The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Education

July 26, 2006

Local grandpa to walk to D.C. for Marsh Fork kids

Residents near coal silo don’t want it shut down; they simply want new school in different location

Amelia Pridemore

Ed Wiley has already taken his concerns about the children at Marsh Fork Elementary to the governor — literally.

Now, he plans to take his campaign to build a new school in the Marsh Fork community straight to the nation’s capital — on foot.

Wiley, 49, of Rock Creek, plans to leave Charleston on Aug. 2 and arrive in Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, representing Pennies of Promise, a campaign to raise funds for a new school in the Marsh Fork area, according to Coal River Mountain Watch, a Coal River Valley-based environmental organization. The campaign is also designed to raise awareness for what the group and some residents believe are problems facing the children at the Sundial school.

“Our local and state leaders have turned a blind eye to this problem and a deaf ear to our concerns,” Wiley said. “I’m walking to Washington, D.C., to get some help.”

Wiley’s 11-year-old granddaughter recently graduated from the school.

Massey Energy subsidiary Goals Coal Co. operates a 168-foot silo situated about 225 feet from Marsh Fork Elementary’s building, according to Coal River Mountain Watch. Massey is currently applying for a permit to build a second silo that would be about 260 feet from the school.

The state Department of Environmental Protection conducted a public hearing at the school Monday to gather comments about the permit application.

Coal River Mountain Watch members and other concerned citizens contend dust and other chemicals used at Goals are making children at the school sick.

These citizens are now calling for a new school to be constructed in the Marsh Fork area — and for it to house grades kindergarten through 12. This is due to long bus rides older students have faced since Marsh Fork High School closed.

Last summer, Wiley perched himself on the state Capitol steps, refusing to leave until Gov. Joe Manchin came out to meet with him about concerns he had about the school. Wiley was brought into the governor’s office for a private meeting, and Manchin later followed him outside to speak with reporters.

“I have a one-and-a-half-year-old grandson that will still have to go to school there,” Wiley said. “This is not just about my grandchildren. This is about all 220 kids that go to that school and all the kids in Appalachia.”

Donors have raised $7,000 toward Wiley’s walk to Washington. During his walk, he plans to make several stops along the way to make presentations.

At least one person he hopes to meet in person in Washington is Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., he said.

Wiley emphasized the walk is not about shutting down the Goals plant. At one point, the citizens did want it shut down, but now, they simply want the children to go to school in a different location.

“This is not about mountaintop removal or politics — it’s about little children,” he said.

Through the Pennies of Promise Web site at www.penniesofpromise.org, Wiley said the citizens have received donations and calls from all over the United States, Europe and Australia.

“We have to be together, not against each other,” he said. “There are people out here in the world and in our community who can put their heads together and get this issue over. We can do it for the children. It’s a small sacrifice.”

— E-mail:

apridemore@register-herald.com

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