By Jeff Keeling | This story was originally published and broadcast on Jan. 16, 2026 by WJHL-TV, an affiliate of CGS and ABC based in Johnson City, Tennessee. Pavlo Rybaruk, who lives in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine, is seen here wearing the Hutsul serdak, a traditional decorated jacket worn by men in the region. Rybaruk wore the Hutsul serdak for his graduation ceremony, hosted via Zoom by ETSU.

By Courtney Roberts | Although the sun had begun to steal through the clouds, the birds had not yet resumed singing.

By Phillip J. Obermiller and Thomas E. Wagner | Although not readily recognized for it, the federal Appalachian region hosts many busy ports. They are an important part of the region’s transportation network, serving national and international markets for coal, steel, chemicals, cement, grain, fertilizer, limestone, petroleum products, sand and gravel, and other bulk commodities such as lumber and wood chips.  

By Iris Castillo | On the narrow, winding roads of Southwest Virginia, distance has never been measured in miles alone. Here, distance is felt in whether a car starts on a cold morning, or whether a neighbor can afford to take time off work to drive someone to an appointment three counties away. In central Appalachia, a mile “as the crow flies” can take hours to traverse by road. Geography has always shaped access to health care. 

Rick Van Noy is the author of four books, including Borne by the River: Canoeing the Delaware from Headwaters to Home (Cornell 2024) and Sudden Spring: Stories of Adaptation in a Climate-Changed South (Georgia 2019). He is a professor of English at Radford University.