Let Me Tell You About My West Virginia

I am a native of Buckhannon, W.Va. I was raised in a home right off Tallmansville Road, about three miles from the Sago mine, where 12 miners died after an explosion almost two weeks ago.

Of the erroneous initial reports that the men had survived, Howard Kurtz's Jan. 9 Style story said that while "the mining company's refusal to correct the misinformation for hours is inexplicable, the situation was exacerbated by the journalistic reluctance to say the facts are unconfirmed." I can understand why the mining company refused to put out any information until it was absolutely sure of the fate of the trapped miners. Plus, it was not the company that put out the incorrect news that spread to the families. Unlike the media, the company waited until it had the facts. So why is one called "inexplicable" while the other is called a "reluctance"?

Unfortunately, there is a more general problem with the media's reporting of this tragedy. Many newspapers, including The Post, continue to print stories about the poor coal mining towns in that part of West Virginia. For example, your paper's Jan. 4 news story "Community Wears a Shroud of Silence" said that Buckhannon is a mining town. It is not. The three largest employers in the town are West Virginia Wesleyan College, St. Joseph's Hospital and the public schools.

Does your paper feel some need to portray Buckhannon and West Virginia in this way? Why do you say in your article that the road to the mine is "over narrow roads where mailboxes sprout occasional God Bless America signs and mobile homes nose up against pastureland"? Neither the Tallmansville Road nor Route 20, the two main ways to get to the mine, have a preponderance of mobile homes. The real Upshur County is a diverse blend of culture, economics, accessibility and strong education.

-- Jack Stansbury

Derwood