This Conversation

Emory & Henry graduate Kevin Saxton will be getting a Superbowl ring as a team member of the Kansas City Chiefs following their 25-22 Superbowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024.

After stints as an assistant coach for a North Carolina high school coach and for Benedict College in South Carolina, he won a Bill Wash minority fellowship and was assigned to the Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Andy Reid hired him as an offensive assistant coach.

Saxton played quarterback from 2014 - 2017 at Emory & Henry College where he set a school record with 8,536 passing yards and notched 69 touchdown passes. After graduation, he joined the team's coaching staff.

In this conversation, Saxton talks about his family and sports background, his philosophy of leadership, and his role with the NFL team, with a comment or two about Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelcie, and Taylor Swift.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Nuclear energy -- along with nuclear waste may be coming to Wise County in Southwest Virginia.

Volunteer with SW Virginia Nuclear Watch Coalition Rees Shearer presents objections to the idea.

Plans are underway for a Small Modular Nuclear Reactor on a 65,000 acre site in Wise County. Utility companies Dominion Power and American Electric Power/Appalachian Power want to build the reactors in conjunction with large data center -- and are asking the Virginia Legislature to allow them to start charging existing customers now for the cost of investing and building the sites.

In this conversation, Rees reminds listeners about the dangers of nuclear waste and points out that there is not one operating SMNR on land in the country.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Dr. Keith Perrigan is bragging about student achievement in Washington County Schools. He's also set a goal of having WCOVA school teachers be the highest paid teachers in the state.

Where does this passion and optimism come from and who is the student in Dr. Perrigan's office.. and why is he there?

Be sure to tune in to this wide-ranging, uplifing conversation with Dr. Keith Perrigan of Washington County, Va schools.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Dr. Theresa Burriss has brought her expertise in Appalachia to Southwest Virginia, by way of 25 years' teaching at Radford University, a Fulbright in Romania, and a Governor's appointment to the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice.

In this conversation, she talks about unique characteristics of the economy in Appalachia -- and specifically in Southwest Virginia.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

This week's interview is with Orchestra Conductor Cornelia Laemmli Orth of Song of the Mountains Orchestra-- from Switzerland via other major world cities to the TriCities, she brings passion, drama, and excitement to the professional orchestra performances.

Soundtrack about movies is the theme for the Jan. 27, 7:30 Concert and Eastman Employee Center.

On Feb. 10, a tribute to Martin Luther King performance is free, featuring visiting performers alongside area college and church choirs.

Tickets are available at Songofthemountains.org.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

William Isom produces a series of programs focused on being Black in Appalachia.

This interview precedes 2024 celebrations of Martin Luther King Day and airs in advance of Mr. Isom's presentation in Abingdon about some of the history and contraditions in views toward Blacks in the area. For example, support for abolition of slavery was often expressed by slave owners. The SW Virginia area has high numbers of lynchings and some localities are beginning to memorialize the achievements and landmarks of Blacks and also memorializing some of the injustices.

Find Mr. Isom's work in a search for Black in Appalachia where you'll find fascinating stories and oral histories.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

David Miller will blow your mind with the story of how a bee hive gets a new queen. Her is a bee keeper and owner of Bee Woodwork. beewoodwork.com. where he sells supplies for bees. He's also President of Highlands Bee Keepers. highlandsbeekeepers.com.

Bottom line. David Miller loves bees and wants others to know how important they are to us.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Rev. Boyd Evans of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Abingdon, Va. reflects on his own experience in Occupied Gaza in the light of the current Israel -Gaza war that began on October 7, 2023 with an attack on Israel by Hamas operatives.

The conversation includes an intro to historical background to the establishment of Israel and the ongoing violence and tensions between Israel and the occupied West Bank. Later in the discussion, Evans talks about his connection to the Ahli Anglican Hospital in Gaza. Shortly after our conversation on Dec. 18th, he learned that the Israeli army had, on the same day, destroyed the hosital front entrance and detained most of the staff. Two junior doctors, four nurses and two janitors were left to tend more than 100 seriously wounded patients -- all without running water or electricity.

A tank, parked on the rubble of the hospital entry wall, blocked anyone from entering or leaving.

At the end of the interview, Rev. Evans answers a question about how Christians can maintain faith in an all powerful God who sends his son as a prince of peace -- and yet allows the horrors of this war to leave tens of thousands dead, including thousands of innocent children, with no end in sight for the massive bombing, death, and destruction.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

David Alford founded Cross Purposes Production when he realized that a play by that name that he was writing should be a screen play.

That short film led to three feature films, the most recent of which is Searching for the Elephant and its release is imminent.

The film was shot in Southwest Virginia with a cast drawn from area professionals. Details of the release of Searching for the Elephant in This Conversation.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

We talked to Nurse Curt Phillips in the midst of the initial COVID crisis. Now, with an uptick in new COVID cases in the Bristol area, Curt reviews the changes in cases and treatments.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.