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Article: Ky. inmates train for coal mining jobs
- Article from:
- Charleston Daily Mail
- Article date:
- May 5, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Charleston Daily Mail. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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HARLAN, Ky. - Jerry Elliott hopes to trade his jail jumpsuit and
slippers for a hardhat and work boots when he comes up for parole
later this year.
Mining is one of the few bright spots in Kentucky's otherwise
dismal economy, and with coal prices high, officials have picked an
unusual classroom - a county jail - to teach potential miners a
dangerous, difficult job.
Elliott and about 20 other inmates at the Harlan County Detention
Center crowd into a drab, locked room each Wednesday to learn the
ins and outs of the mining industry, which employs 17,000 in
Kentucky.
Their goal? Land lucrative jobs in the Appalachian coalfields,
where hardy workers are in high demand.
"I've learned you can't ...