Friday, June 4, 2010
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Rotunda Art Gallery
Chuck Mathena Performing Arts Center
2 Stafford Commons
Princeton, West Virginia

With special guest
The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito
Member of Congress, West Virginia, Second Congressional District

A special presentation recognizing the service of The Honorable Don Caruth Senate Minority Leader, West Virginia State Senate

$25.00 per person ~ Checks payable to M.C.R.E.C.

Please RSVP by June 2, 2010 on Facebook or by calling (304) 389-0560 or e-mailing info@mercercountyrepublican.org.

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You may also mail your contribution to:

Mercer County Republican Executive Committee
11 East 4th Street
Princeton, West Virginia 24740

If you haven’t called about health care reform, please do so today. Don’t let someone else speak for you on this issue.

Call Today:

• Washington: (202) 225-3452
• Beckley: (304) 252-5000
• Bluefield: (304) 325-6222
• Huntington: (304) 522-6425
• Logan: (304) 752-4935

You may also send an e-mail message to the Congressman through his website here.

Rahall Secures Millions for “Jobs” in the Virgin Islands, Not West Virginia
Mercer County Republicans question money for job creation in the Caribbean

Princeton, WV – Roman Stauffer, Chairman of the Mercer County Republican Committee, is questioning the actions of Congressman Nick Rahall who secured $40 million in the latest “jobs bill” to purchase thousands of acres of beachfront property in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands.

According to a recent Washington Times story, Rahall said “It will create jobs and help ease unemployment on the island.” Congressman Rahall is the representative who shepherded the $40 million through the House of Representatives.

“This is the type of frivolous spending of taxpayer money that the people of West Virginia will not stand for and do not approve. We are in an economic and jobs crisis. The unemployment rate in West Virginia is over ten percent and Congressman Rahall is spending taxpayer dollars to create jobs in the Virgin Islands, it’s unacceptable and an embarrassment,” said Stauffer.

Not one of the seventeen counties in Congressman Rahall’s congressional district received more than $40 million last year from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“Think of how many more miles of the King Coal Highway that could have been built with $40 million. There are countless water projects, school buildings, and municipality infrastructure projects across the Third Congressional District that could have used $40 million to help West Virginians,” concluded Stauffer.

The Mercer County Republican Executive Committee is the official local organization of the West Virginia Republican Party. Membership is open to all registered Republicans from Mercer County. To learn more about the Mercer County Republicans, visit http://www.MercerCountyRepublican.org

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There will be a dinner/social hour from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. where attendees may enjoy dinner and socialize. The Mercer County Republican Committee business meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

*The guest speaker for the meeting will be Kellan Sarles, Data and Information Specialist, Mercer County School Board, who will be speaking about the Mercer County School Bond Levy Election taking place in Mercer County on Saturday, January 30th. Sarles will make a presentation and accept questions from the audience.

The monthly meetings of the Mercer County Republican Committee are open to everyone. If you are interested in getting involved in Republican politics and hoping to make a difference the Mercer County Republican Committee to the easiest way to help.

Please invite your family, friends, and co-workers to the meeting. We will be talking about our candidates and planning for the 2010 election cycle.

• WHAT: Mercer County Republican Meeting
• WHEN: Thursday, January 28, 2009 – Dinner 6 p.m./Meeting 7 p.m.
• WHERE: Conference Room, Ryan’s Steakhouse, Princeton, WV.

BLUEFIELD — Last week’s debate in Charleston between environmental lawyer Robert Kennedy Jr. and Don Blankenship, chief executive officer of Massey Coal over mountaintop surface mining drew a lot of attention, “but probably didn’t change any minds,” according to Bryan Brown, West Virginia coordinator for FACES of Coal.

FACES — the Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security — is an alliance of coal industry supporters who, according to Brown, are committed to getting a true and accurate story about the coal industry out to state and federal legislators as well as to the general public. According to Brown, coal industry opponents paint an unrealistic image of coal, that makes FACES for Coal’s work challenging.

“There are so many angles that the coal industry is now facing,” Brown said in a telephone interview on Friday. “It’s very difficult to discern the truth from debates like the one between Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Blankenship. Mr. Kennedy misspoke when he pointed out there that there are more jobs in the wind industry than in the coal industry. The information he cited is based on data that includes everyone from operators to people manufacturing windmills.

“Those figures have already been refuted,” Brown said. “If the environmental community wants to make that comparison, they should include all of the jobs in the coal mining support industries. Statements like that just fuel the fires for coal industry opponents.”

FACES for Coal was founded last summer, and has grown to 50,000 members, according to Brown. “We launched in Charleston last August, and now we have members in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.”

The Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce included a membership application in its most recent mailing to members. The Bluefield Chamber endorsed FACES efforts and urged its members to consider joining.

“We were one of their first members,” Marc Meachum, president and chief executive officer of the Bluefield chamber said. “They contacted us in August about getting a booth at the (2009) Bluefield Coal Show,” Meachum said. “Of course, by that time, every inch of the National Guard Armory was full and had been for several months. We offered them a table, and they sent two guys down here to talk with people.

“It’s basically a public relations effort,” Meachum said. “They’re not opposed to developing alternative energy sources including wind, water and even nuclear. We sent the mailing out to all of our members to let them know about FACES for Coal.”

“The response to FACES for Coal has been tremendous,” Brown said. “The purpose is to educate folks on the benefits that coal mining provides. Most people in West Virginia and through most of the Appalachian region don’t need education. Our foremost goal is to convert that knowledge into action and encourage people to help correct the myths, untruths and mis-characterization that the environmental community likes to promote.

“Without a strong, post mining use for the land, it would be difficult to build a diverse economy in West Virginia,” Brown said. “One of the biggest challenges to diversifying the economy is because we don’t have level land. If you remove the coal industry from West Virginia, the state would have a hard time maintaining the level of services it presently provides.”

Still, Brown said that a discussion of the issues like the one last week at the University of Charleston campus between Kennedy and Blankenship are healthy. “It showed the complex nature of the industry today,” Brown said. “Mr. Kennedy spoke about the future and Mr. Blankenship spoke about the present.

“We need renewable forms of energy,” Brown said. “West Virginia is the fastest growing wind energy state in the East. Wind energy brings in 270 people during the construction phase, but only 15 permanent jobs.”

Brown said that the coal industry provides 88,000 direct and indirect jobs in West Virginia alone and 500,000 jobs nationwide. He said coal jobs are high-paying jobs and each job in the coal industry generates 3.5 jobs in the support industries. He said that FACES hopes to educate people about the complex challenges in the energy industry, and on how coal fits into the overall picture.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

Mercer County Republicans Elect New Chairman and Prepare for 2010 Cycle
Cap and Trade, Government-Run Health Care, and Economy to be Key Issues

Princeton, WV – The Mercer County Republican Executive Committee has elected a new chairman and is preparing for the 2010 election cycle. The Committee selected Roman Stauffer to lead the organization in 2010; a year which Republicans anticipate much success at the ballot box.

“I look forward to leading Mercer County Republicans in what is shaping up to be a good year for Republican candidates and conservative issues in 2010,” said Stauffer upon his election.

At the age of 26, Stauffer is one of the youngest chairmen ever selected to lead Mercer County Republicans. While he may be young, Stauffer does not lack in political experience or motivation. He has experience at all levels of political campaigns from local races to presidential campaigns. He has consulted on political efforts in West Virginia, Virginia and throughout the country.

In 2008, he served as campaign manager for Beth Walker’s statewide campaign for one of two seats on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and prior to that served on the traveling staff of U.S. Senator Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign, where he traveled with Thompson in Iowa, Florida, and South Carolina.

“It’s clear that West Virginians are tired of Democrats in Washington and Charleston who act irresponsibly with our tax dollars, advocate for anti-coal policies, and continue to support the growth in the size of government and our national debt. We look forward to discussing and informing the people of Mercer County about the votes their representatives make in Charleston and Washington,” concluded Stauffer.

The Mercer County Republican Executive Committee is the official local organization of the West Virginia Republican Party. Membership is open to all registered Republicans from Mercer County. To learn more about the Mercer County Republicans, visit Mercer County Republicans online.

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Cap-and-Trade Bill Could Idle W.Va.’s Coal
By TAMMIE TOLER
Princeton Times

PRINCETON — Currently, coal fuels 98 percent of the electricity West Virginians use, but local leaders worry proposed cap-and-trade legislation and a difficult permit process could snuff the Mountain State’s energy potential.

They fear the same proposals could idle the mining industry that has kept West Virginia’s economy rolling and still unearths the coal that produces 50 percent of the nation’s electricity.

Gov. Joe Manchin affirmed this week during a Princeton visit that coal is under attack on a national level.

Touting the perseverance of West Virginians and a hard-work ethic sometimes hard to find today, Manchin said West Virginia’s coal mines and the people who work inside them have propelled the nation through industrial revolutions, recessions, wars and more.

“We’ve done the heavy lifting,” he said.

The Federation for American Coal, Energy and Security reports that West Virginia is the nation’s second largest coal-producing state. In 2008, the Mountain State’s 26 counties currently producing coal unearthed and processed 158 million tons of the fossil fuel.

West Virginia also leads the nation in coal exports, shipping more than 50 million tons to 23 countries abroad.

As of last report, the National Mining Association estimated West Virginia’s coal industry directly supported more than 88,000 jobs. The same organization predicts that each coal-related job also helps spur the need for about 3.5 more, thus expanding the reach of the resource even further.

But, the heavy lifting Manchin promoted is getting harder for the coal industry to bear, as legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions from power plants burdens utilities with fees and a new review process stalls mine permits under analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Manchin said he had been in contact with federal lawmakers asking them, “Just don’t put us in a position where we can’t even fight for a way to help this country stay strong.”

It isn’t just the nation that stands to lose if West Virginia coal use plummets.

“Our state budget is $3.2 billion,” state Del. Thomas “Mike” Porter said Tuesday. “Coal contributes one-third of that.”

In fact, a recent study by the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics Director Dr. Tom Witt and Marshall University Vice President of business and Economic Research Dr. Cal Kent found that the state reaps approximately $862 million annually directly from the coal industry. By the time coal miners and workers’ personal income taxes are figured in, that number surpasses the $1 billion Porter touted this week.

Those numbers could be in jeopardy if proposed cap-and-trade legislation dramatically lowers the amount of carbon emissions power plants can release as they burn coal to produce electricity and mine operations face years of waiting for EPA mining permits.

With the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill through the House of Representatives and up for debate in the Senate, turning on the lights and heating a home could soon become substantially more expensive.

Electricity produced from coal costs consumers an average of 6 cents per kilowatt hour. The national average of electricity from all other fuel sources is approximately 10 cents per kilowatt hour, but the price tag on alternative fuel is often higher.

In July, Appalachian Power Director of External Affairs Dave Langford told Princeton Rotarians that simply converting West Virginia’s power plants to reduce emissions by the required 78 percent would cost about $2 billion. The House bill would also require utility companies to begin shifting 20-25 percent of their electrical generation from fossil fuels to renewable energy, mounting the costs that will be passed on to consumers, on top of the 12.1 percent rate hike the West Virginia Public Service Commission approved earlier this year.

The decision on such laws ultimately rests with federal legislators, but the issues were clearly on the minds of West Virginia leaders this week.

“I told the governor up in Charleston that he needs to get up in Washington and tell his buddies to shut up on this cap-and-trade stuff,” Porter said.

At the nation’s capitol, Sens. Robert C. Byrd and Jay Rockefeller have pledged they will work tirelessly to protect West Virginia’s business and families who rely on the energy for a livelihood.

“Coal is an essential part of America’s energy future. It is absolutely irreplaceable as the energy source for half of our nation’s electricity. And, it is the single greatest hope our country has of ever achieving energy independence in a dangerous world,” Rockefeller wrote in a recent column.

The senator also reminded West Virginians to be realistic about the environment in which energy and climate change debate occur.

“Whether or not we all agree, the consensus in this country about climate change and greenhouse emissions is settled,” Rockefeller said. “And t\he opportunities always follow the consensus, which means every day we spend fighting with each other about the underlying science is a day we are not fighting together to secure our future.”

Rockefeller pledged to seek solutions that stabilize coal investments, prohibit haphazard or excessive regulations, protect consumers and rush development of new technology to capture and store the carbon that results from coal and other fossil fuel combustion.

“I haven’t yet seen federal energy legislation that achieves these goals and protects our way of life, and I won’t support any bill that threatens coal or West Virginia’s future,” Rockefeller said.

That could be a tall undertaking, with environmental groups calling for a complete ban on surface mining and environmental activists like Judy Bonds, of Coal River Mountain Watch calling for a federal takeover of the entire state.

“The federal government needs to come in and take over the state of West Virginia, all the way from the governor to the dog catcher,” Bonds told an Associated Press reporter recently.

Even actor Woody Harrelson joined the voices calling for the nation to quit coal this fall, telling “Playboy” Magazine that mountaintop removal mining is the “most egregious of all man’s activities,” outside of conflicts he called “oil wars.”

The attack from the former “Cheers” star prompted a written response from West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney, who said Harrelson seemed not to understand the issues surrounding mountains and pointed out that miners take great pride in restoring mine sites as near their original terrain as possible.

And, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts recently challenged Byrd and Rockefeller to hold up the federal health care reform bill, pending energy legislation that would protect West Virginia.

And, with an eye on Washington’s perception of coal as a “dirty fuel,” federal legislators and Manchin have vowed to work together and speak in a unified, “clear voice” to protect the state and its coal industry for the foreseeable future.