others commented that $500 million, the cost of building the prison, would be better used in other ways especially rebuilding housing and infrastructure destroyed in the flood. According to FEMA data, 27% of Letcher County homes suffered damage, with 20% uninhabitable without repairs.

Comments from the meeting have been lightly edited. All speakers received applause from the audience but that has been edited out for time’s sake.

Information about the proposed prison is available at https://www.proposed-fci-letchercountyky.com/.  There will be additional public comment periods as Draft Impact Statements are developed.

November is National Diabetes Month and our Making Connections News show at 6 pm tonight is sharing stories of eastern Kentuckians who are making lifestyle changes to prevent or slow down type 2 diabetes. Many are participating in Diabetes Prevention Programs that are supporting their efforts, even during COVID! One in seven Kentuckians have been diagnosed with diabetes. It is estimated that 1 in 3 have elevated blood sugar levels that could lead to diabetes and may not know it! Listen up and find more stories and information at www.preventdiabeteseky.org, a project of Appalshop CMI and the Kentucky Department for Public Health.