Question:
The leadership of a community built more than eight decades ago solely
for the production of coal is urging its neighbors to take action
against proposed mining operations they fear could cause substantial
harm to the area and its residents.
Answer:
I wouldn't trust HRS any farther than I could drop-kick them...and they can
keep Looney Creek away from the road, when it never gets more than about 100'
away until it crosses it for the last time up by the seven-hole golf course
where you start the climb up Black Mountain? Sheesh...I'm glad Dale and I got
to go home this year, because if the bastards at HRS get their way, I may not
have a home left to go to by this time next year.
It's easy, thinking about what the sonsabitches in the coal industry
want to do, to get real discouraged.
But there's some comfort in the fact the coal companies are getting
real defensive, in the fact communities are beginning to organize to
say "Enough!", that every day more and more in the Commonwealth are
saying the same thing.
It'll be a long haul, but I think the tide's turning against the SOBs.
There's one thing you can do: join Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.
You can go to their website at http://www.kftc.org/ and read about
them. Costs fifteen, twenty five bucks, something like that, and I can
promise you they'll put your money to work.
There's three things I can promise you about KFTC: they won't try to
climb in your wallet, they won't bury you with email, and they'll show
you things a guy in Texas --or MA or NY or CA or where ever-- can do to
lend support to doing something about MTR.
I'm serious: want to "do something?" Join KFTC. No matter where you
are.
The Kentucky coal industry:
employed 14,812 miners earning over $678.4 million
in wages during 2000.
created a total of 56,219 jobs statewide.
paid over $141.23 million in severance taxes
during FY 2000-01 and generated total state tax
revenues of about $403.2 million.
was a $3.15 billion industry which brought into
Kentucky receipts totaling about $2.5 billion from
27 states and 11 countries in 2000.
created economic activity throughout Kentucky
totaling $6.84 billion
To go to the page showing this use this link:
http://www.coaleducation.org/KY_Coal_Facts/
Then click on "Economy" on the side bar, then
Economic benefits on the page that opens.
