Stand Up That Mountain

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Jay Leutze was a non-practicing lawyer writing a novel, working for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and minding his own business in his home in western North Carolina when he got a phone call from an impassioned and outraged 14 year old named Ashley. She and her aunt and uncle, Ollie and Curly, were sure that the new scar on a nearby mountain was a violation of the state's Ridge Act.

They were right. Leutze joined their fight to stop a mining company from destroying the mountain. He documents their journey in his new book, "Stand Up That Mountain" (Simon and Shuster/2012) and he joins host Frank Stasio to talk about his David vs. Goliath story.

This program originally aired on June 6, 2012.  For a link to the audio, click here.