Local Paper Pimps Nonexistent War on Coal

In a recent editorial, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph complained (for probably the 40th time) about the “war on coal” being waged by President Barack Obama’s EPA.

Ramaco Development apparently didn’t get the memo that Dictator Obama doesn’t permit coal mining in the state of West Virginia. They are foolishly opening two new mines in the area, in blissful ignorance of his evil scheme to shut down the coal industry (but oddly enough, only in the Mountain State).

A Lonely, Needless Death in the Dark

Clay Epperly will never leave the Keystone No. 1 mine.

Mines are dangerous places. Anyone who's lived in mining country knows that - the occasional headline about an accident, injury or death hundreds of feet below ground is distressing but unsurprising news.

Unfortunately, sometimes these news stories don't even concern an actual miner. They're written about regular people who willingly choose to enter mines long shut down and abandoned.

Bluefield KMart Was Doomed Years Ago

When word came in early May 2016 that our local KMart in Bluefield, WV would be closing in late August, you could practically hear a collective community sigh of relief.

People talked of the store as if it were a friend or family member that had been going through a long, inevitably fatal illness:

“Well, bless its heart, it had been suffering a long time. We’re so sad to hear of this, but at least the poor thing is out of its misery now.”