Dear Governor Manchin
I am a concerned citizen of Boone County. My family is full of men who worked the coal mines; some have even been killed and some have helped with the organizing of the UMWA. I am almost ashamed to be a citizen of this state. As a child I was proud to be a WV'ian. Now I'm not sure anymore.
I'm glad to hear that Almost Heaven didn't win as a slogan for our state because the Heaven that I have read about doesn't even come close to what we see, hear and know about everyday. We have become a wasteland. It's like watching a Sci-Fi movie in slow motion. Where we live we don't have decent drinking water; we met with an aide from your office and explained our dilemma. I know you can help… but just in case you're not sympathetic to our needs please come and eat dinner at our house where we have to use this death trap water to cook with.
I'm not Anti-Coal or Anti-Government., I just happen to have
been raised in a state that I love and I hate to see it on the bottom of a
National Health Studies Statistics sheet. I am not against the coal mining
industry. That is how the men in our families have made a living and they loved
the work and their jobs, but I do believe the companies should be held responsible
for their actions.
I
hope you really pray about this situation. Ask yourself this question: Would I allow my children to drink or even
bathe in the water these people have to drink and bathe in every day,
knowing that these poisonous chemicals and metals were in the water?
Maria Lambert