The Kanawha Valley Mining Institute’s 21st Hatfield Scramble will be held Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at the Brier Patch Golf Course in Beckley, WV.    

Hole Sponsorships and golf registration can be obtained by the web site:  http://www.kvmi.org/Registration.html            

This is the primary means for the KVMI to continue to sponsor its scholarship program for deserving students and is the most important reason for sponsorship of this golfing event.

To view the latest video from FACES of Coal. The video features stream biologist Ben Faulkner who explains why conductivity is a faulty standard for measuring stream health and breaks down the science of conductivity in easy-to-understand terms.
 
To watch the video, go to www.facesofcoal.org/facts/conductivity

News Release Courtesy of the MTM Coaltion

CHARLESTON – Thursday’s announcement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of its decision to suspend the use of Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21) in the Appalachian region of six states is discriminatory and threatens the economy of the region. In a June 17 announcement, the Corps said they will immediately suspend the issuance of mining permits under the NWP 21 standards for the mining industry in West Virginia as well as Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.

The Corps said in a release that the suspension “will remain in effect until the Corps takes further action on NWP 21 or until the program expires on March 18, 2012.”

Stephen G. Young, long-time vice president of government affairs at Consol Energy, died Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Young was a native of Buckhannon and earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1958 and a law degree from West Virginia University in 1964. He also served for three years in the U.S. Navy.           

In 1974, Young joined Consolidation Coal Co., a Consol Energy subsidiary, as director of state government relations after serving for six years as president of the West Virginia Coal Association.

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said, "Steve was one of the most exquisite minds in the industry over the years. He was a mentor of mine. He clearly was a shining light in terms of public policy and how to deal with Congress and the Legislature. I learned so much from him.

"He was a great American, a patriot, a Navy SEAL. He was devoted to the industry and the people who work in it and wanted to see it progress, particularly the industry in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, where Consol had such a presence.

"He's one of those persons whose credibility and integrity was always unquestioned," Raney said. "He was a dear friend."

The West Virginia Coal Association and the Friends of Coal were asked to deliver the lunch address at the annual Coal Miner's Celebration Thursday at the Resort at Glade Springs in Raleigh County.

WVCA President Bill Raney told the crowd, estimated at about 200, that coal remains a vital part of the nation’s energy mix and will continue to be into to the foreseeable future “if the Obama Administration ever gets straightened out.”

Raney talked about the EPA’s apparent war on Appalachian coal and that Congress and the Administration must be made to realize the importance it has on the economy of the state, region and nation.
Gov. Joe Manchin was also on hand for the celebration and he pointed out that the Obama Administration was wrong to discriminate against eastern coal states.

"Coal mining is a good job and what you haven't accounted for is the patriotic sense of duty that our miners have. Not only do they provide a good living, they provide a way of life for this country and there is pride in that," says Governor Joe Manchin, during his speech at the celebration.

The crowd also had the opportunity to see and hear about some of the latest equipment and technologies available for the industry.