Getting Back Into School

Well, we are exactly one week into the school year, and I am excited to talk about the summer coal trip. I put up several posters on my "coal wall." I will bring out many more when we really work on my coal units, but for the year I have lightly sprinkled my room with coal posters. I have already been asked to explain what "West Virginia Coal: It's Not Just a Black or White Issue" means. This huge poster is positioned over my white board. I eagerly explained that there are many sides to the coal story and that we will work on units focused on coal mining later in the school year. I will do this at the time I teach functions. I hope for it to be a great success. One of the ideas that I took from the summer coal trip was that students should form their own opinions, but the opinions should come from facts. I hope to instill that in the students this year. I may even pull out some of the information to work with my Algebra students soon!

Day 6 IN the Mine

Day 6 IN the Mine was awesome! We went to the Rockspring Mine, which is owned by Alpha Energy, and had the opportunity to go down into their underground mine. It was such a wonderful culmination of the whole week; in the beginning of the week we saw the history of coal mining in Thomas, WV, saw the progression of natural reclamation at Yellow Creek to Joe Knob's manmade monoculture to Coal-Mac's manmade biodoversity, and saw the present and future of surface and finally underground mining. Everywhere we looked we saw technology from the highwall miner to the processing plant to tracking the miners in the underground mine. My group was first to go into the mine. We put on white paper jumpsuits, big bulky boots, safety glasses, ear plugs around the neck, a hat with a tracking device, a battery pack on my miner belt and attached to my hat, and a big heavy rescue device attached to my miner belt. We rode in the short, long car into the mine, and at first it was warm air we felt. It was a little daunting when the doors were closed, but we were enthralled by the environment. This trip - everything in the last 2 days from the strip mine to the Mountain Laurel processing plant to the underground mine experience - was beyond my expectation. Thank you, Dennis. I will do my best to instill pride, knowledge, and a thirst for the truth in our students as they realize the necessity of technology in their world.

An Unexpected Final Dinner Surprise

Day 5 ended with a very special dinner. Dennis Adkins, the head of the technology department for Cabell County and also the man who brought this whole trip into existance just seemed to think of everything! We thought we were going to have a nice ending dinner at Logan's Country Club and maybe wrap up with a casual discussion of what we learned and a "thank you" to the group leaders, but there was so much more in store for us. We did actually talk about how this trip would impact our students (I thought one of the most important things for our students is to form an opinion but to base it on facts as I practiced during the week), we did thank Pat, Steve, Karen, Annette, and Dennis, but we also had guests! At each table we had two people whose loves are tied to coal. Wendy, Rex, and I sat with a wonderful couple who have grown up in the Logan area. The gentleman is a 3rd generation coal miner who worked in underground and surface mines, went to school for engineering, and now surveys and writes permits for coal companies. He even works with Cobalt Coal Company from the Coal show on Spike. He said they are doing very well now, by the way. He and his wife both spoke about how well regulated mining is, even to the point of hindering mining with excessive regulations. Everything they said makes sense, and it was great to get a perspective from people who live in the area. It really does seem like coal is a great thing for West Virginia. Another gentleman spoke about how much coal mining boosts the economy of the state and the potential if allowed to repurpose mined land above the flood plain for homes and businesses. I really have learned so much this week and hope I can share with my students that they need to create informed impressions and make knowledgeable judgements. I am proud of the technology and advancements in my state and see so much hope for the future if everyone will just work together and become well informed citizens.

Day 5 Afternoon

This afternoon we traveled to Mountain Laurel to see coal being cleaned at their huge processing plant. We got all gussied up in our hard hats, safety glasses, ear plugs, and borrowed boots. We walked through the plant and saw all the different machines used to clean and crush the coal. It was very warm and water was constantly dripping in the plant. The process was very impressive, but again we did not get to take pictures. This was a very unique situation, and I was happy to have the opportunity to better understand the coal cycle.

Day 5 Morning

Day 5 morning was very eye-opening. I have been seeing so much of the negatives about surface mining (contour and mountain top removal or strip mining). We visited Coal-Mac, Inc. which is owned by Arch Coal. The company employs 295 people and has $225 million in capital investment. 3.5 million tons of coal are produced annually. The company has 33 million recoverable tons, which is enough work for 10-15 more years. 11,800 acres are permitted and $23 million has been posted for reclamation. The company has a total payroll of $23 million. Those are just some numbers to familiarize with the company. More importantly for those living in West Virginia, Coal-Mac, Inc. has won numerous awards for their work in safety and reclamation. The surface mine has also reached 3 million man hours without lost time from injury. When driving through the mining areas, we immediately saw the signs stressing safety and then the beauty! The reclaimed areas were amazing. They looked nothing like the devastation people see on television and come to think about in association with surface mining. The areas did not look like they had been touched after about 5 or 6 years - there were various trees, other plants, animals, and insects. In fact, the insects were so thick when we got out of the van that I got a mosquito bite within about 2 minutes and tons of little brown insects were crawling all over my body. I think the bugs weren't used to a lot of humans! Oh, and the grasshoppers were everywhere! I also learned that valley fill does not mean they fill in the valley. It is put on the sides of the mountains to build up the mountains, many times. Another neat opportunity is when the top of the mountain is left flat and cattle farms can be built on it. That has already been done once, and we saw it from a distance. It seemed like everything had been thorougly thought through and the EPA and DEP keeps close watch over all plans. The thing I always think about was addressed - what happens to all the slurry (the dirty water after cleaning coal)? Our guide explained the slurry is moved to high ground, the water evaporates, the slurry becomes hard and compacted, and is eventually covered with at least 3 feet of dirt to reclaim the land. We did not have the opportunity to take pictures, but I really learned so many impressive things about surface mining. It CAN be done in a great way that is helpful for all parties involved. There is so much hope for the future of our land.

Day 4 Night

During the evening we went to Matewan and saw the Matewan Museum and then the street where the Matewan Massacre occured. It was surprising on the way that there was such a variety of homes. There were plenty of trailers, but there were so many gigantic, gorgeous homes along the road, too. Those people were all tied to coal. What a difference in lives. . . It is a long night tonight because we will still see the coal house before heading to Chapmanville for bed.

Day 4 Afternoon

After a Heavenly Ham picnic lunch, we headed to SHM which builds and repairs highwall miners. Highwall miners mine 20,000 - 200,000 tons in a month. The machine costs $8 million. An estimated $15 million is needed in total machinery. 200-300 dollars comes from each ton. The machine runs 1000 feet underground and can cut from 28 inches to 15 feet high. If the seam is 30 inches, you might do one or two 1000 foot holes in a day. A wonderful thing about highwall mining is that there are no people underground so there is much less danger than underground mining. Maintenance is constantly being done while the miner is running. The miner might run for 20 years. Underground continuous miners will have about 9 people on a machine to only 3 people needed for a highwall miner. Less people are needed and they must be very computer literate because so much of the opertion is computerized. Young people have no problem running the machines. 12 feet wide is the maximum width cut by a highwall miner, and it must be self supporting roof for the highwall miner to be used. A continuous miner will mine 20 feet wide so it needs beams to hold up the roof. It takes about 22 tractor trailers to move a highwall miner. This was a very interesting experience and I look forward to being sent more information which I can use for my math classes as I teach about functions. I plan to use information about how many tons are mined, to time taken per ton, to costs to run the machine. Together with information about other mining methods, we will eventually use the information for students to debate the pros and cons of different types of mining. There will definitely be issues to debate focused on everything from safety, to impact on the environment, to employment differences.

Day 4 Morning

Day 4 Morning began at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. We rode through the underground mine, and I made sure to sit on the side closest to the inside wall. Last year when I came, I sat on the other side and it was a challenge to see anything! Marvin was our guide, and he was a lot of fun. He worked in a mine for 24 years. He did a very nice job describing the tools used to make sure the miners' air was safe. Marvin explained that canaries would die after 5 minutes of methane exposure and miners would have 15 minutes to get out. Later methods advanced and lights were used to guard against methane and black damp, or lack of oxygen. We saw how bolts were put into the top to support the ceiling, too. Then we went through the coal town and saw how small the miners' homes were. A three room home was normal, including a kitchen, living room, and bedroom. When kids came into the picture, the living room became a bedroom. Here are some pictures of the mine and the town. The final picture is of a one room shanty for a single miner or man away from his family for the week.

Day 3 Afternoon

The second part of day 3 began with a search for a dry place for lunch. We had a picnic, then we headed to Nuttallburg Abandoned Coal Community. The first 2 pictures are of Nuttallburg. We trekked out toward the old coal tipple. A couple of groups did water samples and discovered high conductivity in the water. Both positions had conductivity readings over 125 so there is a lot of metal in the water. Then we discovered we could not go all the way to the tipple because work is being done to create trails in the area. After that we went to the New River Gorge Welcome Center to see the bridge. The third picture is of the bridge. We even traveled below the bridge to get a unique perspective. Unfortunately to see the bridge I got out of the van in poison ivy. I am praying I do not get it. My husband just got over having it for weeks. We were given about 30 minutes in the hotel before Bob Evans so I rushed to shower before dinner to fight the poison ivy. To end a good day, I am so pleased to be in my hotel room before 8! Thank you Dennis and Steve!

Day 3 Morning

Day 3 morning began with waking up in my favorite hotel from our adventure last year. We were in the Lewisburg Holiday Inn Express. One of my favorite things is the beds having 2 firm pillows and 2 soft pillows. They are even marked for you! Ok, on to today. We began with a drive up to Joe Knob - what an adventure! Van 2 piled into our van, and we started the bumpy trek up the mountain. The rain began pouring, and we saw a huge lightning bolt that flashed for such a long time. That was a really amazing sight. Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to take a picture. Ok, since it was raining so much we did not get out of the vans, but we did have Dr. Mike Little in the van so he talked us through the trip up the hill. The area is a huge mountain top removal production. The company is reclaiming the land, but it is not nearly as biologically diverse as the Yellow Creek area. There is also an area called Buck Lilly Gob Piles which is full of the unused remains of the coal. He explained that there are people who work for the Department of Environmental Protection who monitor the water as their full time job. It is like a different world when you start bumping up the road and see the desolation from the removal of the mountain. Driving on the main road, people would have no idea of the changes taking place on the mountain just a few feet from the road. This was the only picture I got from this experience.

Day 2 Afternoon

Day 2 part 3 began at Coketon Douglas where we saw some very orange rocks and water due to the pyrite released during mining. It was hot and sunny and my team worked so well together to gather our data. We tested at an area where a very orange stream met a greenish stream. The orangish stream full of pyrite was more acidic by about 1.5 than the greenish stream which was treated with limestone. Then we traveled down to the amazing orange waterfall.

Day 2 part 2 began with a nice bathroom break at Blackwater Falls after 4 hours in the wilderness. We had a picnic lunch and then had a few minutes to walk the 214 steps down to the waterfall. It was beautiful. Now we are on the way to a very orange, very uninhibited waterfall.

Day 2 Morning

This morning we went to Yellow Creek which was our first opportunity to collect water samples. This area is one of the earliest coal mines. The mining was complete and the mine abandoned by 1906. The gray rocks in the area are sandstone. All the water is acidic, but it is not because of pyrite. We walked out to a unique environment that was like a self-contained little world. There were little sundew surrounding the bog water. The ground was covered with sphagnum moss which made it very soft, and the ground would pull in your shoes. The area was full of cotton grass, ferns, and low bush blueberries. I even picked my own blueberries! I am really acclimating to the environment because a huge spider climbed up my foot, and I just knocked it off without incident!

Day 1

We left the Board of Education at 1:00 and began the journey in the Milton van. We are van 3. We drove for about 3 1/2 hours and then arrived in Parsons, West Virginia. It was so nice to see the renewable, clean energy being created in the mountains. We did a lab in which we worked with a partner to find the rpms and speed of the windmills. We discovered the speed was about 130 mph. I had the pleasure of working with my own middle school science teacher, Wendy. In Thomas we learned about Davis and Elkins and yellow boy. We also saw Mine 3. It was a productive day.

The Night Before. . .

Well it is the night before the big trip. My clothes and other essentials are scattered across the living room and dining room. Hopefully everything will go great on this trip, we will be safe and healthy, and learn a lot. Oh, I was so excited today when I found Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad for the trip! It really is the little things sometimes! My husband has also helped me so much in this whole project of "getting ready!" I will write more when we are on the road tomorrow.

Getting Ready. . .

I am getting ready for the big trip by practicing my blogging skills on this Tablet.  I am posting a picture of the flowers in my fireplace as a reminder that Steve will point out lots of plants on this trip - he and Pat seem to know every plant.  It really is amazing!

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Testing the Blog

Abney Coal Camp

The Abney Coal Camp is located in the Winding Gulf Coalfield of southern West Virginia. In 1921, Abney Coal Camp was constructed in Raleigh County on a ledge approximately 500 feet over the Piney River. The community began with 50 houses. Originally the Abney Coal Camp and mine were named Phillips, West Virginia. The town was named for William Phillips, who was the Pemberton Coal and Coke Company’s president. Years later, the name was changed to Abney by the post office. According to an article posted in the Raleigh Register on November 11, 1921, Camp Phillips would be “one of the most attractive coal operations in the coal fields." The story said the 50 bungalows were sturdy and would be supplied “with the purest water, piped from a mountain spring in a three-inch galvanized pipe." The water was to provide good fire protection for the camp. Today, the field that once housed a one-room school house is a lot for trailer homes and the Abney company store is a private residence. There is not Census information available specifically for Abney, but Wikipedia stated that Abney is part of Coal City which had a population of 1,905 as of the 2000 census and 98% white residents. The town is still very much alive.
http://westvirginia.topcities.com/ABHistory.htm http://www.coalcampusa.com/sowv/gulf/abney/abney http://www.coalcampusa.com/