In a part of the Appalachian Mountains where one small town has fast become known throughout the country as the ATV capital of the world and the home of the state’s newest high school, many people are upset that a national film crew would come into the area and only focus on the area’s poorest communities.

The hourlong segment of a “20/20” special report about Appalachian children, which aired Friday on ABC, has many Harlan Countians upset and speaking out about the fact that Diane Sawyer and her film crew were busy for two years filming throughout the Appalachian Mountains and did not show any positive aspects of the area in the finished product.

Misty Evers, a Florida native who moved to Harlan County several months ago, said she found the segment offensive and disturbing that a national film crew would exploit the area as a whole with such negativity.

“I was very offended by the show — it only focused on some very disturbing issues that you can find anywhere in the United States if you look hard enough,” said Evers. “I haven’t been here a year yet, but I am still to find places that resemble the ones that were shown on the film. I can’t imagine how people who are lifelong residents of the area must feel after seeing that.”

In speaking of the then-upcoming “20/20” segment at a recent Harlan County Chamber of Commerce meeting, Harlan County Sheriff Marvin Lipfird pointed out that most places around the nation have bad sections of town.

“I can take you to some of the nicest cities and show you some bad places. I can take you to Lexington, Louisville and Richmond and find those kinds of places,” said Lipfird. “Every city and town of America has those types of situations and not just here in the Appalachian area.”

Although the cities cited by Lipfird are not considered to be a part of the Appalachian chain, they are however near the region and accept many students from the area into their colleges such as the University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University and Western Kentucky University.

“If there are people — and we know that you can find them if you look hard enough — who choose to live like the ones shown on the segment residing in the Appalachian area it is because they have no motivation and no self-respect, but you can find that anywhere you go,” said Evers, who noted that if the people shown on the segment were not ready for criticism they should not have agreed to appear in the film.

While most people will agree that the Appalachian area was at one time stereotyped as the poorest and most uneducated area of the nation, many hoped that the area has long overcome these stereotypes.

At a recent chamber meeting, Harlan County Superintendent Tim Saylor noted that Harlan County has some of the “brightest kids in the country” saying that he would “put them up against anyone in the nation.”

Harlan County is noted as home to the newest high school in the state with the approximately $50 million Harlan County High School. Harlan High School has been cited as one of the top high schools nationwide for two years in a row, making many residents wonder how this could be true if the segment represented the majority of the Appalachian population.

“I have to agree with Tim (Saylor) that we do have some of the brightest kids anywhere,” said Lipfird, who noted that he was very disturbed by the segment.

“I know that things like that do happen around here and I also know that some people do chose to live like that, but that is not the way the average Appalachian family lives,” said Lipfird. “In my personal opinion and in speaking about the county in which I am sworn to protect and serve I would say that around one percent of the population would make up the type of situations shown in the film.”

Lipfird said that while he considers himself to be a “country boy” that description does not mean living in the lowest of poverty-stricken conditions, and as most all Appalachian people he is proud of his mountain heritage.

“I am very proud to tell people that I am from Harlan County. When I travel to another city I don’t say that I am from “southeastern Kentucky” I say that I am from Harlan County because I am proud of that fact,” said Lipfird who also noted that what bothered him the most about the film was the fact that people who have not had the opportunity to visit the area will see that film and right away think that is how the majority of the region chooses to live.

“I would like to extend an open invitation to Diane Sawyer to come back into the area and allow me and my deputies to give her a tour of the real Appalachian region, because she obviously did not see what we see or what the area is made of,” said Lipfird. “There was not anything shown in that film describing the true Appalachian heritage of the people.”

Chamber president Dan Mosley noted that he could not understand how a national film crew could come into the area and not notice the many beautiful buildings such as the Harlan County High School, while Lipfird also noted that when he offered to take the film crew to some of the county’s many nice neighborhoods they refused.

Even though a problem of rotted teeth in the area was a big part of the segment, many have pointed out that there is no reason for this to be a reality because of the many medical plans available to area children through Kentucky-funded K-Chip and Medicare.

Many Harlan Countians were also insulted about the part where the young man was digging coal off the side of the mountain because according to many people that should never have to happen due to the fact that coal and heat vouchers are available throughout the area through the many Community Action Agencies.

Lipfird said that although the film may have shown some truth representing a small portion of the population, his biggest question was “what was the purpose of the film in the first place?”

Dawn Nunez, Harlan County Chamber of Commerce member and long-time resident of the county, said in reference to the segment, “poor does not mean dirty.”

There were over 1,000 responses to the segment posted on the 20/20 Web site within several hours of the show, indicating that Appalachian residents were not very happy with the out-come of the segment devoted to what the film referred to as “Hidden America.”