Miners dig deep to help kids

As the threat of closures and lay offs loom for a lot of Southern Illinois mines, one is standing strong for others in the midst of danger.

ARCLAR Complex employees have been hard at work making sure that area families have a blessed holiday season. Early Monday morning, the Fowler-Bonan Foundation founder Mayor Dale Fowler and executive director Kerry Camp accepted a donation of toys, coats, and clothes from Wild Cat Hills, Cottage Grove, and Prep Plant facility miners.

"It's great ... The fact that they chose our foundation is amazing," Fowler said. "It is great they could afford to do all this for the less fortunate."

The Fowler-Bonan Foundations "Clothes for Kids" has already reached 600 kids, providing them with clothes, toys, coats and shoes.

The miners from ARCLAR Complex held a food drive, headed by Jason Davis, operations manager for the coal mine, back in November, collecting enough food to feed 16 families with full Thanksgiving meals. Those meals were delivered to needy families in Harrisburg and Eldorado.

"When the food drive went so well, they decided to do something for Christmas," Melissa Roby, human resources representative said.

The whole of 350 full-time employees and 50 temporary employees overflowed, in just two weeks time, two large appliance boxes: one filled with coats and clothes, the other with toys.

According to Roby, there are no plans for Peabody Coal to do any layoffs at the ARCLAR Complex, at this time.

But several of the competitor mining facilities are feeling the heat.

Back in November, Murray Energy Corp., parent company for American Coal Company in Galatia, announced they expect to cease operations at the New Era mine toward the middle of 2016. Causing around 700 employees to lose their jobs.