'Butcherknife' Decision Draws Criticism
Resident Alleges Board 'Put Horse Behind the Plow'

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
  Expressing his concern over a recent decision by the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors to close a portion of Butcherknife Road, Willard Blankenship attended Mon-day’s continued meeting and suggested the board already had its mind made up before a public hearing was ever held on the matter.
  "I am highly concerned over a decision I feel was already made," Blankenship told board members.
  Board members denied the accusation.
  Earlier this month, after a public hearing, the board agreed to abandon an 810 foot section of the roadway which Paramont Coal needs to use in order to continue a massive mining project it has ongoing in the Poplar Gap-Lover’s Gap area.
  Blankenship brought with him a copy of a public notice which appeared in the Virginia Mountaineer. The notice stated in part, "It is also understood that this abandonment will be contingent upon an issuance of a mine license by the State of Virginia and an executed agreement with all surface property owners involved along the abandonment section."
  Blankenship said it appeared to him the board had "put the horse behind the plow, instead of in front of it" in okaying abandoning the road even before any mine license was issued.
  He said he lived in the area under where the mining project is proposed and he suggested the blasting to be done on the job will impact his home as well as others.
  Further, he expressed concerns about two abandoned mine operations above his home. One opening, he suggested, was full of water eight feet deep and the other, he said, was comprised of loose sand rock.
  "I am deeply concerned with the effect of the explosives," Blankenship said. "The area has been undermined and explosives endanger everyone along that section of Butcher-knife Hollow."  
  He asked why board members had not asked questions about the proposed project with a company representative sitting there in the audience last week. Board members indicated they did ask questions related to whether settlements had been made with property owners along the affected section of roadway. They were told those agreements had been made.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  To subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.

Town of Grundy Passes Proposed Budget for 2006-07 After Amendments

by JoBeth Wampler
Staff Reporter
   The Town of Grundy passes the 2006/2007 budget at a special meeting Tuesday.
   After a public hearing last week, the budget underwent some minor changes when the town received a law enforcement grant from the department of Criminal Justice.
    According to Grundy Town Manager Chuck Crabtree, the town received $77,308.25, approximately $47,288 more than the $30,020 expected. The grant will use the grant to fund a new wireless computer system for its patrol cars.
    The extra revenue allowed the town to increase several expenditures. The projected general fund expenditures now total $1,562,694.12. The largest portion of that amount is expected to be spent on administrative costs, which was increased from $487,260.46 to $491,754.53.
    Projected expenses of the street and police departments for the coming fiscal year were increased from $285,880.33 to $289,922.07 and from $283,648.69 to $294,919.10, respectively. Garbage department expenditures were increased from $97,771.95 to $100,329.45, and projected expense of the fire department went from $148,500 to $151,920.07.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  To subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.

Bush Signs Miner Act Into Law; Requires Wireless Communication

by Scotty Wampler
Staff Reporter
   President Bush last week signed into law new mandates designed to improve the safety of the nation’s miners.
  Dubbed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act, the effort represents the first revisions to federal mine safety laws since the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act became law in 1977, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Labor.
  The new provisions include:
  • Requiring each underground coal mine to develop and continuously update a written emergency response plan;
  • Requiring each underground coal mine to make available two experienced rescue teams capable of a one-hour response time;
  • Requiring wireless two-way communications and electronic tracking systems within three years;
  • Giving MSHA the authority to request an injunction to shut down a mine in cases where the mine operator has refused to pay a final MSHA penalty;
  • Raising the criminal penalty cap to $250,000 for first offenses and $500,000 for second offenses, as well as raising the maximum civil penalty for flagrant violations to $220,000;
  • Creating a scholarship program to mitigate an anticipated shortage of trained and experienced miners and MSHA enforcement personnel;
  • Establishing the Brookwood-Sage Mine Safety Grants program to provide training grants to better identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines.
  “The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act is the most significant mine safety legislation in nearly 30 years,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao said in response to the signing of the law. “It builds upon efforts by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to improve mine safety nationwide, and calls for the modernization of safety practices and development of enhanced communication technology. We need to do everything we can to continue to improve safety in our nation’s mines so miners can return home safely to their families at the end of their shifts.”

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now.  To subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today.