Ed Wiley - Walking Tall for the Sake of His Kids

	Ed Wiley, center, in white T-shirt, surrounded by the media and supporters as he nears the end of his well-supported, 43-day trek to Washington, DC.

On a sweltering midsummer morning, grandfather Ed Wiley set out from Charleston, WV, for a walk. Forty-three days and 455 miles later, on Sept. 13, Ed arrived in Washington, DC, along with an entourage of hundreds of supporters and hordes of media.

Ed met with Senator Byrd and other members of the WV congressional delegation. He capped off his walk with a press conference at the Cannon Office Building on Capitol Hill, where all speakers spoke passionately about the need to end mountaintop removal and called for passage of the Clean Water Protection Act.

While walking to DC, Wiley representing the Pennies of Promise campaign raised awareness about the toxic sludge dam, coal prep plant, coal silo and mountaintop removal sites that menace Marsh Fork Elementary, in Sundial, WV, where his granddaughter was a student. Ed also raised funds for a new school in the kids own community while calling out Gov. Joe Manchin for his inaction on ensuring the school kids safety.

"I admire the determination and dedication that Ed and Debbie Wiley have shown," Senator Byrd said  in a release. "The Bible teaches that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. I believe that the Wileys have that faith."

We hear the Senator is genuinely concerned about the situation at the school. You can bet, for the sake of the kids, Ed and his supporters wont sit idly by waiting for that concern to translate into action.