 "Photo: Rasmi Sporny")
Local residents and activists gathered Wednesday night to shed some light on the concerns of mountaintop removal.
Members of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Mountain Justice Summer and MUPeace met on Third Avenue in front of the Holiday Inn at 7 p.m. for a candlelight vigil for the mountains.
The vigil was part of a three-part series taking place this week to raise awareness of the dangers caused by coal sludge impoundments and mountaintop removal in the state.
William Dodson, an organizer of the event, said the location was chosen because of a coal expo the coal industry is having at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. He said one of the goals of the event is to heighten the community's understanding of the subject.
"Our goal is to raise awareness in the Huntington community," Dodson said. "An event like this is outreach for future events and for people who need to know about mountaintop removal. My personal biggest goal is to let Joe Manchin know that we're not going away."
Janet Keating, co-director of OVEC, said she wants everyone to be informed of the dangers surrounding mountaintop mining.
"It's a rare opportunity to get our message out directly to the folks in the coal industry," she said. "We want to make sure they understand that their practices, especially around coal impoundments, are really endangering communities and peoples' lives and public safety, and we're incredibly concerned about that."
Keating said while she was pleased with the support they were getting from the community, many still do not know much about the issue.
"It's wonderful to see all the student support from Marshall University today and also the folks from Mountain Justice Summer who organized this," she said. "I think OVEC is doing a pretty good job these days, trying to get the word out and so we're doing what we can to make sure the people of West Virginia are waking up to the issues of mountaintop removal. It's not just destroying mountains. Entire communities are disappearing."
Ronda Harper, an OVEC member, said her family has been affected and torn apart by mountaintop removal in her area.
"The property is where my mother, my grandmother, all my uncles played when they were children," she said. "It's been there for almost 100 years and we hate to see all that filled in. It's almost the end of the world for the people who live in Mud River."
Chris Worth, a Marshall student pursuing his master's degree in painting, said it upsets him that large coal industries are still being encouraged in the state.
"It amazes me that people still support a conglomerate like the coal king who doesn't really care about the people they've been raping," he said. "I use a word like rape because it is. They're not only extracting huge amounts of coal, but soul."
From 3:30 to 5 p.m. today, participants will march from Pullman Square to the Big Sandy Arena, then to the Army Corps of Engineers, which issues permits for mountaintop removal and coal sludge impoundments.
More information on the groups' efforts can be found at www.mountainjusticesummer.org or www.ohvec.org.
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