In a corner of Appalachia used to visits from bureaucrats and other would-be do-gooders, it's not hard to understand why, a decade ago, the people of Tennessee's Coal Creek region were suspicious of geotechnical engineer Barry Thacker's offer to clean up their mine waste-tainted waterways.
Thacker, president of Knoxville-based GeoEnvironmental Associates Inc. and an avid fisherman, thought his skills could improve the trout habitat, but he never envisioned the life-changing impact his Coal Creek Watershed Foundation (CCWF) would have on the community of Briceville, Tenn.