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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

TVA Settlement Brings Millions to Western NC

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011   

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - The New Year will bring a small silver lining to the cloud of acid rain that's been falling for years on western North Carolina.

The state has settled its seven-year lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority for air pollution from the agency's coal-fired power plants. Now, the North Carolina Energy Office, the agency dispersing the funds, is meeting with western North Carolina communities to determine how to spend the $11 million settlement that has been awarded to the state.

In addition to the settlement money, says Seth Effron, communications director for the Energy Office, residents will see reduced pollution.

"The TVA is going to embark on cleaning up these facilities and making sure that there is a reduction in the kinds of coal-burning-related pollution."

Western North Carolina will see a little more than $2 million a year for the next five years as a result of the settlement, Effron says. The money could go toward job creation in energy-related fields and finding ways to become more energy efficient.

At meetings held this month, the Energy Office invited community members to offer suggestions for how they'd like to see the money spent. Effron says they heard several examples of how mountain communities already are finding innovative ways to conserve energy.

"People are saying, 'These are the things going on that are helping our communities, and let's look at ways to do even more of these kinds of things.' "

One example, he says, was from Cherokee County, where the school district used more than $800,000 in energy savings to avoid staffing cutbacks and keep 15 teachers in the classroom.


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