Former Mountaineer Football Coach Don Nehlen will visit with ICG Eastern’s families during their Annual Outing on Saturday near Summersville.  Last week, Coach Nehlen and Coach Pruett also participated in George Washington High School’s annual football fundraising dinner in Charleston and they will tape the upcoming version of our television interview program, The Coal Seam, on Tuesday.  They will also assist in the production of radio ads promoting the industry and the upcoming Friends of Coal Bowl.  Those ads will begin immediately running on MetroNews’ statewide radio network.

The Friends of Coal Bowl, September 10 in Huntington, is an exciting game every year, this year promises to be no exception as Marshall Head Coach and former WVU Assistant Doc Holliday leads his Thundering Herd against his former team. However, the Friends of Coal’s sponsorship of the Bowl is about more than just an annual football contest. The impact of this game will be felt across generations of West Virginians through the Friends of Coal Bowl scholarships given to three students at each of the two universities each year. These scholarships have funded the education for future doctors, teachers, counselors and other professionals whose mark will be made across our state and nation for generations.  This year marks the fifth class to be awarded the scholarships.

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> August 26, 2010 (Charleston, WV) – The West Virginia Coal Association, Citizens for Coal, the Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security (FACES of Coal), as well as several allied citizen and coal advocacy groups, will participate in a press conference and gathering held on September 15 on the grounds of the United States Capitol.  The gathering will celebrate the American Coal Miner and the contribution coal and coal mining makes to our nation’s energy security and economic stability. Current regulatory challenges, coupled with ill-informed public opinion and damaging legislation are threatening the viability of coal mining throughout the United States and particularly in West Virginia.

“We plan to highlight the critically important role of the American coal miner and to call on lawmakers and administration officials to discontinue efforts to regulate the coal industry – and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it provides – out of business,” said Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association and co-chair of the Mountaintop Mining Coalition.  “West Virginia’s congressional delegation understands the importance of coal to our local economies and national energy plan, but many federal legislators and bureaucrats do not.”

By: Rep. Shelley Moore Capito

Through the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington continues to push an anti-coal agenda. It amounts to an assault on an industry that employs more than 500,000 hardworking Americans and supplies nearly half of America’s electricity.

The EPA’s attempts to control climate change through regulation and stall the approval of mining permits can only lead to coal states like West Virginia bearing the brunt of poorly thought-out policies that translate into greater job loss and higher energy costs.

President Barack Obama is intent on passing legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions. Should Congress fail to act, the EPA will exert its regulatory authority in an unprecedented manner that will have far-reaching effects on nearly every sector of the U.S. economy — from higher prices at the gas pump to skyrocketing utility bills.