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Local drag racer competes for world championship

wvgazette.com

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Greg Fowler remembered drag racing his 1967 Chevelle Super Sport up and down West Virginia's roads.

In the '60s, drag racing on unpopulated rural roads was a normal activity for 20-somethings with fast cars.

One of their favorite spots to race was in Mason County, on a stretch of W.Va. 62 between Point Pleasant and Leon that the racers dubbed Wilson's Stretch -- so named for the family that owned a farm near the road.

Fowler and his friends discovered that the Wilsons would not call the police on the drag racing party as long as they steered clear of the farm.

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Mountaintop removal column full of fallacies

by Alek Duerksen, guest columnist, Collegiate Times

I write this letter in response to Matt Schmitt’s column “Mountaintop mining endangers beauty, economy of Appalachia,” (CT, Sept. 28). I take issue with numerous statements he made in his article, in addition to the overall message. I will address each sequentially as they appeared in the piece.

First, “men in business suits command an arsenal of weaponry with the sole purpose of mining the earth from beneath our very feet.” My first point would be that the earth is not mined from beneath our very feet. Mining companies reach out to landowners long before mining ever starts and negotiate a royalty agreement or property purchase which benefits all parties; land owners must give their express permission before mining can occur.

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Friends of Coal Continue Outreach Efforts

The Friends of Coal is continuing its outreach efforts on several fronts into the fall. In addition to a full schedule of conferences and events planned for the fall, the organization is hosting various groups of college students interested in learning about the industry.
 
Earlier this week, the Friends of Coal spoke with a group of students from the University of Charleston and a group of Wheeling Jesuit students will be in visiting on October 21. 
 
In addition, Friends of Coal was represented this past weekend at the annual Rocket Boys Festival in Coalwood. More than 3,000 people were on-hand for the event held in the hometown of the Rocket Boys, made famous in the movie “October Sky.”  
 
Later this month, the Friends of Coal will be taking part in a conference hosted by the West Virginia State Board of Education intended to begin development of a secondary schools curriculum to prepare high school students for careers in the energy and mining sector. The conference will be held in Fairmont.
 
And the Friends of Coal will be attending the annual meeting of Create West Virginia in Wheeling later this month. Create West Virginia is an extension of the Vision Shared organization, founded by the late-Gov. Cecil Underwood to lead the economic development and diversification efforts of the state.
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Governor Manchin Announces Suit Against EPA Over Coal Mining Issues

The following remarks were given today by Gov. Joe Manchin during a press conference announcing the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s action to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding coal mining permits in West Virginia:
 
I want to thank the representatives from the West Virginia Coal Association, the UMWA and all of the top-notch workers and families from the mining community, for your dedication and commitment on behalf of the people of West Virginia. 
 
Thank you all for being here for this press conference. 
I’ve asked our stakeholders to come together today because over the past year and a half, we have been fighting President Obama Administration’s attempts to destroy our coal industry and way of life in West Virginia.

 

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Manchin Announces Lawsuit Against Obama EPA

CHARLESTON – West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin announced Wednesday that his administration is filing suit against the Obama Administration and the U.S. EPA in an effort to stop the senseless war against Appalachian coal being waged by the president and his administration.

West Virginia Coal Association Chairman Gary White and President Bill Raney, along with representatives of the United Mine Workers of America and several other labor and industry organizations, were on hand for the announcement at the State Capitol.

White said it is vital to the state’s future to stop this power grab by Obama and the EPA.