UBB memorial to be held Thursday
 |
Jessica Y. Lilly |
April 4, 2012 ·
A memorial ceremony is scheduled tomorrow to remember the 29 men who died at the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster to mark the two year anniversary of the explosion.
Members of the community are
invited to a wreath laying ceremony in front of the Raleigh County Courthouse at
three o’clock tomorrow afternoon.
The event is sponsored by the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce and
the Whitesville Miners Memorial Group. The ceremony is meant to be informal and
will include a moment of silence for one minute and 29 seconds.
The Beckley Fire Department
color guard is expected to ring a ceremonial bell 29 times. UBB Memorial
Project Chair Mick Bates is asking the community to participate by wearing
what’s referred to as ‘coal miner stripes’ on Thursday. Bates is also asking
residents and business owners to turn off their lights while observing a moment
of silence at 3 p.m., the
approximate time of the explosion that occurred on April 5, 2010.
A permanent memorial marker
is expected to go up on the courthouse lawn on Memorial Day. Dedication of the UBB Marker and
a candlelight walk is scheduled for West Virginia Day June 20.