The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

Related Photos

  • David "Bugs" Stover

    David Stover.jpg
November 19, 2012

Circuit clerk walking to Washington with his goal to help coal

By Mary Catherine Brooks Wyoming County Bureau Chief

PINEVILLE — “Mr. Stover Goes To Washington — Part 3.”

Yes, Wyoming County Circuit Clerk David “Bugs” Stover, 57, is walking to Washington, D.C., again.

He will spend his Thanksgiving break walking rather than at the beach, he said.

This time, Stover wants to talk with President Barack Obama about coal.

“If anybody in the world can produce coal cleanly, it’s the United States of America,” Stover emphasized.

He said other countries have few to no regulations regarding coal.

“Coal production for energy purposes is going to increase for the next 50 years — no matter what anybody does,” Stover said.

Stover believes Obama’s and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s policies on coal are devastating the coal industry, which is already impacting the area economy. It is costing Wyoming County jobs and millions in tax dollars, Stover said.

He hopes to see the president and talk with him briefly about coal.

“If President Obama gives me one minute, I’ll make him fall in love with Wyoming County, West Virginia,” Stover said.

Stover began his trek Friday afternoon, and he expects the entire trip to take just over a week. He believes he will be back at his job as his planned Thanksgiving break ends.

Earlier this year, Stover rode his bike 90-plus miles, from Mullens to Charleston, for the West Virginia Association of Counties’ Healthy Counties session July 23-24. If only 5 percent of the population would exercise 30 minutes three times a week, then health care costs would drop $100 billion. Obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes could be controlled, he said.

In 2011, Stover walked to Charleston to bring attention to the West Virginia House of Delegates’ redistricting plan.

In 2006, Stover walked from Welch to Charleston to bring attention to the need for the Coalfields Expressway, especially in Wyoming and McDowell counties.

In 1998, he walked from Mullens to Washington to protest the Kyoto Protocol, which he believed would impact the coal industry and cost the county jobs.

In the 1980s, he also walked to the nation’s capital to bring attention to the coal industry.

— E-mail: msbrooks@register-herald.com

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • 052313 News Rain.jpg Familiar flooding

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Karen_Bowling 052213.jpg Governor names Bowling state DHHR secretary

    Former hospital executive and nurse Karen Bowling will become West Virginia’s Health and Human Resources secretary on July 1, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Wednesday, taking over a sprawling department recently scrutinized by an audit and assigned the daunting task of expanding the state’s Medicaid program.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Health care professional no stranger to southern W.Va.

    The new secretary of West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources is certainly no stranger to southern West Virginia. In fact, she has grown up and served the region for a number of years in various capacities across the broad spectrum of the health care industry.

    May 23, 2013

  • There are some bright spots in ongoing Fayette County school facility projects

    When an architect calls for $136 million in repairs to get school facilities back into shape — as one recently did in Fayette County — it’s easy to get discouraged. But it’s important to remember that progress is still happening, says the county’s director of operations.

    May 23, 2013

  • Advance Senior Profile TeeJay Jones.jpg 4.0 Oak Hill senior credits maturity, support

    “I wouldn’t pick anywhere else in the world to be,” says TeeJay Jones of his native Mount Hope.

    May 23, 2013 1 Photo

  • Health care professional no stranger to southern W.Va.

    The new director of West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources is certainly no stranger to southern West Virginia. In fact, she has grown up and served the region for a number of years in various capacities across the broad spectrum of the health care industry.

    May 22, 2013

  • There are some bright spots in ongoing Fayette County school facility projects

    When an architect calls for $136 million in repairs to get school facilities back into shape — as one recently did in Fayette County — it’s easy to get discouraged. But it’s important to remember that progress is still happening, says the county’s director of operations.

    May 22, 2013

  • Mulch for United Way Thank you very mulch

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Juvenile sexting soon to be illegal

    It soon will be illegal for minors to sext in West Virginia.
    Legislation signed May 6 by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin makes it a crime for youths to make, possess or distribute photos, videos or other media that show themselves or another minor in an inappropriate sexual manner.

    May 22, 2013

  • Kessler says stormwater runoff fee is a hardship

    A former West Virginia legislator Tuesday decried the stormwater runoff fee imposed on some residents as unfair and uneven, warning that it is hurting businesses and individuals alike.

    May 22, 2013