Downtown Gatherings Stay Peaceful as Police Keep Watch

Posted on Sat, Jun. 18, 2005
Mountaintop removal spurs competing rallies
By Scott Sloan And Art Jester
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITERS

Moments both poignant and comic stood out late yesterday afternoon during competing rallies in downtown Lexington over the issue of mountaintop removal coal mining.

At Triangle Park, where 175 people assembled for an event organized by Mountain Justice Summer, the poignant moment came when Martin County's Patsy Carter spoke, her voice trembling with emotion.

Carter carried with her a framed, color photo of her daughter, Darlies Carter, 21, who was killed May 2, 2000, when her car collided with an overweight coal truck in Martin County.

Brian Tietz

"She was taken from me out of greed," Patsy Carter said. "I will fight for the rest of my life" to keep overweight coal trucks off the roads, she said.

Carter was one of about 20 speakers at the 90-minute rally. Mountain Justice Summer -- a coalition of environmental groups from Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia -- is staging numerous non-violent protests this summer to press for abolition of mountaintop removal coal mining.

Meanwhile, 150 people connected to the coal industry gathered outside the office of the Kentucky Coal Association at 340 South Broadway to support mountaintop removal mining.

Supporters of the coal industry stood in front of the Kentucky Coal Association with signs of support as protestors from Mountain Justice Summer walked passed along South Broadway in Lexington, Ky. on Friday, June 17, 2005.

The comic moment occurred when four of the protesters decided to confront coal association president Bill Caylor.

In April 2004, during an event at the University of Kentucky, Caylor said there was nothing toxic in the 300 million gallons of coal slurry that broke through an impoundment in Martin County in 2000, flooding nearby streams.

To underscore his point, Caylor said then that he would eat the coal waste to prove that it was only dirt and not toxic.

Yesterday, a dinner of slurry, taken from Martin County, was put in goblets and on a plate and delivered to him by Ali Meyer, a UK research assistant; Erik Tuttle and Nick Smith, UK students from Knox County; and Maude Richards, a Mountain Justice Summer volunteer from Seattle.

When they reminded him of his offer, Caylor took a tiny bit of the slurry and touched it to his lips, prompting Tuttle to say, "We'll eat the whole thing if you'll take a bite."

Charles Bertram/Staff Kentucky Coal Association president Bill Caylor, left, tasted a small amount of coal slurry, brought to him by a group from the "Rally to End Mountain Top Removal Mining" a protest that was being held at Triangle Park in Lexington, Ky. on Friday, June 17, 2005. On the right is Erik Tuttle from Knox County, who was part of the group opposed to Mountain Top Removal.

Tuttle said they came up with the idea of the slurry "meal" after he and Smith tried several times to get appointments with Caylor, without success.

Caylor later said the slurry was bland. "It's no more than dirt," he said. "They allege it's toxic, but it's not."

Slurry contains a witches brew of carcinogenic chemicals used in coal washing and processing such as-- arsenic, chromium, cadmium, boron, selenium, nickel, and others that are present in coal.

Caylor called the protesters "very well meaning and spirited young kids, but they're young and inexperienced."

The rallies were peaceful throughout, watched over by 18 Lexington police officers.

When the Mountain Justice Summer group marched south on Broadway and walked by the coal association group, police formed a protective line between the groups so that the most that was exchanged was words.

Police blocked intersections as the Mountain Justice Summer contingent marched through downtown to the Kentucky Utilities building.

At the KU entrance, Perrin de Jong and Brandon Absher of the Lexington Environmental Project posted a sign directed at the utility and bearing three demands: ending mountaintop removal mining and the use of coal acquired by that method; obtaining the best available pollution controls; and developing 20 percent renewable energy by 2020.

Mountaintop removal uses explosives to blow out a mountaintop, and heavy equipment to extract the coal until the mountain is leveled. The remaining dirt, called valley fill, is pushed into a low-lying area.

Mountain Justice Summer opposes the method, saying it destroys mountains and pushes fill into places where it chokes off streams and creeks.

Paul Matney, 53, of Corbin, the personnel director for TECO Coal, said he came to the coal association rally to represent the residents of his region. The association says mountaintop removal stimulates the economy and provides jobs.

Matney said those advocating an end to mountaintop removal mining are taking away the freedom of Eastern Kentucky residents.

"I resent people coming to tell me what I can and can't do with my property," Matney said.

	More Rally Photos In addition to witnessing coal association president Bill Caylor eat toxic sludge, participants had a large march and rally with puppets, theatre, displays, banners and much, much more.

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