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Beckley’s Exhibition Coal Mine is not just an ordinary tourist attraction. If the House of Delegates has its way, it will become “the official coal mine” of West Virginia. And if Delegate Linda Sumner, R-Raleigh, and her fellow lawmakers prevail, it will be known as America’s Mine — a national designation that she feels could enhance tourism.
“With the increase of tourism that I’m sure we’re going to see with the Boy Scouts coming in, we would like to get this,” Sumner said. So far, only one other state — Tennessee — has a mine as it’s official state one and is jockeying for the national distinction, she pointed out. “We’re trying to bring more visibility to what we have to offer in our area,” Sumner said. When an entity bears a national designation, she said, tourists are more inclined to stop and look at it.
Delegates in Wednesday’s floor session approved HCR68, pointing out the state lacks an entity known as an “official” state mine, so Beckley’s was picked out for the honor.
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According to the EIA’s latest weekly report, coal production nationwide continues to drop, down 0.5 percent while West Virginia’s coal production is down 0.8 percent for the year ending 2/19/12. This is compared to just 0.3 percent nationally and 0.5 percent for West Virginia for the previous week, suggesting the decline in demand is getting steeper.
This sharp decrease is fueled by both a drop in demand as the nation’s utilities work through stockpiles of coal left from a mild winter and decreased demand for met coal because of the economic uncertainties around the world, as well as regulatory uncertainty caused by the Obama EPA’s on-going assault on coal.
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More than 1,500 coal miners have tested positive for drug use since Kentucky began screenings six years ago, creating additional risks in an already dangerous industry.
That information from the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing convinced the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee to approve legislation Thursday to eliminate loopholes in current law that could allow miners who abuse drugs to return to work in Kentucky.
The legislation would revoke the mine certifications for three years for first offenders, five years for second offenders and for life for third offenders. Current law allows miners to be retested after 10 days. Those who test negative can then return to work.
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West Virginia legislators appear ready to give Appalachian Power, whose service area includes Ohio and Marshall counties, authority to sell bonds the company wants to use to hold electric rates down now - probably at the cost of higher ones in the future.
From the company's standpoint, the idea makes sense. It would allow Appalachian to avoid a sudden price jump of 30-40 percent, instead spreading the burden out over several years to come.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall says he hopes the demand for coal will increase soon so out of work miners can start work again.
Several southern West Virginia mines have shut down recently due to a decrease in demand for coal. Hundreds of miners across the coalfields are without jobs and Rahall said last week in an exclusive interview with The Logan Banner that he believes the coal mines will see an increase in need for coal.
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"Correlation is not causation" is a statistics mantra. It is drilled, military school-style, into every budding statistician. But what does it actually mean? Well, correlation is a measure of how closely related two things are. Think of it as a number describing the relative change in one thing when there is a change in the other, with 1 being a strong positive relationship between two sets of numbers, –1 being a strong negative relationship and 0 being no relationship whatsoever.
"Correlation is not causation" means that just because two things correlate does not necessarily mean that one causes the other. As a seasonal example, just because people in the UK tend to spend more in the shops when it's cold and less when it's hot doesn't mean cold weather causes frenzied high-street spending. A more plausible explanation would be that cold weather tends to coincide with Christmas and the new year sales.
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The WV Coal Mining Institute, the WVCA and the Central Appalachian Section of SME will be held at the Stonewall Jackson Resort May 3-5, 2012.
Registration information was sent out previously via e-mail with detailed information. If you did not receive please let us know and it will be resent.
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The West Virginia Eleventh Annual CEDAR Golf Classic will be held on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at the Twisted Gun Golf Course in Wharncliffe, West Virginia. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with golf beginning at 10 a.m. promptly. Contact Bud Clapp at
Last week’s Coal Bits listed the Kentucky CEDAR Golf Tournament.
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