The FOC Ladies Auxiliary went to Mabscott Elementary and delivered two metal cabinets with clothing for many of the area children as the school is considered one of the poorest in the county and is in need of additional outside assistance.

They have also completed two weeks of their "Coal in the Classroom".  They have two aids in each classroom who are taking in everything said, so they are educating adults, as well.  

They received a very nice "Thank You" from the state garden clubs for their donations for their state meeting.  They are getting around.

The last Wednesday of May, they will have classes from St. Francis and Sts. Peter and Paul at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine for the day and will furnish each student with hard hats, shirts, tour of the camp, ride through the mine and lunch.

The first week of June they have four hundred third graders from Logan County coming to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  They, too, will have hard hats, shirts, the tour of the camp and a ride through the mine, plus lunch.  This is part of the Brickstreet Project.  The ladies will be ready for a break!!

Scholarship winners will be announced the first of week. Mercer, Greenbrier, Summers, Raleigh, Logan, Nicholas, and Fayette counties are represented.  The ladies are getting around!

June 19th, a Friday, at White Oak Country Club will be a fundraising golf outing to help subsidence the above mentioned projects, please set up your company foursome and attend.

Pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 63, which was passed by both the House and Senate last session, the Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety has been meeting weekly to develop mine safety rules governing the movement of mining equipment by June 2^nd that will implement the updated provisions of Senate Bill 357.

The Resolution instructed the Board to review the Title 36, Series 4 Regulation to insure any revisions to the rule are protective and consistent with the changes to 22A-2-6 by SB 357.  A proposed working draft rule that provides for the protections and requirements of the revised statute will be considered at the next meeting of the Board.  The Board is made up of three industry and three labor representatives, with the Director of the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety & Training serving in an ex officio capacity. 

The West Virginia Business & Industry Council – an organization of which our Association is an active member – will host a regional business forum from 1:00-4:30 p.m. at Oglebay Resort & Conference Center in Wheeling onThursday, May 21^st. 

Entitled, Policy & Progress, this forum will feature discussions on the results of the 2015 legislative session and focus conversation on some of the key issues facing the state - tax reform, right to work, legal reform, regional economic development and a forward-looking discussion on the 2016 legislative session.

These forums will bring together subject matter experts and policy makers to help move West Virginia forward.  Senate President Bill Cole will attend the event, as will legislators from the region.

We would appreciate your consideration for attending this event or sending a representative from your organization.  Please also forward this invitation to any local business leader you think may have an interest in attending.  

There is no fee to attend the event, To register for our Wheeling BIC forum go to:   http://goo.gl/DI1zna or e-mail:  info@wvbic.org.

wvgazette.com
By Phil Kabler

After months of speculation, it was a little anti-climatic when Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced he was staying put in Washington rather than opting for a third term as governor.

While some state Democrats were practically begging Manchin to come back, there were some sound reasons for Manchin to stay, even if he would have been all but assured of winning the governor’s race.

First, it’s no secret Manchin relishes the media spotlight, and in his new capacity as a key moderate Democrat swing vote in the Senate, his star will shine even brighter with more frequent appearances on national newscasts such as “Morning Joe” and “Face the Nation.”

Coal production in the U.S. again finished lower this past week, according to the latest report from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) and the National Mining Association.

Production in the United States is down by 1.63 million tons (7.6%) for the week ending May 2 compared to the same time last year. Production for the week stood at 17.36 million tons compared to 18.98 million tons for the same week in 2014. Cumulative production for the year-to-date is also down sharply as of May 2 coming in at 315.27 million tons compared to 333.86 million tons last year – a decline of 18.59 million tons or 5.4%.  Production for the previous 52 weeks also trended lower – finishing at 979.05 million tons compared to 986.49 million tons for the same period ending in 2014.

The number of rail car loadings was also down sharply, finishing the week down 9.7% from the same period last year. Rail car loadings are also down sharply year-to-date – off 5.3% from the same period in 2014.