Reid is right; coal is making us all sick



Your July 13 editorial, “Dumb and dumber,” was terribly misleading. Dick Cheney’s “inbred” insult was vile and vicious.

On the contrary, Sen. Harry Reid is right. Coal is making us all sick and may be the most intelligent statement of 2008.

The recent study by Dr. Michael Hendryx shows that living near coal mining is hazardous to our health.

Science Daily and other news report a study released by the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health at Columbia University shows that prenatal exposure to coal-burning emissions was associated with significantly lower average developmental scores and reduced motor development for toddlers. This study provided direct evidence that when the polluting coal-burning source was eliminated it benefited children’s neurodevelopment.

There is more evidence from a USGS study that is analyzing the “Effects of Coal Slurry Impoundment Water on Human Liver Cells.” This slurry is the toxic mix of waste stored in sludge dams all over West Virginia.

A Beckley doctor is gathering similar evidence of the harmful effects of coal preparation plant waste (slurry) on workers and communities.

Recent studies show that one out of five women have enough mercury in their wombs to have unhealthy babies. Autism, mental retardation, ADD, low IQs and behavioral problems are a few of the birth deformities from mercury emitted from coal-fired power plants.

Reid is right; coal is filthy. Coal extraction is blasting and poisoning us. Even if we could get rose petals to come out of the smokestacks, if we can’t dig it clean then we can’t burn it clean.

Rahall, Rockefeller and Byrd are concerned with coal company profits and continue to ignore our pleas for help.

Coal is poisoning us and it is a finite resource. Only the dumbest people would recommend that we continue to rely upon a resource that is killing us and poisoning our children.

We tell our children to clean up their rooms, but look at the mess we are leaving them to clean up.



Julia Bonds

Rock Creek



Some dads try hard; deadbeats moms exist



From time to time I read letters in the paper about deadbeat dads and I am sure that some dads don’t support their kids. But I also know some dads that do it all without any help from their mothers.

Men can’t afford a lawyer to go back to court. They also know they have little chance of winning. The court always favors the mothers. I know some dads that took the kids everywhere they went except to work. And the biggest complaint was they have no changing tables in the men’s rooms. They have sat in the ER room at the hospital for hours alone with a sick child and the mommy couldn’t be found. And the government still sends all of the tax refunds to their mothers.

All women are not good mothers just because they gave birth to a child. And all men are not deadbeat dads because they are men. I am just saying men are not treated fair. Not by the courts or by most people.

There are many mothers and fathers that work outside of the home and still manage to take care of their children, but mothers that don’t take care of their kids seem to get a free pass. You never see letters about bad mommies, only deadbeat dads. And using drugs or alcohol is no excuse for neglecting your kids.

You have a choice about what you do. The kids don’t. The way we treat our children is the world we will have when they grow up.



Janice Adkins

Fayetteville