Jessee Ring Visits Coalfields of Southwest Virginia

Norton, VA, Mar. 12, 2010
Jessee Ring, candidate for the Republican nomination for the Ninth Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representative, recently was shown coal operations in the Norton, Wise, and Pound area of Southwest Virginia by a thirty-year veteran of the coal industry.

“It was very informative to see these actual coal operations, and to hear about the history of coal mining in this region by someone who has seen it all firsthand. It was especially noteworthy to me to learn how much effort is put into the reclamation of mining sites once the coal has played out. I saw shopping centers, hospitals, highway interchanges, businesses, and others that were all located on reclaimed mining sites. I am impressed with the modern coal mining operations that allow these reclaimed sites to be used in such a productive manner after the mining is done. This is all good for the local economy, and it means jobs for people in this area”, said Ring

Ring also saw the Dominion Resources electric generation plant currently under construction in Wise County. It was pointed out to Mr. Ring that this facility will create more than 1400 high paying jobs, all filled by Americans, during construction, and 75 permanent jobs once it’s in operation. It was also noted that this plant will be primarily coal-fired, which will also help our local coal industry.

“My father and grandfather were coal miners. The coal industry is vital to our regional economy”, said Ring. “I am glad to have had this opportunity to learn more about it. I pledge to strongly support our Southwest Virginia coal industry when I go to Washington”, he added.