CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Melanie Vickers contends that switching from working in education to completing 100 hours of coal mining training isn't such a big change.
"I'm a lifelong learner," the retired assistant superintendent for Kanawha County middle schools said. "I hope that's true of all educators."
Vickers recently earned her red hat in underground coal mining from the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies. With the information she's acquired, she plans to write a children's book.
Vickers was born in coal country and lived in Man. Part of her interest in coal mining stems from her family members, several of whom worked in the mines.