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Next time you turn on a light think of the men in the mines or on the drilling platform risking it all to power our lives. In the mines they risk being buried alive, in the Gulf of Mexico they brave explosions and poison gas H2S in some areas which will kill you in seconds. Worse yet many of these miner suffer from lung ailments which slowly kill them, especially the older miners who did not have protective gear. This conditions is called black lung.

I as I watch the news tonight I keep hearing Loretta Lynn sing about being a coal miners daughter. A simple song about a family without much but having love and the grit that made this country.

Families Say 12 W.Va. Miners Found Alive
Jan 04 12:18 AM US/Eastern
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By ALLEN G. BREED
Associated Press Writer

TALLMANSVILLE, W.Va.

Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive late Tuesday, more than 41 hours after the blast, family members said.

Bells at a church where relatives had been gathering rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation.

Relatives yelled "They're alive!"

"Miracles happen in West Virginia and today we got one," said Charlotte Weaver, wife of Jack Weaver, one of the men who had been trapped in the mine.

"I got scared a lot of times, but I couldn't give up," she said. "We have an 11-year-old son, and I couldn't go home and tell him, 'Daddy wasn't coming home.'"

One miner was found dead earlier Tuesday, said the mine's owner, International Coal Group Inc.

Neither the company nor the governor's office immediately confirmed that the men were alive.

There were hugs and tears among the crowd outside the Sago Baptist Church near the mine, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston.

A relative at the church said a mine foreman called relatives there, saying the miners had been found.

The miners had been trapped 260 feet below the surface of the mine after an explosion early Monday.

Rescue crews found one body Tuesday evening and said they were holding out hope that the others were still alive, even as precious time continued to slip away.

The unidentified body was found about 700 feet from a mine car, and it appeared the employee was working on a beltline, which brings coal out of the mine, said Ben Hatfield, chief executive officer for ICG of Ashland, Ky.




Edited by - mattlott on Jan 03 2006 9:45 PM

Lorretta Lynn song.

Coal Miners Daughter
Coal Miners Daughter Loretta Lynn Lyrics

Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter
In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor but we had love
That's the one thing my Daddy made sure of
He shoveled coal to make a poor man's dollar

My daddy worked all night in the Vanlear coal mine
All day long in the field hoein' corn
Mama rocked the babies at night
Read the Bible by a coal oil light
And everthin'would start all over come break of morn'

Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a coal miner's pay
Mama scrubbed our clothes on a washboard ever day
I'd seen her fingers bleed
To complain there was no need She'd smile in Mama's understanding way

In the summertime we didn't have shoes to wear
But in the wintertime we'd all get a brand new pair
From a mail order catalog, money made by sellin' hogs
Daddy always got the money somewhere

I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter
I remember well, the well where I drew water
The work we done was hard
At night we'd sleep 'cause we were tired
I never thought to leave Butcher Holler

Well a lot of things have changed since way back when
And it's so good to be back home again
Not much left but the floor
Nothing lives here anymore
Only a memory of a coal miner's daughter
Coal Miners Daughter Loretta Lynn Lyrics
Loretta Lynn

looks like only one survived, eleven dead.

A 9mm MAY expand, but a 45 will NEVER shrink!

_________________
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

The company should be shut down telling the family that they all lived then finding out only one did. Something was wrong when it took so long to show the survivors.

Bless these Americans and God Speed. <img src=newicons/smiley_salute.gif border=0 align=middle>

Must read site on coal mining. These are special men with a honorable history. The history of the company's has often been less than honorable.
http://thegoldweb.com/home/coal.htm

Thats why the Coal Miners Unions were formed to deal with the saftey issues etc...
But now The coal mining industry is such a mess the companies go broke (or say so) then are sold to other companies which arent required to honor the contracts so they "Break The Union" and fire everyone then re-hire the ones they want.
My Mom's family grew-up in the Mines of So. Illinois and I heard stories of what it was like before the Union came along with strip mining .
She had a Uncle and Cousin died in accidents in the mines.

But the Coal miners Unions were'nt always clean either GREED like anything else sets in.,
But if there's not anyother job there making anywhere close to that amount ($40,000 + and Up) you either mine or you move.
That is a poor part of the country.

I have to salute these Men and Women who do this dirty job because coal produces most of the energy in this country

so


<img src=newicons/smiley_salute.gif border=0 align=middle>


God be with them.

Goose

LIVE FREE OR DIE




Edited by - sgtgoose1 on Jan 04 2006 1:26 PM<font size=4></font id=size4>

Edited by - sgtgoose1 on Jan 04 2006 1:27 PM

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"

I have heard stories from old timer about the rigs in the Gulf before OSHA etc where people would get hurt they would pull them out of the way and keep drilling. Basically life was cheap and it was better for the company if you died cost them less.

I took an intro to workers comp class in the 90's it is amazing a finger was worth about 5,000 and nothing else. Personally I think more criminal consequences are more necessary than civil fines, because money does not a matter to some people, but thier freedom does.

Thats called "No-Fault Workers Compensation",
Workers Comp has to by Law pay 75% of the employees wages while investigation and medical is being taken care off due to the accident or event.

If you get hurt a job,no matter if it was the Companies faulty equipment or you sticking your hand into a machine because you"Wanted too see what happens" or "Were out partying all night " and ran off the loading dock FULL SPPED because you were stewed still and the Forklift didnt have a full cage with seatbelts and you were Crushed!
Those are real examples of cases were the "No Fault Workers Compensation" comes in.
You get your Workers Comp and Medical paid until The company &the empolyee settled which has to be done anytime in a 7yrs time frame by law.
The Company was the clear winner ,which they should of been.
The details are confidental.

The otherside was were an employee had his hand Smashed and a Bolt (3/4" head) drove thru it while doing maintance on a press.
The machine was turned-off plus locked-out no power.
But wasnt known to him or anyone else except the engineers was that when the Press is "Open" if you remove the front panel and lean forward to remove a in this case a "Battery Grid" that was stuck depending on your height etc.... your knee or another part of your body can trip a "Release spring" which isnt marked thus releasing the Press and smashing driving the bolt thru the workers hand.
I know someone is saying "It should of been blocked up" but in this job blocking the press in the up position you couldnt remove the grid.
The engineers knew of this problem but figured it would never happen,so it wasnt marked.
The next day they were all MARKED! but the Company was at fault, the worker lost 5 months working and some of his hand usage,The Company still while off paid the differance between the 75% of wages Comp pays what his Average weekly paycheck was at the time,plus all medical etc..... bills
The Company and the Empolyee settled without going to court and right-away and he finished out the next 12 years and retired.
The settlement again is Confidental but the Company wasnt required to admitt any "Fault".

Is all a game bothsides play Union or Non-Union with the Companies,were Lawyers get big bucks, or the Lawyers for the Company use every trick in the book to not have to pay $$$$$$$ settlements.
But thats figured into the companies bottom line each year.


Just rambling again but your right Matt its a screwy system

Goose


LIVE FREE OR DIE

_________________
\"Live Free Or Die\"