Four and a half years ago, on a hot summer night, there was earthquake activity in the middle of the night in east-central Utah.
Some time the next morning, we learned a mine had collapsed, trapping 6 men inside.
Rescue efforts were mustered. Victim's families were sequestered in a local elementary school, away from media. Bob Murray proceeded to babble in front of a microphone.
Drilling from above revealed no signs of life.
A side entry was broached. A few days later, it collapsed and killed 3 rescuers while injuring six. My girlfriend Christine gave birth to her second child. She was at a hospital slated to receive the injured and she and her husband saw signs of readiness.
One of the miners' coworkers killed himself the next week. This was not readily available in the media at the time.
There was a MSHA investigation. There were hearings at the House. More hearings at the Senate. Blame tossed here and there.
There was eventually a civil suit, and a settlement. The settlement included benefits for the children of the man who took his own life in despair.
There is a lovely memorial. Individual sculptures of the men's faces.
The US Attorneys office acted slowly. Administrations changed. And now, four and a half years later, we seem to have the concluding act of this tragedy.
My first-ever diary here was about a news release several months after the event.
It still burns. 10 dead men. 10 dead Utahns. For an old coal mine, re-opened due to rising prices, and had a little more coal shaved off the support pillars. Except it was a little too much shaving off.
And where does this coal go? One nearby plant is the IPP in central-west Utah. This juice all goes to southern California. The pollution hangs out in Utah and Colorado. Here's a few more.
Air pollution causes 1,000 to 2,000 premature deaths every year. And our governor wants "voluntary" air pollution control.
10 dead men, from bad business and bad engineering decisions. Dirty dirty coal. Fossilized dead plants and animals, killing us in many ways zillions of years later.
This is the 1% (mine owner Bob Murray) against the 99%. The one who owns the means of producing wealth versus the people who shower at the end of their shift. It reeks of class and the privilege of wealth.
Bob Murray bought himself an academic chair at West Virginia University. I always wondered if Don Blankenship could return the favor, and buy a chair at the University of Utah. There's even a School of Mines.
10 dead men Timeline with Photos.
Manny Sanchez
Carlos Payán
Kerry Allred
Luis Hernández
Don Erickson
Brandon Phillips
Dale Black
Brandon Kimber
Gary Jensen
Unknown man, whose children are included in the civil settlement.
The kids and I are heading to south eastern Utah (canyon country) this summer, up Spanish Fork Canyon on US 6. The downhill road takes us past the memorial, so we'll stop. And to ease our consciences, our electricity is from wind power - we participate in our utility's Blue Skies program.
Bob Murray still lives and walks and breathes the free air. Richard Stickler, the w-appointed MHSA director, has dropped off the radar, but is surely not laying at the bottom of a mine.
The widows, the children, the grandchildren who are all without these men. The parents, the siblings, the extended family and all the friends who cared for them also. It just all still sucks so much.
Maybe solar and wind can't solve everything. But wouldn't it be great to see how much they could? I did hear of one death in a wind power installation in Australia. One.
"Who holds anyone accountable for any of these mistakes? No one."