WV Resident Speaks Out About Blankenship’s Methods

I’m appalled at Don Blankenship’s efforts to use his fortune to influence the selection of our Legislature. He says he’s worried about drunk drivers, but it didn’t worry him to allow illegal, grossly overweight coal trucks to leave his mines daily with bald tires and bad brakes.

Thanks to Mike Caputo and other brave legislators for having the guts to stand up for the citizens (especially in the southern coalfields) and try to make an outlaw coal company obey the law.

Mr. Blankenship claims that frivolous lawsuits hurt our economy. But he’s sued at least the Supreme Court, a newspaper, the UMWA, a lawyer and a court reporter.

The amount of money being spent on political ads is obscene while families in Mingo County suffer the effect of coal waste in the region’s drinking water supply.

Some Raleigh County children go to school next to Massey’s 1,849-acre mountaintop removal site. When it rains this site drains into a 2.8 billion gallon sludge dam above Marsh Fork Elementary School and a coal silo less than 300 feet from the school. I hope people remember the Buffalo Creek flood. According to MSHA’s records this sludge dam is seeping.

It seems that Mr. Blankenship wants everyone out of office that dares to stand up for the citizens against his company. So you can see why our politicians would be reluctant to say anything about the Mingo County people’s water problems or the Marsh Fork problems.

We need to ask what has "For the Sake of the Kids" done for "kids" other than use them in his dirty campaign.

Patty Sebok
Prenter, Boone County