After Child's Death, SW Virginia Town Turns On Coal Strip-Mine Operators

[hatrack]

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"A bulldozer operator widening a road at a strip mining operation atop Black Mountain had unknowingly dislodged the half-ton boulder that August night. And now, more than four months later, Jeremy's death is still being felt across the coal mines of southwestern Virginia. For many residents, the toddler's death has come to symbolize what they consider the companies' and the state's callous disregard for their safety. Since the child got killed, it's sort of like when the towers got bombed and the country came together," said Carl "Pete" Ramey, a coal miner turned anti-strip-mining activist. "The death of an innocent child that had nothing to do with what's going on has brought us together. I think a lot of people feel guilty they didn't do something before."

In this corner of the state, more than 400 miles southwest of Washington, officials have scrambled to respond to the anger and grief that has led residents on protest marches through town. A special prosecutor is investigating whether to bring criminal charges. The state mining agency has fined the mining company $15,000 -- the legal maximum -- and proposed changes in the law. In a report, the state agency quoted philosopher George Santayana's dictum about those who ignore history being doomed to repeat it and vowed, "This tragic accident will not be forgotten."

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But in the valleys of southwestern Virginia, resistance to surface mining has been building as residents say their lives have grown unbearable. Ramey last year moved away from his house of 37 years, believing that the blasting required in surface mining was sending rocks flying into his yard. Dorothy Taulbee quit sitting on her porch and hanging clothes out to dry because of dust from coal hauling trucks that speed by her house. Since Jeremy Davidson's death, Mary Crow Pace considers it too dangerous for her great-grandson to visit. "It's been horrible," said Pace, who lives nearby. "The blasting caused so much shaking and rocking when I was standing in the bathroom the other day. If I hadn't been holding on to the basin, I believe I would have fallen over. I've been here 77 years, and I haven't seen anything like this. It ain't no fun living here anymore. It's a scary place."

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Many residents are angry at the agency, believing it has failed to protect them. Some never complained, saying they knew that nothing would come of it. Local legislators appointed by Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) to a panel overseeing the investigation said they were struck by the level of frustration. "Not only are they down on the coal companies, they're down on DMME," said Sen. Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell), who attended a four-hour meeting with residents last month. "The last thing they said to us was, 'Thank you for coming and hearing us, but we don't think you're going to do anything.' There's an issue of credibility."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51556-2005Jan5.html

[zbdent]

1. Isn't Virginia quite RW?

All of a sudden these people are complaining about businesses getting away with murder? Or manslaughter, in this case.

(edited to change homicide to manslaughter)