Recovery to begin today in Montcoal

Recovery of the remaining 22 deceased miners will begin today according to CNN. Official estimates say that the recovery will take 2 days. Here are a few blurbs from the article:

"We are going to get to the bottom of this, because families should never have to pray, as they send their loved ones to work every day, that those loved ones will in fact return," Rockefeller said Sunday. "Our heroic coal miners have lost too many brothers and too many sisters, and now we must stop all of this." (emphasis mine)

While I’m certain Senator Rockefeller’s sentiments are well intentioned, it should be noted that mining coal is an inherently dangerous job. Realistically, there can be no way to remove all danger from coal mining. The best that can be hoped for is exactly what Governor Joe Manchin stated:

 

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said Saturday that even though the cause of the explosion is unclear, there needs to be a focus on better ventilation and on sensors to alert mine personnel when gas levels become dangerous.

Better ventilation and new sensor technologies should be the prime focus. This focus will give miners a better chance before gas levels reach lethal levels. Thanks again to Governor Manchin for the manner in which he has handled this tragic situation.

Did you know?

That the Southern Baptist Convention has provided disaster relief in multiple areas of the world and in our own backyard, here are a few realities

 

2008 Activity Report

Volunteer Days	118,951
Meals Prepared	7,914,391
Mudout Jobs	2,647
Chainsaw Jobs	9,289
Repair Jobs	243
Roofing Jobs	295
Children Cared For	1176
Showers	90,497
Laundry Loads	33,775
Water (Gallons)	247,113
Messages Sent	2,152
Chaplaincy Contacts	9,714
Professions of Faith	448
Gospel Presntations	3,487
Other Decisions	61
Ministry Contacts	20,925

Abingdon Town Council pt. 2

A few days after posting this regarding Abingdon’s town council race, I received visits from Rick Humphreys and Carl Mallory. In the interest of fairness, I cannot claim credit for causing their visits, but it was good to see some door to door stumping nonetheless.

Mr. Humphreys comes from a well known family in Washington County and I must admit, I cannot be totally impartial with my assessment. He is a sincere, well spoken man who seeks to preserve Abingdon’s historical atmosphere while attempting to draw more business to the downtown area.

Mr. Mallory is an interesting fellow. I feel that he is an up and comer in Abingdon politics and while I’m still as yet undecided, I feel more comfortable with him as a candidate.

In my previous post, I did not mention Cathy Castle Lowe is running for reelection. Mrs. Lowe is a business owner in Abingdon and is a first term council member.

Romney wins at SRLC

By one vote. The encouraging news(at least for me) is Ron Paul finished second. Granted, many were probably bused in, but still a strong showing for Paul.

Doug Mataconis from Below the Beltway,has a good snapshot analysis of the vote breakdown and points out:

It’s fascinating that these guys finished ahead of Palin and Gingrich, who get rock star treatment at these sorts of gatherings and, indeed, got rock star treatment at this particular gathering.

I find this interesting as well. I agree with Doug’s assessment that this is meaningless right now, I do believe that the GOP has a healthy sized field for this early in the process.

Sunday morning in the South

 

I love going to church, being with friends, coming home and watching NASCAR. I love where I live.

Will Governor McDonnell join the tribute to the miners

UPDATE: According to a Facebook post by Kilo, Governor McDonnell has called upon Virginians to join in a moment of silence in remembrance of the Montcoal miners. This will take place at 3:30 pm.

 

Kilo has the info here:  We should let our views be know to our Governor. Virginia does indeed share a rich mining heritage with WV, KY, and TN.

Personal

I want to put aside partisan politics for a moment and thank West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin. During his term as governor, he’s seen two deadly mine disasters. In my view, he has handled them both as well as can be hoped for considering the circumstances.

It is my belief that when a politician gets it right, we ought to give credit where it is due as well as criticism when they screw up. Joe Manchin has got it right and I’m thankful for that.