Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 27, 1993 TAG: 9301270202
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WILDER APPOINTS MINE-BLAST PANEL
Gov. Douglas Wilder announced a task force of 10 advisers Monday to assist in the investigation of a Dec. 7 coal mine explosion in Wise County that killed eight miners and injured a ninth.Former state Del. James W. Robinson of Pound was named chairman of the group, which has three representatives from the coal industry, three from the United Mine Workers, three citizen representatives and one from the Virginia State Police.
Five members of the advisory group also serve on the Virginia Mine Safety Board, which advises the state's chief mine inspector on coal-mine health and safety matters. Those include all three union members of the task force, Roger Williams of Big Stone Gap, Danny Davidson of Council and Max Kennedy Jr. of Raven; one industry representative, Donald Ratliff of Big Stone Gap; and one citizen member, Waldon Kerns of Blacksburg.
Wilder had promised to name the task force on Dec. 16, following a Dec. 7 explosion at Southmountain Coal Co.'s No. 3 mine six miles north of Norton. The explosion was the state's worst mine disaster in more than 30 years.
Robinson said Tuesday that he was not sure what the task force's mission was going to be. A representative of the governor had asked Robinson to serve, but he has not yet been briefed on the group's responsibilities.
His understanding, Robinson said, was that the group would not be a fact-finding body but would assist state investigators looking into causes of the blast.
Other coal-industry representatives on the task force are McDonald Hagy of Oakwood and Gerald Kendrick of Vansant. The other citizen member is Bruce Robinette of Duffield, former executive director of the Lenowisco Planning District Commission. Frank Williams of Midlothian represents the Virginia State Police.
When Wilder announced his intentions to appoint the advisory group, he said "it is important to public confidence and to the victims' families" that the state Division of Mines has the help it needs to assure a "thorough and objective" investigation of the accident.
Wilder said he was instructing Harry Childress, the state's chief mine inspector, to determine the cause of the accident and propose actions that will prevent similar disasters in the future.
Some General Assembly members have made such proposals.
Del. Jackie Stump of Buchanan County, a former Virginia district president of the United Mine Workers, has introduced legislation that would bring Virginia's mine classification system into line with that of the federal government, which considers all coal mines as "gassy" mines.
Keywords:
FATALITY
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.