The WV Office of Miners Health Safety & Training has withdrawn the proposed amendments to Title 56, Series 3 Rules Governing the Safety of Those Employed in and Around Surface Mines in West Virginia.  The rules were proposed in June and a public hearing was held in July. The agency intends on establishing an ad-hoc work group to review the proposed rules before they are (re)submitted to the Legislature for approval.

The WV Business & Industry Council (BIC) had four well attended legislative events this week.  On Tuesday, Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was the featured guest speaker, along with many of the State Senators and Delegates from Kanawha and Putnam counties.  Later Tuesday evening, most of the Senators and Delegates from Cabell and Wayne counties met with BIC members in Ceredo.  The other two meetings, on Thursday, were held in Beckley for Raleigh and Fayette county representatives and at Chief Logan State Park with House Finance Chairman Harry Keith White and Delegates from Lincoln, Logan and Mingo counties attending.  The Coal Association is a charter member of BIC.

Doctors Jim and John Brick of WVU’s Medical School joined with the leaders of Marshall’s Medical School and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine to break ground on the Larry Joe Harless Community Health Center in Gilbert on Thursday.  The clinic was started in the Larry Joe Harless Community Center more than three years ago by WVU and is expanding into a new 12,000 square foot space being renovated in the Center.  It will provide primary care five days a week to the citizens of Gilbert and the surrounding area.  Throughout the groundbreaking ceremony it was mentioned that the Clinic would never have been realized had it not been for the vision and tremendous support of “Buck” Harless.