The Friends of Coal and the West Virginia Coal Association played host to another group tour by Wheeling Jesuit University this past Tuesday. This time the students were from Nebraska and were interested in getting a complete picture of the practice of mining, its economic impact on the state and the role it can play in building a new future for the people of the coalfields region.
Several of the students said they believed they had a better understanding of the importance of the coal industry to the state and a better sense of the importance our industry places on its critical role in the state’s economy today and in the future.

The Tug Valley Mining Institute will be holding its monthly meeting March 18 at the Mountaineer Hotel in Williamson. Guests will include the Honorable Elliot “Spike” Maynard.  Please RSVP by March 15 to Nathan Brown at 304.239.2300. The event will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by the dinner and speaker presentation at 7 p.m.
 

Legislation introduced in the U.S. House by Rep. Frank Palone (D-NJ) and in the U.S. Senate by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will severely restrict all types of coal mining, threatening thousands of high-paying coal jobs.

An editorial in the Beckley Register-Herald this week is another example of the concern being felt across the state as the federal government’s assault on coal mining continues. We believe this editorial should be read by all.

“When one environmental agency looks at what another is doing — and sounds an alarm — it should serve as notice that something is really amiss.

An editorial appearing in the Wheeling Intelligencer this week criticized Congress and two of West Virginia’s Congressmen for what it termed their “lukewarm support” of the coal industry.