[Hoot Gibson]

Being someone from martin county gives you a first hand look of how the workers and the land is treated. The same. Like ****. Coal industries dont care about us or their workers. Why should we care about them? People have lost jobs before. Stop riding the unemployment pay train and find a new one.

Many Martin Countians are living comfortable retirements thanks to companies like Martin County Coal. I remember when a heavy rain made Inez completely inaccessible by car. I also remember when Martin County had some of the worst school facilities and athletic facilities in the country. Mining is a dangerous, messy business and accidents happen.

Massey spent millions of dollars cleaning up the slurry spill and rightfully so. I believe that Bill Clinton was president when Massey obtained a permit for its coal refuse impoundment - but I do not believe anybody was to blame for the spill. Massey was responsible for the spill and they accepted that responsibility.

Ideally, impoundments are built over areas where no underground mining has been done but that is not always feasible in eastern Kentucky, where mining has been going on since the early 20th century. In fact, in many areas mining was done decades ago that was not mapped.

It is wrong to demonize companies and employees for accidents, no matter what the industry. Coal mining has made Martin County a much better place to live than it was before large scale mining began and anybody who lived there before the 70s knows that is the case.