Coal
Miners Day bill approved
10/26/2006
A measure sponsored by state Rep. H. William
DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) to designate Dec. 19 as
Coal Miners Day in the state is on its way to the governor's desk.
The resolution was adopted somberly after news of the tragedy at the
Buck Mountain Anthracite Mine in Schuylkill
Haven,
Schuylkill County, which killed a mineworker, was shared with House members.
DeWeese's resolution to honor the bravery, accomplishments and sacrifices of miners in service to their country was co-sponsored by more than half of his House colleagues. The measure (House Resolution 795) was adopted unanimously by the House and
Senate and sent to Gov. Ed
Rendell.
DeWeese noted that next year would mark the centennial of the deadliest year in American coal mining. The highest death toll in a
Pennsylvania mining tragedy occurred on Dec. 19, 1907, at the
Darr Mine in
Van Meter,
Westmoreland County, when a dust and gas explosion took the lives of 239 miners.
©The
Herald Standard 2006
Uniontown,
Fayette Co, PA