WHEELING – The West Virginia Coal Association and Friends of Coal are proud to once again sponsor the “Super Six” State High School Football Championships this weekend at Wheeling Island Stadium in Wheeling. This will mark the 19th consecutive year the championships have been held in Wheeling.

The games this year include AAA #1 ranked Cabell-Midland taking on two-time defending champion and current #2 rated Martinsburg. The game begins Saturday at Noon. In AA, Wayne returns to Wheeling trying to wrap up back-to-back titles against Keyser. Meanwhile, in Class A, Wahama will meet Madonna on Saturday night.

By Erica Martinson

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s entrance into the 2014 West Virginia Senate race could keep coal in the conversation despite a disastrous 2012 run for the coal industry.

In a speech Monday announcing her bid to take the seat that Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller has held since 1984, Capito pledged to “continue to stand up against the EPA’s dangerous and unconstitutional crusade to dictate our nation’s energy policy to the detriment of West Virginians.”

“We are a state rich in natural resources with our coal reserves, natural gas and even oil,” she said. “They have played a major role in the course of our state and driven our economy.”

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — Southern Coal Corp. is recalling several hundred laid-off miners in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia and plans to hire 650 new workers.

Roanoke-based Southern Coal announced Tuesday that it has entered into a multiyear contract to supply coal to American Electric Power. The contract will allow it to restart mines idled earlier this year and to save 500 jobs.

Southern Coal is owned by the Justice family, which includes Jim Justice, who also owns The Greenbrier resort. He and his son Jay Justice said in a statement that they hope the announcement makes the holidays "a little better" for those affected.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin say the AEP contract is good news for the workers and their states' economies.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press

Norfolk Southern Corp. announced yesterday that a major upgrade to its Lamberts Point export coal transload facility in Norfolk, Va., recently reached the completion stage.

The work positions the facility, known as Pier 6, to remain the largest and fastest coal transload facility in the northern hemisphere, NS officials said in a prepared statement. The facility transfers coal hauled by train from Appalachian coal fields to ships bound for markets worldwide.

The $18 million upgrade, which was completed on schedule over a 90-day period beginning in August, involved major overhauls of the facility's dumper system and two loaders. The dumper system transfers coal from rail cars to a conveyor system. NS plans to upgrade a south set of dumpers in spring 2013.

"This investment reflects our belief in the long-term prospects for the global coal market and Norfolk Southern's continuing pivotal role in that market," said Danny Smith, NS' senior vice president of energy and property.

The most recent upgrades coincide with the 50th anniversary of Pier 6, which began operations on one loader in December 1962. NS plans to hold an anniversary celebration in April 2013 for the second loader, which came online in spring 1963.

Pier 6 features an annual throughput capacity of 36 million tons of coal and can handle up to 8,000 tons of coal per hour. In January, Pier 6 loaded a record 159,941 net tons of coal onto a ship bound for China.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) Wednesday met in his Capitol Hill office with Wyoming County Circuit Clerk David "Bugs" Stover, who recently completed his third walk from Wyoming County to Washington to raise awareness about the importance of coal to West Virginia's economy.

"I was privileged to welcome Bugs to Washington after his first walk in behalf of coal more than thirty years ago.  Those today who look at Bugs march to Washington as long and lonely are only half right.  By any stretch, the years haven't made the journey any shorter, but whether they know it or not, Bugs marched with millions who benefit from coal," said Rahall.  "Bugs cares passionately about our coal miners and families, and he understands well the importance of coal to our State in providing miners with a means to earn an honest living and provide for their families. Bugs won't ever give up on fighting for our coal miners, and neither will I."