Across the nation, more than 390,000 children rely on foster care. However, a shortage of licensed foster homes is creating a national crisis. While official foster care cases are carefully tracked, many informal examples of kinship care aren’t part of the data. For this Us & Them episode, we hear the experiences of those who’ve been part of the foster care system.
Jefferson County Residents Hold First Rockwool Construction Site Protest
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More than 200 protesters rallied at the construction site of the Rockwool plant in Ranson, Jefferson County.
Hundreds of people opposed to Rockwool organized a three-hour protest at the construction site this week.
Rockwool is a Denmark-based manufacturing company that produces stone wool insulation. It’s an alternative to other insulation, such as fiberglass, and it’s touted as ‘green.’ But the way it’s produced is by burning down basalt rock and recycled slag.
A large portion of Jefferson County residents and those from nearby areas have been protesting the plant for the past year citing health concerns; the main one being for students at an elementary school less than a mile away.
The protest was organized by the group Resist Rockwool. David Levine, who is the former president of the group, said Rockwool has recently begun vertical construction.
“And [Rockwool believes] that if they show that the walls are going up fast, and this is happening, and this is happening, then at some point we’re going to give up, but hell, walls have fallen down. We’re not going away.”
Rockwool broke ground in June of last year. Since then, there have been several pending lawsuits filed from opposition groups, rallies and an overall division within communities in the Eastern Panhandle.
**Editor’s Note: This story was corrected on May 20, 2019 to reflect David Levine’s role in the Resist Rockwool group.
In Pineville, West Virginia, a town of 500, residents filled up the front rows of the county courtroom recently. They came to hear the latest legal update on a battle some have been fighting for generations - securing clean water. Bobby Lee Keen and his wife Patsy attended the hearing.
“How come they have people living like they're in a third world country and the United States of America?” asks Bobby Keen.
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