Our hearts are heavy as we write this petition, but we do so out of love and determination for our daughter, Destiny Miniard. She was diagnosed at the tender age of eight with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare and devastating brain cancer. Destiny, now still bravely fighting, is the light of our lives, and her struggle is a painful reminder of what no family should ever endure. Yet, Destiny is not alone. We have seen too many children in Laurel County and surrounding southeastern, Kentucky, counties that are grappling with diseases, leading us to believe there might be more at play.

We are asking the EPA, CDC/ATSDR, Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, Kentucky Department for Public Health, and other appropriate state and federal agencies to conduct a comprehensive, independent environmental and public-health investigation of Laurel County, Kentucky, including West Laurel, East Laurel, and the Wood Creek Lake watershed.

For generations, families have lived, raised children, worked, played, and built their lives around these communities and this water.

We are now asking a difficult question:

What have we been exposed to?

We are not making an accusation. We are asking for answers.

Recent attention surrounding an unusual number of children diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a rare and devastating pediatric brain cancer, has brought national and state attention to Eastern Kentucky. Kentucky health officials and the CDC are investigating the increase in DIPG cases in the region. (https://www.wkyt.com

One of those children is our daughter, Destiny.

Destiny was diagnosed with DIPG in January 2025, just days before her ninth birthday.

Our family has lived in Laurel County our entire lives. We drank the water. We lived on the land. Our children played in the dirt. We lived around the streams, creeks and Wood Creek Lake watershed.

Eventually, because of our concerns, we felt we had no choice but to leave the place we called home.

And now we are asking:

Could there be something in our environment that we have not yet identified?

We do not claim to know the answer.

That is precisely why we are asking for an investigation.

The water deserves answers.

The West Laurel Water Association identifies Wood Creek Lake as its source of drinking water and has stated that the lake has a moderate susceptibility to contamination. Its source-water information specifically identifies pesticide and fertilizer applications, fuel and chemical transportation along roads crossing the watershed, and domestic wastewater discharges as potential concerns. (westlaurelwater.com⁠)

Kentucky records also show ongoing monitoring of Wood Creek Lake for multiple categories of contaminants and water-quality parameters. (Kentucky Department of Education⁠)

These facts do not prove that contamination caused DIPG.

But they absolutely justify asking whether our community’s environmental exposures have been adequately investigated.

We are asking for the entire environment to be examined.

We are asking state and federal agencies to conduct or coordinate comprehensive testing of:

Drinking water
Source water from Wood Creek Lake
Private wells and groundwater
Soil
Sediment from Wood Creek Lake and surrounding waterways
Surface water, creeks and tributaries
Air quality
Agricultural and residential pesticide exposure
Industrial and commercial chemical exposure
PFAS and other persistent chemicals
Heavy metals
Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds
Petroleum-related contaminants
Fertilizer-related contaminants, including nitrates
Wastewater and septic-system impacts
Historical contamination and land-use records
Potential exposure pathways affecting children and pregnant women
We also ask that investigators examine historical environmental data, not simply today’s samples.

Some contaminants can disappear, migrate, accumulate in soil or sediment, or change over time. If we only look at what is present today, we may miss what families were exposed to years ago.

And we want the health data examined alongside the environmental data.

We are asking for an epidemiological investigation that examines the geographic distribution and timing of pediatric cancers in Laurel County and surrounding Eastern Kentucky.

We want researchers to look for patterns.

Where did affected children live?

What water systems served their homes?

Were they on public water or private wells?

How close were their homes to agricultural areas, industrial sites, waste sites, major transportation corridors, wastewater systems, or other potential sources of exposure?

What environmental exposures were shared?

Were there common exposure pathways?

And most importantly:

Is there a pattern that deserves further scientific investigation?

We understand that DIPG currently has no established environmental cause. We are not asking officials to declare that contamination caused our children’s illnesses.

We are asking them to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Our children deserve the truth.

If the testing shows that our environment is safe, then we want that reassurance.

If the testing identifies contamination, we want it addressed.

If the testing identifies something that requires further study, we want that research funded and completed.

And if there is no connection between the environment and DIPG, we want scientists to tell us that honestly too.

But what we cannot accept is simply being told:

“We don’t know.”

Not without first asking every reasonable question.

Not when children are being diagnosed with an exceptionally rare cancer at an unusual rate.

Not when families have legitimate concerns about their environment.

And not when the community deserves to know whether the water, soil, air and surroundings where our children grew up are safe.

This is bigger than one family.

This petition is not only for Destiny.

It is for every child in Laurel County.

It is for the families living around West Laurel.

It is for the families living in East Laurel.

It is for the families surrounding Wood Creek Lake.

It is for the children who are playing outside today.

It is for the mothers who are pregnant.

It is for the grandparents who have watched generations grow up here.

And it is for every family who deserves to know that the place they call home is not silently exposing their children to something dangerous.

We are not asking for fear.

We are asking for facts.

We are not asking for blame.

We are asking for science.

We are not asking anyone to declare a cause before the evidence exists.

We are asking our government to look.

OUR REQUEST

We respectfully call upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, Kentucky Department for Public Health, and appropriate local agencies to:

Conduct a comprehensive environmental assessment of West Laurel, East Laurel, Wood Creek Lake and the surrounding watershed.
Test drinking water, source water, groundwater, private wells, soil, sediment and air for a broad spectrum of contaminants.
Review historical environmental monitoring and contamination records.
Investigate pesticide, fertilizer, wastewater, industrial, petroleum, PFAS, heavy-metal and other potential exposures.
Map environmental exposure locations against pediatric cancer cases.
Examine whether there are geographic or temporal patterns among DIPG and other childhood cancers.
Make testing methodology, results and findings publicly available.
Provide affected families with clear information about potential exposure pathways.
Continue investigation when evidence warrants additional testing or epidemiological research.
Do not dismiss environmental factors simply because a specific environmental cause of DIPG has not yet been established.
We have spent our lives in these communities.

We love these communities.

We should not have to leave our home to feel like our children are safe.

We deserve to know what is in our water.
We deserve to know what is in our soil.
We deserve to know what is in our air.
And our children deserve to know what they have been exposed to.

For Destiny.

For every child.

For every family.

Please sign this petition and demand that our government investigate.

We don’t need assumptions.
We need answers.

Have faith. Ask questions. Follow the science. Protect the children.