Kilgore gets endorsement

This is good news for Jerry Kilgore. According to a press release

•  RICHMOND – Former Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore will accept the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police and two other law enforcement groups in a press conference at 11:15 a.m., Friday, September 30, 2005 at the Bell Tower at the State Capitol.  This is the first time the FOP has endorsed a Republican candidate for Governor since George Allen received it in 1993. In addition, Kilgore will accept the endorsement of the Law Enforcement Alliance for America and the Police Benevolent Association.  Simultaneously, Kilgore will unveil his “Law Enforcement Officers for Kilgore” coalition, which is designed to carry the message of his candidacy to the members of the law enforcement community and their friends and families.

This FOP endorsement plays well here at home. People pay attention to who the police support. Why?

•   The Fraternal Order of Police is the world's largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers, with more than 321,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges. We are the voice of those who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving our communities. We are committed to improving the working conditions of law enforcement officers and the safety of those we serve through education, legislation, information, community involvement, and employee representation. No one knows the dangers and the difficulties faced by today's police officers better than another officer, and no one knows police officers better than the FOP.
  Founded in 1915, we are still "Building on a Proud Tradition." 

Very good news for Kilgore indeed.

The last of my flowers are in bloom....Fall is here. 

More on Bud Phillips.

I posted this about Bud missing meetings. The Coalfield Progress has this:

• Phillips, D-Sandy Ridge, has missed 97 percent of the Appropriations committee interim meetings since 1998.
  According to the Appropriations committee attendance record, Phillips attended four out of seven interim meetings in 1997 and only two since then. He has missed 91 percent of interim meetings overall.

He has only attended 2 meetings since 1997. That is a shame for Bud and the folks here in SWVA. I dont care how you try to spin it, this sucks eggs.

• It is important for Southwest Virginia to have a representative at the interim meetings, Griffith said, comparing the meetings with football practice. Those who do not go to practice "will fumble the ball," he said. "When it comes to shaping the entire budget, he is handicapped." Griffith is not a member of the Appropriations committee, but attends the interim meetings. He said he does not know of any other members who have an attendance record of under 50 percent since he started attending the meetings in 2000. Phillips' absences affect other districts in Southwest Virginia that do not have a representative on the committee, said Griffith.

Ole Bud said this:

• Rather than spending $200 of the taxpayers' money to drive to Richmond for each meeting, Phillips said, he can receive information from those meetings through reports and other means.
  At that rate, the tab for having attended 70 meetings since 1997 could have been as much as $14,000. Tiller said it would not have been a wasted investment compared to the gains in getting funds for Southwest Virginia.
  Phillips, however, believes his participation and votes during the legislative session are more important than attending interim meetings, he said.
  
  Phillips could not be reached for further comment after Tiller's press conference.

Phillips could not be reached?? Indeed.

Alpha Natural Resources Announces $316 Million Coal Acquisition in Central Appalachia,

ABINGDON, Va., Sept 26, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR), a leading Appalachian coal producer, has through its subsidiaries signed definitive purchase agreements to acquire coal reserves and operations affiliated with the privately held Nicewonder coal group in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia. The aggregate purchase price is $316.2 million. The acquired properties are expected to add about 4.3 million tons to Alpha's coal output in 2006, representing an increase of approximately 20 percent over Alpha's expected coal production this year. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings and to significantly boost Alpha's operating results and free cash flow generation going forward.

This is a HUGE DEAL!

State Delegate Bud Phillips a no-show

From the BHC:

• State Delegate Bud Phillips missed 97 percent of the interim meetings of the House Appropriations Committee, his Republican challenger and other state GOP leaders said Monday.

  "It doesn’t matter if you are Democrat, Republican or independent, if you are in Southwest Virginia you have an obligation to be present," said House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith.

97%???? I dont know how anyone can support that. Bud puts up a defense of "The time when it counts is when you’re putting the budget together," Phillips said. "This is citizen legislature and you have to choose which meetings are important and can make the most difference."

On the other side Delegate Beverly Sherwood, R-Winchester, said "It’s our chance to interact and not just read the information being piled on our desks," she said. "If Bud’s not there to say ‘you’re going to hurt my district,’ then that voice goes unheard."

Update: Chad Dotson has his thoughts.

4th Virginia blog carnival

The 4th Virginia blog carnival is up at Kentons. Check it out!

Who are our employers supporting.

Here in the coalfields jobs are a major issue. It made me wonder who was supporting Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine. Years ago the union had some pull in this, but as companies de-certified the unions faster than a cat on a hot stove the influence has disappeared. People know that the union contract is worthless without a COMPANY to sign it. Lets look at some figures.

In the Real Estate/Construction sector Tim Kaine has received $2,468,910 to Jerry Kilgores $2,226,977.

In Technology, Communication Jerry has received $833,734 to Kaines $808,297. There are call centers all over SWVA.

Business - Retail, Services Jerry Kilgore $1,389,138-Tim Kaine $839,250. A whopping difference here. Just like transportation with Kaine at $388,067 and Kilgore at $634,385. This one surprised me....Health Care -Kaine has $521,951 and Kilgore has $1,183,908. Kaine has received $96,605 from Manufacturing and Kilgore has $266,216.

Now the big one for my area- COAL. SEE HERE

Energy, Natural Resources-Tim Kaine $309,104. Jerry Kilgore $1,011,048. Here are some local companies who support Kilgore

Alpha Natural Resources (Abingdon, VA) Gave $10,000 to Kaine and over $100,000 to Kilgore.- A & G Coal Corp (Wise, VA) -K-Va-T Food Stores (Grundy, VA) - WL Construction & Paving (Chilhowie, VA) - AT Massey Coal Co (Richmond, VA) - Rapoca Energy Co.- Abingdon Equipment Co (Abingdon, VA) You can see them all here. I could not find one local coal company who gave more to Kaine than Kilgore.(I may be wrong)

This info is useful and non-partisan. Just figures showing who contributes to each cause. The Alpha deal sealed it for me. The Coal companies that support me, also support electing Jerry Kilgore .

Football

I am watching the UVA-Duke game on ESPN 360.

Very cool! They will carry 20 more games on broadband this season. This is the first time I have used it. Anyone else using it?  Check it out!

Chad Dotson is at the game. He noticed something that caught my attention also. Jerry Kilgore signs everywhere on sportscenter!

Mark Warner and corndogs

Mark Warner and corndogs......Who holds a corndog like that? Geeesh. Is he bent over eating it? Who is the guy behind him? Photoshop anyone? All of this makes no sense.

Kaine gets clobbered

Tim Kaine was asked from whom he wanted support- The NRA or the Brady Campaign.
"I, I, I, I want everyones support"

To hear Kaine "duck" the question
click here

To learn more about Tim Kaines record go to Kainerecord.com

Good question for debate...."I, I, I,"
Homestead Sportsman for Kaine........lol

One Month

It has been one month ago today......

Smart cat

That Ferdy is One Smart cat!

One year ago

I posted this one year ago today.

Maybe my blues run in cycles.

Lonely

Lonely..... The picture is awesome.
The old load-out is idle. The trees are bare and the rails are grown over with a little bit of the black gold laying there discarded. The rails go on and I am sure they carried many dreams from many people. I wonder at the lives changed at this place. Changed for the good or the bad. This picture has me held........The emotions it has inspired in me are many.

I need a hobby....

I need a hobby to fill my 5 hours of free time a week. I used to fish but I don't have time now. The job keeps me busy (I went on overtime at noon today). Golf? Nope, if I had time to golf I would be fishing. Bowling? Naw, I threw enough rocks at bottles in my youth.

I have decided this would be enjoyable.

I had a train when I was young. I would love to set up a model of our local system, or shall I say, a single load-out done to scale. I am still researching and if anyone likes trains and can help me out...please do! 

Men are dirty....

Did they really have to research this?

Virginia Blog Carnival III

The 3rd Virginia Blog Carnival is up over at One Mans Trash. 17 good posts this week. Check out Normans "Captain's Picks".

The carnival gets better every week!

Local News

This is an old map but it is some what accurate. It shows the railways and coal loadouts in my area. It leaves out a few but all in all a good source. I live a couple miles from Glamorgan. Glamorgan hit the news this week:
From Tricities.com

• WISE – State mining regulators halted blasting at a strip mine after an explosion sent a rock flying through the roof of a house in the Glamorgan community.
  No one was at home when the incident occurred because the coal company had asked those who live nearby to leave during the work.

This has people talking here at home about strip mining. They bring up the death of Jeremy Kyle Davidson, a 3 year old killed when a dozer pushed a rock off a slope and it crashed into the childs room on Aug. 20, 2004. Read about that here. The company was fined and a lawsuit is in court (I hope they win). The Glamorgan accident was caused by flyrock. The blast sent a few rocks out of control and one crashed into a home ( I hear it was Pres. Bush's fault). There are many homes in that area and the blasting will resume soon. I have been there loading a train when they set off a blast. I never saw any flyrock when I was there. This is what living in the coalfields is like. "Please leave your home as we blow up a mountain".

Of course Spark It Up was on the scene to find out if there was any racial or social class issues with the evacuation before the blast. After Katrina I wanted to know if we had the same problems as reported in NewO. Good news is we dont! All the people were evacuated in a orderly fashion based on location. "The bottom line is they were told to leave and they did" say's local resident and glamorgan employee Gus B. "I dont believe we had any problems." A man who wished to remain anonymous said "they did not warn me" as he wiped his brow with his Tim Kaine ball cap. "They only warned the people who have homes in the area and I have called Cindy Sheehans people".......Go figure.

In other news it is reported that the Grinch is funding Jerry Kilgores campaign.
With a little research it was proven the same Grinch was funding Tim Kaines campaign and had funded Mark Warners in the past. This one is sooo funny!

Debate round up

From everything I have read Jerry Kilgore did not fair well yesterday. The question is "Will it matter?".....

Abortion is not high on the priority list for voters and both sides know that. Other than Russert "having to have a yes or no answer"- Kilgore did well. It is no secret that Kaine is a good debater and Kilgore is not. With Russert and a crowd, by all accounts, made up of mostly Kaine supporters, I think Kilgore did fine. In fact most all accounts show Kilgore getting his message out on roads and slamming Kaine as a tax raising liberal. The people in attendance already know who they are voting for this Nov and that would be a tough room for any Republican to stand.

The fact is no one will see the debate. The rebroadcast will be 2pm Sunday. Good for those who get Channel 8? I predict not many will look at the statewide debate. The past record on that is clear. What are chances of Kilgore losing votes over this? None. It is possible he gained votes as he was very clear on the issues while Kaine is still finding a platform that does not change from county to county. To say all is lost for Kilgore is ridiculous at best! Was it a bad moment, yes. Was it a vote swaying moment, no. The left is rejoicing and that is understandable. They have not had much to rejoice about with the polls supporting that. Enjoy the moment!

The only well thought out post from the left is from Waldo. I dont agree with Waldo but the humor is cool. Read his post here.

Chad Dotson has this, and this.

Kilgore and Kaine debate today

Chad Dotson reminds us the the debate is today. We also know Kaine is losing and he will attack. The big question is will anyone watch? A few will but most will rely on reviews from the media and bloggers. The spin the press puts on will be the key factor. After the last debate both sides claimed victory. Will this debate sway any voters? Doubtful. I think the polls are solid with Kilgore leading and winning in Nov.

Virginia Blog Carnival #2

The  Virginia Blog Carnival #2 is up at Brian Pattons Place.

This is the good stuff indeed!

Kilgore leading

A new poll show s Jerry Kilgore leading by 7 among likely voters! This is good as he breaks the 50% mark!

I will never forget that day. It was my generations Pearl Harbor. I dont think any event has ever unfolded on tv like the 9/11 attacks. This was a life changing day. 

20,000 Milestone

• Visitor's Time Sep 10 2005 10:47:56 pm
• Visit Number 20,000

 

 

Crossbrook Rails

The tracks have hidden stories to tell. I think some people worked a life away on these tracks. While others saw them as a way out of the coalfields. For me, they still support my area and family. I had today off, but a train is loading at 3 am in Ky and Kilo is on his way!

The Old Crossbrook Loadout

What is left of the old Crossbrook loadout. Crossbrook was very large years ago and the stories I hear from older workers say the coal really moved out of Appalachia Va. With the mines and the railroad together, I would think this was a real hot spot.

Crossbrook

Crossbrook loadout. The loadout is small and loads about 4 cars a hour.

A good point

Commonwealth Watch has a good post called Kilgore Win's.

It seems that Jerry Kilgore and most GOP candidates won the straw poll of over 500 guests. Good deal!

20,000 Hits

Is today the day? 50 more and that makes 20,000 hits to Spark It Up.

Jerry Kilgore and NASCAR

Jerry Kilgore and NASCAR
The car is sharp and will run at Martinsville The press release has this:

• Former Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore and NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler today unveiled Sadlers Number 92 Kilgore for Governor Chevrolet, which will run in the October 23, 2005 Nextel Cup Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The Kilgore campaign logo has been featured on two other Nextel Cup cars this season, but this will mark the first time Kilgore’s campaign has been the primary sponsor of a car. Kilgore and Sadler made the announcement at Richmond International Raceway, site of this Saturday’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400.

Jerry has deep roots with NASCAR

• "“Some of the best memories of growing up in Southwest Virginia are of listening to the NASCAR races on the radio with my father," Kilgore said. "“I know the fans of NASCAR in Virginia, because I a’m one of them. I share their values and I share their beliefs."

INDEED
Hermie Sadler offers this:

• "Today is a very special day for me and my family,” Sadler said. “It is truly an honor for me to partner with and support Jerry Kilgore in his bid to become the next Governor of Virginia. I have known Jerry for several years, and I know he will lead Virginia in the right direction. I look forward to helping spread his message to Virginians between now and November 8."

This is a good move by Jerry. Nascar has a huge fan base and he is smart to use it.

KY-VA state line. Just trying to get home, but when I get there......it just does not feel like home. 

The First Virginia Blog Carnival

I was to busy to submit this time, but Spark It Up will be there in the future!

This is a great idea guys! Check out the  The First Virginia Blog Carnival .

The Blue Dog and Jerry Kilgore

The Blue Dog had a live blog interview with Jerry Kilgore this evening. The blogging format of this interview is intriguing. I think we will see more of this in the future. As for the candidates that participate...They are wide open to questions and that could be dangerous. The Dog writes that:

• The Kilgore campaign has requested that I not screen questions or topics.

Jerry gave some good answers and I think it is a big Thumbs Up for The Blue Dog and Jerry Kilgore!

A good picture of where I was at today. big place indeed. 

What a weekend!

I had to work Saturday but was off Saturday night and Sunday. What did I do? I will never tell it all but a hot tub and a special lady made this short holiday fantastic. Will it lead anywhere? Who knows…

I have got my fingers crossed.

Tired

What a week so far. I will hit 70 hours tomorrow...to much in 5 days. Then, the weekend and I know there will be a train. I am just TIRED.
Anyway...

Anarchy in New Orleans

• New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday as corpses lay abandoned in street medians, fights and fires broke out, cops turned in their badges and the governor declared war on looters who have made the city a menacing landscape of disorder and fear.

  "They have M-16s and they're locked and loaded," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said of 300 National Guard troops who landed in New Orleans fresh from duty in Iraq. "These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so, and I expect they will."

It is reported that shots are being fired at rescue helicopters. How sad...