Knott Countian Don Gibson, Director of Permitting and Regulatory Affairs for Arch Coal, Inc., spoke at the Frankfort hearing. (Photo by Cordis Bishop)
Crowd voices support of coal
By KAREN JONES CODY
Hundreds of Eastern Kentucky residents traveled to Frankfort on Tuesday to show their support for the coal industry.
A rally was held just prior to a hearing with federal Environmental Protection Agency officials to allow comments concerning 36 mining permits held up by EPA objections. The state had requested these hearings almost two years ago.
Arch Coal and Coal Mining Our Future organized a trip for those who wanted to attend. Arch provided buses for their employees, as well as two extra buses for com- munity members. A large number of local coal miners, family and friends met at Perry County Central High School Tuesday. They formed a convoy of 14 buses, along with cars, trucks and motorcycles, and an escort from the Perry County Sheriff’s Department accompanied them to the capitol.
The group stopped at a rest area just before arriving in Frankfort and shared a catered meal provided by Arch.
Don Gibson, Director of Permitting and Regulatory Affairs for Arch Coal, Inc., told the Times the group included several elected officials who came to defend their region’s signature industry. He said he would like to thank state Rep. John Short and Judge-Executive Randy Thompson for being there to show their support. He also offered special thanks to Eva Huff and a group from the Knott County Senior Citizens Center who attended.
As the scheduled time for the hearing grew near, the group broke out of the rally and formed a line to the building. “There were so…
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