He attended Marshall University and during the summer he washed cars and worked in the coal mines to pay tuition. Whitesville Paramedic Terry Vermillion recently met James Woods, a man he helped save at the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. He also served as an advisor to Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Federal Mine Safety & Health Administration. If you can’t come see him alive, why are you coming to see him when he’s dead?”. You can hear those reports on the radio and on the blog and podcast “Blankenship on Trial.”.

We wanted to thank him. “It was an ordinary day,” she said. Click #isupportlocal for more information on supporting our local journalists. Taylor called Blankenship a “tireless advocate for mine safety.” Taylor also said the indictment was a result of Blankenship’s criticism of lawmakers and regulators. Send that in a tweet to InAppalachia. The indictment alleges that Blankenship “conspired to commit and cause routine, willful violations of mandatory federal mine safety and health standards.” The charges carry a maximum penalty of 31 years in prison. Thousands of miners are still put at risk of serious injury... and even death. Quick Response Team establishes in Boone Co. “He can’t tell you where he goes, who he sees and I have to give him constant instruction to do his daily tasks. Coal Valley News My daughter-in-law’s neighbor worked the hoot owl (shift) and she told me. “I feel like he (God) could have prevented it and this didn’t have to be forever.

Blankenship has been a controversial figure for years - even before the Upper Big Branch Disaster. As wife and caregiver, Teresa Woods spoke of the daily struggle her husband endures. There were two survivors of the disaster.


That agreement included Alpha building a state-of-the-art mine safety training facility and leadership program. Winds light and variable. Low 61F. “This is a good day,” Vermillion concluded. The recovery effort from multiple agencies from multiple counties and states endured for days at the Raleigh County site, owned by Massey Energy.
James Woods can’t remember working at Upper Big Branch Mine. “When I heard about the story, we just wanted to do this for him (Vermillion),” said James Woods’ wife, Teresa. West Virginia's worst mine disaster in over twenty-five years took place on Monday at the Upper Big Branch mine in Whitesville, West Virgina. “I had a cousin and a couple of people from church and my children. Former Upper Big Branch mine superintendent Gary May cooperated with prosecutors and admitted in March 2012 to defrauding the government by tampering with methane monitors and falsifying documents. Sherry Lilly said it was a very stressful time for the family and it was hard for her parents to make the temporary move.

There were two survivors of the disaster. “He was at my house the other day and that trickster came out in him and he was tormenting my boys,” said Sherry Lilly, laughing. Married for 47 years, Teresa Woods said her husband was a kind man who never met a stranger before the accident. The indictment of Blankenship says that he knew the mines - owned by Massey and including Upper Big Branch - were committing hundreds of safety-law violations every year. Self-described as “very private,” the Woods family has not spoken to any media sources since the 2010 disaster and chose to live a quiet life in the Beckley area where they could move past the memories of that day. They never once called. A team led by the former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration found mining company, Massey Energy to be negligent but also criticized the oversight by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration and the West Virginia State Office of Miner’s Health Safety and Training.

“I’m still bitter,” she said. Reporter Phil Perry can be reached at [email protected] or at 304-307-2401. So did anything change after the Upper Big Branch Disaster that made working in the coal mines any safer? While he was CEO of Massey Energy he lived in the coalfields, unlike most coal operators. Teresa Woods has served as a caregiver for her husband, who suffers from a traumatic brain injury that has robbed him of both short- and long-term memory and left him — according to his wife — with the mental capacity of a second-grade student. Vermillion also recovered a small, spiral notepad that fell from Woods’ pocket before he was transported by air to a hospital. On their way to work that day, he and our son almost hit a horse in the road. A clear sky. One of them was Stanley “Goose” Stewart. January 10, 2012 - The owner of the West Virginia mine settles the wrongful death lawsuits with families of all 29 victims of the Upper Big Branch disaster. entrance to the Upper Big Branch mine on April 5, 2010. However, the Woods family read the CVN story and granted Vermillion his wish, agreeing to meet with him in Beckley to help the paramedic find closure to something he’s carried with him for a decade. The teams from the company and state of West Virginia. He can’t remember the day that changed the lives of his family forever, but his wife remembers vividly. Blankenship is the highest-level manager to face charges in relation to mine safety violations. Special thanks to NPR, Appalshop, and WCHS Television for help producing this week's show. Click here to stay informed and subscribe to the Coal Valley News.

“Our family has been through a lot and it is very hard to talk about. Eventually, he earned  his CPA certification. He went to work that day and didn’t come home for a year.”. “He left the house at 4:30 in the morning because it was an hour-and-a-half drive. “Mom got an apartment near the facility so she could be with Dad,” she said. You can subscribe to our Inside Appalachia podcast here or on iTunes here, or on Soundcloud here or on Stitcher here. We’ll start with an explanation of the charges against Don Blankenship from Mike Hissam.

That’s supposed to discourage unsafe practices by making them expensive. He spoke with Inside Appalachia host Jessica Lilly in 2012. The largest mine disaster in more than 40 years happened at a then-Massey Energy owned mine in  Montcoal West Virginia in 2010. This is forever. His father was operating the mantrip, a shuttle for transporting miners underground. UBB mining disaster survivor receives gift from paramedic, By PHIL PERRY The largest mine disaster in more than 40 years happened at a then-Massey Energy owned mine in Montcoal West Virginia in 2010. Credit Mine Safety and Health Administration / Mine Safety and Health Administration. “We had no friends,” she said. According to court documents, the prosecution’s case basically hinges on proving Blankenship’s management style. It profiled Don Blankenship.


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