Contact: Andrew Munn or Dea Goblirsch 304-513-4710
Email: news@climategroundzero.org
CEDAR GROVE, W.Va.- The Senior Citizens March to End Mountaintop Removal will culminate in a protest and press conference at Massey subsidiary Mammoth Coal Company on US-60, east of Cedar Grove, at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Mammoth Coal Company is 25 miles from the march’s starting point at the state capitol in Charleston. At least 28 seniors between the ages of 50 and 88 will have put their feet to the pavement during the 25 mile walk, including Larry Gibson of Kayford Mountain and Jesse Johnson of the Mountain Party. Gibson and Johnson both spoke at march-associated events at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charleston.
City of Belle police arrested two young people for deploying a banner off of the Walker CAT building in Belle, W.Va. on Saturday. The banner read “Yes, Coal Is Killing West Virginia Communities.” The two arrestees, Gabe Schwartzman, 19, and David German, 18, were released on the same day for $100 personal recognizance.
Several of the participants, including Herk McGraw, 75, and Sue Rosenberg, 62, are relatives of young people who have been arrested for acts of non-violent civil disobedience in the Climate Ground Zero campaign against mountaintop removal. Two of march co-organizer Roland Micklem’s daughters are among the marchers.
The senior citizens received training in nonviolence and conflict de-escalation Sunday night in preparation for potential confrontation at Monday’s protest.
