Thanksgiving

Took Dave to New Jersey with me for Thanksgiving. Got a chance to check out my uncle's hoop houses and some simple water reclamation.

Return

The whiskey's gone and the jail birds are free.

Nick Out

Nick Martin was bailed out early this morning, three remain in jail.

Four Arrested on Coal River Mountain, Bail Unknown

Today's action marks the seventeenth consecutive act of nonviolent civil disobedience from Climate Ground Zero in what is now undeniably a sustained fight against mountaintop removal. The four protestors stopped blasting on Coal River Mountain's Bee Tree site, resolving to lock down to a drill rig. Their direct action speaks out against mountaintop removal and the extreme danger of blasting in such close proximity to the Brushy Fork Impoundment. Brushy Fork is permitted to hold 9 billion gallons of toxic sludge. It has already been stated that this impoundment is highly unstable and that blasting will only increase this exponentially. If this were to break it would devastate not only an entire town but the entire length of the Coal River.

Coal River Valley resident Judy Bonds commented on the action earlier today, saying, “This is further proof that Nick and Dea, Laura and Grace are backing up what the community people said in the press conference: Coal River Mountain is a hope and a future. I'm thrilled! I say hooray for the brave folks that's up there. They are my heros.”

All four protestors have been arrested and there is no word yet on their charges or bail. Past actions have incurred bails as high as $25,000 per person; the only way we can hope to raise these funds is through your donations. Please donate to their legal fund and support their brave actions!

Update on Bee Tree Lock Down

We've gotten word that Dea Goblirsch is actually locked down inside the cab of the drill rig and Nick Martin is locked to the drill.

Mine security and the police are on scene.

Check out http://climategroundzero.org for the latest updates, quotes, and photos.

Responding to Harmful Government Inaction, Protestors Stop Blasting on Coal River Mountain

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/21/09

Contact: Zoe Beavers 304-854-7372

Email: news@climategroundzero.org

PETTUS, W. Va. – Early this morning two concerned citizens, Dea Goblirsch and Nick Martin, locked down to a drill rig on Coal River Mountain’s Bee Tree mountaintop removal site, effectively stopping blasting. Two others, Grace Williams and Laura Von Dolen, joined them in direct support, holding a banner with the message “Save Coal River Mountain”.

These nonviolent protestors have taken this action to bring attention to the extreme danger facing residents of the Coal River Valley from blasting near the Brushy Fork Impoundment. They plan to stay locked down until law enforcement removes them.

The banner hanging on the drill rig two protestors are locked down to.

Resident of Rock Creek, W Va., Delbert Gunnoe, stated his concerns with the blasting, “You know when they put a blast over there, and it shakes the windows over here, at what, ¾-a-mile distance, imagine what it does over there.” Gunnoe continued, “if [the impoundment] did bust…what would be the destruction? The town of Whitesville would no longer exist.”

The four are fearful of the blasting that Massey Energy began in late October. These blasts are 200 feet from the Brushy Fork Impoundment, permitted to hold nine billion gallons of toxic coal slurry. The impoundment sits atop miles of hollow, abounded underground mines, further endangering its integrity. By Massey’s own estimates, roughly 998 people will die should the dam break. The emergency evacuation plan states that a 40-foot wall of sludge, cresting at 72 feet, will flow through the valley, reaching 20-feet-high about 15 miles down the road. Apart from the initial flood, the impact of this potential spill would be felt along the Coal River’s 88 miles.

“The Brushy Fork Sludge Impoundment keeps residents of the Coal River Valley up at night, waiting for eight billion gallons of toxic coal slurry to come rushing towards them,” said Dea Goblirsch, one of the two locked down. “I don’t know how Massey executives sleep soundly at night.”

Hydrologist, Dr. Rick Eades spoke of concerns about the stability of the dam as blasting occurs. He questioned “blasting where underground mines existed in the Eagle coal seam, the possibilities for adversely affecting near-surface bedrock in a way that could possibly enhance pathways for slurry to be released via the subsurface and bypass the dam.”

The concern is that slurry will break into underground mine shafts and blow out through old mine openings on the side of the mountain. This potentiality for Coal River Mountain mirrors the cause of the world’s largest slurry spill which occurred in Martin County, Ky. In 2000, 250 million gallons of slurry broke forth from a 2.2-billion-gallon impoundment, killing nearly all life in the Big Sandy River. Its impact reached all the way to the Ohio River, about 100 miles away.

A drill rig on a mountaintop removal site.

Earlier this week, EPA sent out a letter to Marfork Coal Co., a subsidiary of Massey Energy Co., airing concerns about the absence of a valley fill permit, and requesting an extensive amount of information concerning the mountaintop removal operation on the Bee Tree site.

In note of this, Nick Martin, currently locked down, said, “The EPA’s recent action proves that the communities’ concerns about this site are shared at the highest levels of government.”

Matt Louis-Rosenberg, a Climate Ground Zero activist, adds, “Coal River Wind attempted to get a meeting with the governor for a year and it took people sitting in his office to get him to sit down and meet with concerned community members, just like it takes our actions up on Coal River Mountain to get the federal government to step in.”

The concern showed by the EPA reflects what the residents of the Coal River Valley have known for a long time; the Brushy Fork Impoundment is putting lives in danger, and the blasting on Coal River Mountain only increases that danger. The protestors on the Bee Tree site are putting out a call to action to save Coal River Mountain and protect all those who would be impacted by a catastrophe there. This action fits into a larger fight against mountaintop removal in Appalachia.

On the whole, Gunnoe’s sentiment was, “Don’t like much about Obama, but he’ll have one heck of a supporter if he stops mountaintop mining.”

Note: More information available at http://climategroundzero.org.

Building with Friends

Today we went to Delbert's to help begin construction on a community center. This community center is badly needed and his property is a great place for it. I'm hoping to continue and see this through til it's completion. We haven't done too much building yet, but we did use a badass band saw.

Study Break

It's nice to find time to play.

Joe is Out!

This morning Joe Hamsher returned to Rock Creek.

And So It Begins!

Arrived in Rock Creek last night.

Update on Arrest

Here is an update for those of you who haven't been in the loop:

I was arrested with eight other folks on October 22nd for direct action against MTR on a mine site in Kanawha County, WV. We locked down across a haul road for several hours before the police figured out how to release the four locked down.

Each of us were originally held at $2,000 cash only bail. A wonderful lawyer managed to have our bond reduced to $200 each, and we were bailed out on October 24th.

We have been charged with Trespassing B, Obstruction, and Conspiracy. A maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine or two years in jail. Currently we are all awaiting pre-trial.

There are several links on the right of this webpage that will take you to articles about the action if you'd like to know more; however, the best source is often primary so feel free to e-mail me.

Joe Hamsher in Jail

Send fan mail, love letters, and notes of solidarity to Joe Hamsher, who
is serving 20 days in prison for his act of non-violent civil disobedience,
at the following address:

Joseph Hamsher
Southwestern Regional Jail
13 Gaston Caperton Dr.
Holden, WV 25625

New York

New York always surprises me. I come remembering only the constant stress and impatience emanating from everyone you meet, and then I arrive and realize that I've forgotten about all the passion and quirks. This place has such potential, so many people, and yet I've never seen them truly rise up and take back their streets. Energy flows into a Yankees parade, and what good does it do? Sanitation workers wade shin deep in celebratory confetti and toilet paper for hours following; the waste is incredible.
At least here I can see the ocean. The first thing I ever do en route to Rye is stop at the beach, sit on the rocks, smoke a cigarette and remember those waters. I can't wait to get to Rock Creek but that smell is something I always miss about this place. That rich, briney air filling my nostrils is irreplaceable.
I'm leaving this place on Tuesday, hopefully earlier rather than later. Car needs fixin' and I still have some supplies to gather.

Still, Tuesday can't come soon enough.

Oberlin sans Class

After declaring myself a non-student, all that was left to do was have fun for a few days before heading out to New York.

Obie Friends: I miss you all dearly and I hope you decide to follow this blog until the day I return. Please e-mail me at momofarrell@gmail.com for regular correspondence. If you want to send packages, please UPS them to:

Maureen Farrell
107 Ford Addition
Rock Creek, WV 25174

As for letters I have yet to figure out this PO Box thing, but when I do I'll let you all know.

Today I Dropped Out of School

Today I withdrew from Oberlin College. It was a good decision.