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Help Our Friends in Mt. Pleasant by Submitting Your Water Bill for Comparison
You may remember reading about the high bills and terrible water quality problems residents of Mt. Pleasant are facing in the May 15th SOCM E-Newsletter. The Maury County Chapter has been meeting in Mt. Pleasant over the last few months to help them figure out ways to address the serious economic burden of their outrageous water bills.
Here's how we can help our friends in Maury County!
Maury County Chapter members are collecting water bills from across the state to compare with their bills. So far, they've already found their rates to be as much as 2.5 times higher than in other areas.
Please consider sending a copy of your water bill to Middle Tennessee Organizer Brad Wright so he and members of the Maury County Chapter (with help from the Green-Collar Jobs Committee) can find out what fellow Tennesseans pay for their water.
You can email Brad at brad@socm.org, call him at 615-355-9356, or mail your bill to him at 103 Belfield Court, Smyrna, TN, 37167. Please cross out any personal or identifying information.
Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to help our fellow SOCM members fight injustice in their area.
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GCJ Committee Members Tour the State
Last week, Green-Collar Jobs (GCJ) member Franz Raetzer and organizer Katie Greer interviewed efficiency contractors in Kingston and Lenoir City, Tenn., to kick off a series of interviews the GCJ committee will conduct throughout the summer.
The purpose of these interviews is to gather information from a contractor's perspective on the TVA In-Home Energy Evaluation. We want to find out if the rebates offered by TVA have increased jobs in the energy efficiency field, what aspects of the program need improvement, and how SOCM can play a role to ensure more people are able to afford efficiency improvements for their homes.
The committee will be continuing these interviews with GCJ committee members in Maury County next week and in Fentress County shortly after. GCJ would like to conduct at least 30 interviews throughout the state by August.
Contact Katie Greer at 865-249-7488 or katie@socm.org if you'd like to help conduct an interview. It's a great opportunity to help bring GCJ work to your community.
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"Spring into SOCM" New Member Rex Payne
Congratulations to new member Rex Payne for being selected as our "Spring into SOCM" member this month! Rex, along with many others, joined at the first Knoxville chapter meeting on May 14th and has since been very involved,
 | | Rex (middle) with Brad Wright and Patrick Morales at the Knoxville Blitz |
helping work on the agenda for the next chapter meeting on June 18th. Prior to even becoming a SOCM member, Rex gave up his whole Saturday to participate in our Knoxville Blitz, where he knocked on doors to talk to people about SOCM. Thanks for all your hard work, Rex!
We've been beefing up our recruitment efforts this spring by putting new members' names in a drawing for prizes each month. Members have also been talking to their friends and neighbors about all the benefits of a SOCM membership. Between our issue work, tabling, word of mouth, and house parties, we've had over 30 new members join since April. Congratulations to everyone on a successful membership campaign!
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Public Comment Period for Minnows is Reopened
The tale of little fishes continues! You may remember that SOCM was instrumental in getting the Laurel Dace (a minnow that lives in streams in coalfield areas), on the endangered species list last year. That little fish, plus four more species of fish, made it to the list! Now their habitat is up for protection and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is reopening the public comment period for habitat protection. For the Environmental Impact Study, click here. SOCM members, especially E3 members, worked very hard to get the FWS to recognize these minnows in an effort to protect their habitat, which is currently being polluted as a result of destructive surface mining in the area.
Saving this habitat is critical for the Laurel Dace AND residents of these areas!
Comments are welcome from the public.
Send your comments to:
Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-R4-ES-2011-0074
Division of Policy and Directives Management
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM
Arlington, VA 22203
The comment period closes on June 25th.
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SOCM Members Lobby against Mountaintop Removal During the Annual "Week in Washington"
On June 2nd, several SOCM members traveled to Washington, DC, to participate in the 'Week in Washington', (WiW), hosted by The Alliance for Appalachia. The groups that make up the Alliance come together in DC each June to lobby for an end to Mountaintop Removal through clean water legislation. About 150 residents from four states afflicted by MTR gathered for a week of action. Those lobbying for an end to MTR in Tennessee included several SOCM members. Special thanks to Stephanie Langley, Vickie Terry, Jack McNelis, Ann League, Daniel Snider, Leslie Gengozian, Patrick Morales, Jim Deming and Bonnie Swinford for representing Tennesseans.
The week was full of training, meetings with legislators, and action. On Monday and Tuesday, the group visited the offices of many representatives from Tennessee and other Appalachian states. On Tuesday, the Tennessee group attended a breakfast reception held by Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, where they had their picture taken with the senators and had time to share their "elevator speech" calling for an end to MTR. On Wednesday, some members of the group from Tennessee chose to act on their own behalf and participated in sit-ins in legislative offices, chanting and singing, and calling for legislators to recognize the harmful effects of MTR.
Thanks to everyone who went to Washington, DC, and to all the SOCM members who called their legislators last week.
Click here to see the pictures!
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Join SOCM!
Your community needs you. Click on the link above to pay membership dues or click below to donate to SOCM and designate your donation as membership dues.
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Summer KIX Dance
Friday, June 15
Boys and Girls Club, Jackson
7 - 10 p.m.
Anti-Racism Training
Saturday, June 16
SOCM West Office, Jackson
2 - 4:30 p.m.
East Nashville House Party
Saturday, June 16
Roz and John Lewis' House
1207 Gartland Ave., Nashville
6:30 p.m.
Knoxville Chapter Meeting
Monday, June 18
South Knoxville Community Center
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Maury County Chapter Meeting
Saturday, June 23
Fresh Word Ministries, Columbia
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Anti-Racism Transformation Team (ARTT) Meeting
Saturday, July 14
Lebanon, Tenn.
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Mt. Pleasant Cookout and Highest Water Bill Competition
Saturday, July 14
Gardenia Park, Mt. Pleasant
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
SOCM Board Meeting
Saturday, July 28
Lebanon, Tenn.
9:15 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Artists for Appalachia
Thursday, June 21st
Charlottesville, Va.
Appalachian Voices is gearing up for a special annual membership meeting and 15th anniversary celebration that will celebrate Appalachia's natural and cultural heritage. Special guests include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Kathy Mattea, Michael Johnathon, and a host of singers and songwriters. Receive a ticket by becoming a member of Appalachian Voices or renewing your membership. For more information, go to www.appvoices.org.
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E3 Organizer Position Opening
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"We are all apt to believe what the world believes about us."
- George Eliot
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