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1/4/2005
Mr. Tom Pulay, ODNR-DMR stopped to look at the map and photos of
subsidence in the far strips. He will walk in to look at it in several
days.
Floyd Simpson
1/5/2005
The basement of the James Kinney Farmstead main house is starting
to flood again! By 6 PM water was coming up through the cracked
floor of the furnace room. We have had 3 inches of rain but the
house has great downspouts and underground pipes that carry all
the roof water well away from the buildings. The problem is that
the 14 foot deep trench that Hughes Corporation dug for pre-mining
prevention of the compression wave from the approaching longwall
subsidence. The one causing the problem is west of the house and
it went 14 feet deep, 5 feet below the sandstone base the house
was built on. It was wet when the dirt went back in and not all
the dirt was put back in the trench. There was no French drain in
the bottom and no way any water can get out except to wick back
under the house through the layers of sandstone. The longwall mining
caused the concrete floors to crack so the water just comes up through
these cracks and floods the basement. I was still running the one
sump pump I own at 11:00 PM.
Floyd Simpson
1/6/2005
I have put off my Florida vacation with my son Ron to fight this
flooding problem. At 6:00 PM I had the furnace room sumped out but
the southwest basement room was starting to flood. By 9:00 PM I
had a full blown problem as it is still raining and I can’t
get ahead. I called the coal company, but got their answering machine!
I called their contract plumber—they said everyone was out
on work calls but would let them know of my problem by FM radio.
At 3:00 PM they got back to me. Their guy really gave it his all
and got it pumped down in about and hour and a half. It has quit
raining. The TV and radio are saying that Wheeling Island will soon
be under 5 foot of the Ohio River The Ohio Valley had been hit with
another record flood.
Floyd Simpson
1/12/2005
Coal Company engineer Dave Bartsch and Marty Maness and Steven
Avdakov came out to look over the historic Wood and Coal house.
They are trying to put a plan together for restoration.
Floyd Simpson
1/13/2005 (Pictures
1/21/2005)
Mr. Bartsch and Mr. Maness came out to document and put a plan
to “stabilize” the historic Wood and Coal house. Putting
off any major repairs until spring. I gave an OK to put up a brace
system of timbers from the outside to keep the building from caving
in just in case we get a lot of snow load. I want to have a part
in selection of contractor(s) to do major work and I want to see
the total plan before anyone does anything permanent. I discussed
the flooded basement problem with Bartsch concerning the trench
and how it was not drained out when the mitigation trench was dug.
He agreed with me that the trench would have to be dug out again
and a drain put into it. We also agreed that this could not be done
at this time of year but will wait for better weather.
Floyd Simpson
1/14/2005
Mr. Pulay came out to look at the large subsidence hole in the
“back strips” (our farm name for the field). He has declared
it a coal mine subsidence event and put it in his report. Shirley
and I had a well known local contractor out to look at the James
Kinney farmhouse and the trench problem. He did some measurements
and said that Mr. Bartsch’s idea to place a drain in the pit
was a good one and something his company could do. He suggested
that a gravel fill with French drain at the bottom and drain out
to the highway which slopes down to a natural drainage area would
OK. Will wait until spring or later.
Floyd Simpson
1/21/2005 - 1/22/2005
We just had a major winter storm these past two days but we were
more fortunate than those just north and east of us that really
got even more snow. But the old house is nearly impossible to heat
in the winter now that the ceiling plaster and associated insulation
above it has fallen in. Since the house has a major heat loss up
through the hall ceiling right to the attic which is not insulated
or even protected since two step cracks are at each end of the house
in the attic it makes for an impossible heating situation. I am
cold a lot of the time, even though I put in a new furnace that
is rated at 200,000 BTU (more that normal for this kind of house)
last year before mining. I find myself using electric heaters in
each room I am in, like my office, bedroom, bathrooms, even the
kitchen. Wearing a winter coat in the house is a must. OVCC said
they would pay for half a tank of fuel oil for the furnace. Well,
that will not even touch my expense of staying in my home. I understand
that I could go to a motel and charge it to the coal company. If
I did it would have to be about 14 rooms to give me the living space
I would be giving up here. Go figure the comparison of 14 rooms
at the Holiday Inn vs fuel oil for this place. Yes, OVCC will get
the whole bill for fuel oil and I will pay for the higher electric
bill.
Floyd Simpson
2/7/2005
The pendulum upstairs moved again today. The ceiling in the guest
room above the kitchen lost more plaster today. The SW upstairs
bedroom developed new cracks. Another crack developed in the NW
bedroom right above the bed.
Floyd Simpson
2/15/2005
Mr. Dalton came out to do more measurements on the Wood and Coal
House. He said he would have a proposal put together on Friday the
26th for the restoration of this subsidence affected building.
Floyd Simpson
2/26/2005
Mr. Dalton gave me a very comprehensive folder of recommended plans
for restoration of the Wood and Coal House. My neighbors, Neil and
Elda Rubel have now been undermined. They have told me their most
valued natural water supply is now drying up. Mellott Plumbing has
started a “sump pump” installation in the basement of
the James Kinney house. They are digging through what is left of
the concrete floors in two rooms and putting in a plastic sump with
automatic pumps to take water out through pipes to the 4 inch drain
in the wash room. They got most of the one installed in the SW basement
room. (Pictures
3/3/2005)
Floyd Simpson
3/7/2005 - 3/15/2005
I was in the hospital in Wheeling.
Floyd Simpson
3/21/2005
I had a meeting with Mr. Dalton and Claude Luke (from OVCC). Claude
Luke did not show up, I guess we had a lack of communications to
him although I left a message on his phone last Friday. We had all
the information ready for him review for the restoration of the
Wood and Coal house.
Floyd Simpson
3/22/2005
Mr. Luke came at 9:00 AM and got a copy of the proposal. At 9:30
AM plumbers came to finish the sump pumps in the basement. (Pictures
3/3/2005)
Floyd Simpson
3/23/2005
I received an E-mail from Dr. Reichwein saying he was going to
be in the area.
Floyd Simpson
3/26/2005
I had called a professional cleaning company to get the house cleaned
up. I have been suffering with a house that not only is hard to
clean but is so drafty that dirt and insulation or whatever can
blow around had the house in a mess. This was the start of a 3 day
clean up program. I had discussed this with Mr. Luke and he gave
me the OK, with the result being that OVCC will pay for the cleaning
cost.
[Please see the following links for pictures of fallen plaster and
other damage caused by OVCC's Longwall mining, thus requiring the
cleaning service: 1/4/2004
images, 1/9/2004
images , 2/12/2004
images ]
Floyd Simpson
4/5/2005 9:00AM
As per a number of email and phone calls it was agreed by all listed
below to meet and survey the damages to the buildings on the James
Kinney Farmstead today and tomorrow. Steven Avdakov (Heritage Architectural)
Timothy R. Campbell (Carly, Harms & Campbell) Claude Luke (OVCC),
Kathy Mast Kane (Historic Preservation Consultants) and Gordon B.
Loder, Thomas Pulay (ODNR DMR). Mr. Luke and Pulay went down to
the spring development where slips in the hillside and a subsidence
crack were seen in December. They could not find the subsidence
hole that I had photographed. It must have closed up. This slip
had been observed directly above the spring. This area is part of
the 57 acres listed on the National Register.
Floyd Simpson
4/6/2005 (Pictures 4/11/2005)
I asked Mr. Like to do whatever was possible to restore the livestock
spring as we have cattle coming in around the first of May. This
one spring is a major part of the history of this area. It has never
gone dry, even in the worst of drought years. It was important to
the earliest Native American residents of this area as evident by
artifacts found on the nearby Loess mound. It was developed with
metal pipes into a section of riveted boiler section for a tank
by the Kinneys. I updated this spring with a USDA grant in 1977
with a concrete cattle tank that holds over 700 gallons of water.
I had dug out under the cave and installed gravel, vitreous clay
pipe and a sediment tank to feed into the large concrete cattle
tank by an underground pipe. The overflow went into the head of
the valley and hydrated the wetland that was determined by USDA.
The wetland is on the north side of the 200 foot Loess mound.
Floyd Simpson
4/8/2005 - 4/9/2005 (Pictures 4/11/2005)
Mr. Luke contacted QES to try to re-establish the spring. There
was a 2 gallon per minute flow of water (right after last weeks
2 inch rainfall). QES diverted the flow to work on the system. On
Saturday the flow ceased. Work continued and a new collection tank
was put into the old 4” vitreous clay pipe I had installed
in 1977. They also re-plumbed the underground pipe to the concrete
cattle tank.
Floyd Simpson
4/10/2005 (Pictures 4/11/2005)
Sunday, I photographed the nice system QES put in, but there is
no water flow into the tank. They did a very good job on it, but
they could not squeeze any water out of it. I checked the wetland
and it seem to be damp but not wet like a typical wetland.
Floyd Simpson
4/24/2005
There is still no water flow in the historic spring.
Floyd Simpson
4/26/2005
I sent bills to OVCC for heating oil used last winter in the James
Kinney house. It was nearly impossible to heat this house due to
the ceilings that fell in and let the heat up into the attic. I
also sent the cleaning bill Mr. Luke had told me to send to him.
[Please see the following links for pictures of fallen plaster and
other damage caused by OVCC's Longwall mining, thus requiring the
cleaning service: 1/4/2004
images, 1/9/2004
images , 2/12/2004
images ]
Floyd Simpson
4/27/2005
Mr. Luke phoned me. He was unhappy with the bill for cleaning.
I had already paid the bill from the cleaning people as he had wanted
and sent him the bill. (scroll back and see this entry) Now he doesn’t
want to pay for it. He is changing the “rules” now that
the job is done. He now says that he wanted estimates and bids on
this. I told him that was not what he had asked me to do and if
it was not paid I would “take it to the next step!”
[Please see the following links for pictures of fallen plaster and
other damage caused by OVCC's Longwall mining, thus requiring the
cleaning service: 1/4/2004
images, 1/9/2004
images , 2/12/2004
images ]
Then I asked him why his company had not fulfilled the requirements
of the mining permit to have a permanent water supply in place within
18 months. I asked him what was their plan. His reply was that they
would “drill wells”. The main livestock spring mentioned
above was impacted 22 months ago when it was producing 18 gallons
per minute the day before mining and zero the day it was undermined.
Now the only water that comes out of this spring is the result of
surface water from a heavy rain. Farmers in this area call that
a “Wet Weather Spring”, and these are worthless as livestock
water sources.
Floyd Simpson
4/28/2005
We had another inch of rain this week and some water came into
the concrete water tank but by 3:00 PM today there was no water
flow.
We expect our cattle to be here in a few days. OVCC has had the
two water buffaloes filled and there will be water available for
the cows but with that one source they will have to walk a long
way back from the pasture just to get a drink. We had two springs
in the field before mining and now both are gone. The Longwall mine
has ruined our natural water supply for cattle on this farm. I received
a hand written note in the mail today from Mr. Luke saying that
he was not going to pay the bill for cleaning.
Floyd Simpson
5/2/2005
I sent the unpaid cleaning bill to my lawyer for collection today.
[Please see the following links for pictures of fallen plaster and
other damage caused by OVCC's Longwall mining, thus requiring the
cleaning service: 1/4/2004
images, 1/9/2004
images , 2/12/2004
images ]
Floyd Simpson
5/3/2005
I phoned Dirt Designs to see when Randy Cecil was going to fill
the two big sidsidence holes and level the pile of dirt placed on
a site at the Pryor farmstead. It looks like it will be first of
next week, he said. I told him it was important to us to have this
done in the hayfield soon as possible before the hay crop is damaged
by his equipment during the subsidence repair.
Floyd Simpson
5/17/2005
I have now have placed a herd of young BueLingo cows in the pasture.
The coal company had been advised to have water available for this
placement and it seems that they have done so. The main cattle spring
and the creek it supplied in the pasture are still dry so trucked
in water is the only source of water for these cattle.
Floyd Simpson
6/6/2005
I received a letter from the coal company about the required permanent
replacement of water. The information they sent is very flawed.
It says my water is coming back in the main well (but there is none
there) and the calculations of how much water is in a drilled well
at the Kinney house is laughable. There is 27 feet of water in a
1 inch casing. That is 40 gallons of water. That is what the coal
company wants to put me back on as a permanent water supply. This
well has never been tested for bacteria or even recovery rate. Their
calculations are that there is more water in it then before at 440
plus gallons when indeed I used the Belmont County Water and Sewer
District’s figures to determine that only 10% of their claimed
water is actually in the well. Also, there is really LESS water
now than before mining according to their own tests which are done
every month. There was no indication that they had a plan for the
livestock spring water (three developed springs are now dry as well
as a small “perched aquifer” spring in our virgin forest.
The letter said they are willing to drill a well for me to replace
the 1862 hand dug well which is on the National Register but has
now be irreparably damaged by longwall mining.
Floyd Simpson
6/22/2005
I noticed a 6 inch deep depression in my east yard near the basement
entrance. While checking for cracks in the basement steps I found
that the basement door will no longer open. I finally got it open
and it will not close all the way. It is as good thing that there
is a steel lock that keeps intruders from getting in or the door
would not be lockable, as it had been for the last 142 years. So,
it is apparent that the earth has moved again. Even 18 months after
being longwall mined.
Floyd Simpson
6/30/2005
I contacted Dr. Jeff Reichwein, ODNR state archaeologist about
the artifacts that were removed by the coal company before mining.
Floyd Simpson
7/5/2005
I contacted the contractor (Dirt Designs) about the big subsidence
crack in the hay field. I told him I was unable to mow the hay in
that area because this was not filled yet. Part of the problem is
that steel fence posts were put in the depressions in the hayfield
and the hay has grown higher than the stakes, making it impossible
to mow my hay. I will not take my good haybine into a field with
steel stakes and wreck it. It would ruin the cutting part of the
machine, maybe even go through a tire (like your car or truck these
are over 100 $ each). And it is possible that the haybine could
throw a steel post back at me as I ride the tractor. I have had
things happen like that and really cannot afford to take the chance.
The contractor told me he could not come out and do anything for
me. I asked why and he said that the OVCC owed him so much past
due money that the had to work for customers that paid their bills
so he could pay his. At that point I told him that they owed me
for a bunch of past due bills too and both jobs were critical to
the company's required compliance to their permit by restoring the
historic property.
Floyd Simpson
7/6/2005
I had a meeting this morning with Dr. Reichwien. I explained the
situation with of the subsidence not being repaired since his last
visit in October 2004 when it was determined by ODNR that the coal
company had to repair this area. He was going to call the coal company
to see what they were going to do. He was surprised to see that
the coal company was not meeting its requirements of their permit
application in restoration. He told me he has been trying for a
year and a half to get the coal company to give him the revised
report on the artifacts removed from my property. I plan on donating
them to the Ohio Historical Society when they are returned. If they
not returned I informed him I would file a grand larceny charge
against the company.
Floyd Simpson
7/11/2005
Dirt Designs came out with equipment and filled in the 160 foot
long subsidence crack. Some of it had closed up by itself but it
took tons of dirt (which I had provided) to fill in the deepest
and widest part. Also, they drove through the hayfield with their
trucks to find the steel fence posts, they found them and put them
in the shed for me. I was busy stacking bales of hay at the other
farm and did not get to watch or I would have told them to WALK
through to hayfield, not ride a truck through and mash down the
hay while looking for the post. Oh well, it is so late in the season
now that the hay quality in this part of the field is a loss anyway.
Floyd Simpson
7/29/2005
I mowed the area mentioned above (7/11/2005 diary notes). Dirt
Designs did a good job of filling in the crack. Due to the fact
that standing hay was in the other depressions where steel markers
were located, that section has no been filled yet. It was very rough
for my equipment to go over that area today. I will contact Dirt
Designs that they can come back and finish the job now.
On the way to Centerville on SR147 today I ran into a big bump
in the road at the Corbett farm. Seems that the mine is now under
the state highway and causing cracks and these bumps. ODOT and OVCC
were supposed to doing a 24 hour a day survey of the highway. I
do not see any flagmen out or any orange barrels today. Mr. Corbett
told me that his house has now been damaged. I know that he had
previously lost his water and has already been hooked up to County
water.
Floyd Simpson
7/30/2005
My neighbor to the south (Dean Dunfee) has a dairy farm. He was
injured by a run-a-way skid steer loader. His wife told me they
were working on the farm in an area close to where the last longwall
mining panel had ended. Methane gas came up from the mine and was
“inhaled” by the air cleaner of the skid steer making
the engine speed up just as though the throttle had been opened
up to full. The machine took off and sheared off a 12 inch tree
before colliding with a bigger tree and upsetting - injuring Dean.
She got him to a hospital ER for a bunch of stitches. The coal company
sent someone out with the CH4 (methane) tester and found that indeed
methane was coming out of the ground there but he said “it
was not enough to cause the accident”. Well….tell that
to my neighbor, huh!
Floyd Simpson
8/2/2005
Dr. Reichwein came out to check on the progress of restoration
of the James Kinney Farmstead. I had to report that there had been
no work done. He also was interested in the report and the artifacts
that were taken away from the historic property last year. I had
to tell him that there seems to be a problem with me getting them
back. He was going to see the coal company management and ask for
their report which was due to him and to find out why the artifacts
have not been returned.
Floyd Simpson
8/7/2005
I found several more suspicious holes across the road from the
J.K. house. I think it is longwall related as it is in line with
cracks across State highway 147 and the pit that developed near
the basement entrance to the house.
Steve Avdakov and Blair from Allegheny Restoration Co. toured the
building complex this afternoon. Steve said their report would be
finished in several weeks. They will schedule another tour the last
week of August. Other news: We got ONE inch of rain on Monday. This
rain is much needed but it is too late for our crops this year.
Bad news: One inch of rain did not make any streams or springs start
to flow.
Floyd Simpson
8/29/2005
I phoned OVCC and talked with David Bartsch, project engineer.
I asked him for the return (again) of my artifacts. I related to
him that these were removed from my private property against my
wishes. This was done pre-mining and various artifacts were removed
which included Native American flintwork, bone fragments, broken
dishware and some items that I was not able to identify. The dishware
came from near the original log house (late 1700’s) as well
as some kind of a spear Point. Mr. Bartsch told me he had been trying
to get them back for a long time without success. I asked him where
their hired archaeologist was and he did not know. I asked him if
my artifacts were lost or stolen. He did not know but would continue
to try to contact Mr. Soldo who he said was responsible for the
care of the artifacts. Big national news today about the hurricane
that is coming ashore at New Orleans and Biloxi. This brought up
the subject again that OVCC still has not placed a drain in the
mitigation trench west of the house and if the electricity is off
then my sump pumps would not operate to keep the historic house
basement from flooding again.
Floyd Simpson
9/1/2005
From 8:00 to 11:00AM I met with Steve Avdakov and Gordon Loader
(engineer) and Claude Luke. We did a walk-through of the historic
building complex. We agreed to have the process move forward as
soon as possible and Steve will have other Historic Preservation
contractors come to see the buildings and review the damages outlined
by Steve and Loader. Plans will also have to go to SHPO (State Historical
Preservation Office) in Columbus for review. Possibly three bids
will be taken before work can start. Mr. Luke has offered to have
a new French Drain placed at the base of the J.K. house foundation
to carry away water that caused flooding last year. This would be
done to eliminate the problem caused by the 14 foot deep trench
which had been filled with water, mud and loose rock and caused
a “wick” effect for excess soil water to migrate through
the layers of sandstone under the house. Broken cement floors caused
by longwall mining had allowed this water to surge up through the
cracks and flood the basement. OVCC has put in permanent sump pumps
in two rooms that will possibly take out water, as long as we do
not have an electrical failure which most often happens when we
have a heavy storm. We checked both sumps and both worked as designed
as we poured water into the sump hole.
Floyd Simpson
9/2/2005
We had a very nice fall day today. I measured 500 gallons of water
that collected in the developed Livestock spring tank. This was
a result of our area getting Five and One Half inches of rain from
Hurricane Katrina. No more water flowed into the partially filled
tank. It started to flow and then it quit. The cattle will drink
this in a short while. The tank normally holds 700 gallons and in
pre-mining days it would fill every 45 minutes and the excess would
overflow to the designated wetland which by now has been dry for
the last two years (since mining went under the spring and wetland).
I noticed that my cattle really went for this fresh water and indeed
it was gone before the day was over. They prefer it to the Wheeling
Water supplied by OVCC which contains Chlorine.
When I turned in for the night I found a bat was flying around
in my bedroom. I herded it back into one of the rooms with the broken
ceilings as that is how it got in. I really cannot keep them from
getting into the attic and then down through the broken ceilings
and into three of the upstairs bedrooms.
Floyd Simpson
9/20/2005
Shirley and I met with Steve Avdakov again to discuss the fine
points about the restoration of the buildings. Steve took samples
of ceiling plaster and outside brick mortar so the restoration specialist
can match the composition of this original 1863 material. (Remember,
we have been told that the last nail was driven to complete the
James Kinney house during the battle of Gettysburg in 1863).
Mr. Luke came out with one of the coal company contractors to jack
up the door frame in the milkhouse. It had become wedged shut due
to more subsidence in August. (20 months since mining). It seems
that the floor of the milk house is in bad shape now with more breakage
of the deep cement pad that once held up a heavy bulk milk tank
when we milked cows here in the 1960s. More cracks have appeared
in the floor of the milk parlor too and the foundation is now showing
cracks. The contractor jacked up the ceiling joists and placed one
of my 2 X 6’s and a shim under it at the west end. This is
just a stop gap measure as it will have to be restored too. The
outside door was barricaded before mining to support the open space
(doorway) before mining. Since this was still in place and Hughes
Co. did not remove it after mining and the door jammed to the parlor
there was no way into the structure. This building also was banded
with steel bands before mining. It probably would have been more
seriously damaged if this had not been done. We use this building
for storage as we could lock it up tightly. We did not want it to
be so we couldn’t get in though.
Floyd Simpson
9/27/2005
I called Mr. Bartsch of OVCC about where my artifacts were and
why no report has been filed. He said this archaeologist had his
phone numbers disconnected and no report had been received by him
(Bartsch) as Soldo had told me several weeks ago when I had called
him. OVCC has been trying to contact Soldo and get the artifacts
back to me, he said. He said he might be able to get them back through
a partner of Soldo’s who lives in Youngstown. I told Mr. Bartsch
that I expected to have my artifacts back by October 1st.
Floyd Simpson
10/1/2005
Some of my J.K. house windows will not open. They are just stuck
closed.
Floyd Simpson
10/3/2005
The bedroom door is now wedged so tight that it would beak it if
I forced it. New cracks have formed around the door casing. The
windows now are opening just fine. It seems that the house is moving
again!!!
Floyd Simpson
10/6/2005
I received a certified letter from Mr. Bartsch today about replacing
some water for the farm house. There seems to be some misunderstanding
of measurements and a few other things but at least it is a start
and we hopefully can get something done to get a permanent water
supply at the building complex. No mention was made of the spring,
wetland or stream water replacement. I took a walk through the cattle
pasture to look at the slip near the livestock spring. I took digital
pictures which will be posted later. Also, found a new subsidence
hole and associated ground crack above the spring area. This is
serious enough to cause a cow to break a leg. I called ODNR DMR
and requested a visit. Mr. Pulay will be out tomorrow.
Floyd Simpson
10/7/2005
Mr. Pulay came promptly at 9:00AM. We discussed the problems but
it was pouring down rain so we did not go outside. He looked at
the digital pictures that were saved in the camera and said he could
identify the exact location from them and would make a field trip
out to look at the damage when the weather was better. I asked him
about the artifacts but that is not his department but he was going
to talk with Mr. Bartsch. After Mr. Pulay left I called OVCC and
got Bartsch who was upset that he was being stonewalled by his hired
archaeologist and again requested that I give him another week as
he was writing a letter that would explain the coal company's legal
position on the matter. Frankly neither Dave Bartsch nor I can understand
the delay. I do not know if this could cause permit problems for
OVCC or not.
Floyd Simpson
10/12/2005
Men came out to fill in the pasture subsidence cracks in the hayfield
we want to use as a winter pasture. This originally was a 160 foot
long by 8 inch wide by 100 foot deep trench that appeared some time
ago but has re-asserted itself recently. We need this filled in
before cattle are winter pastured here. The guys said it was very,
very deep and took a truckload of dirt to fill it in this time.
They graded and reseeded before leaving.
Floyd Simpson
10/26/2005
I noticed that the wood and coal house door has now stuck shut
from recent movement of the earth below the building. Now there
are unusual “dents” in the yard near the wood and coal
house and the back yard. These are about two feet across and just
dish pan shaped dents. The upstairs door now opens in the SW bedroom
of the main house but now the door to my office downstairs does
not close. It is obvious that the subsidence is still moving the
structures at the old Historic James Kinney Farmstead.
No artifacts have been returned to me yet that were taken before
mining. Mr. Bartsch of Ohio Valley Coal wants me to be patient.
I left a message that I had run out of that commodity and for the
coal company to complete the pre-mining requirement of artifact
documentation. This was a violation of the permit application. ODNR
has been notified.
Floyd Simpson
11/7/2005
Steve Avdakov came to look at the new damage. The bedroom door
that stuck shut 2 weeks ago now comes open as mentioned above. He
checked the 6 by 6 windows (original to 1863) and some are stuck
that were not that way before when he and Dr. Loader checked them.
Steve was quite thorough. He checked all windows and doors and cabinet
doors for problems during this visit. He took notes that will be
given to the historic preservation people. He found that the wood
and coal house entrance door is still sticking tight but will open
with effort.
Floyd Simpson
12/6/2005 (Pictures
12/5/2005)
I checked why the cattle were all up to the fence looking for me.
They were out of water at the cattle water fountain. The two, 2000
gallon tanks were empty. I called ODNR-DMR to complain to see if
they could get the coal company to comply with the law to provide
water for the cattle. I have water at the house yet but I do not
use nearly as much as these big heifers. This was the third time
I have had to complain of no water for cattle since the coal company
has been providing it when my water sources all dried up after mining.
Of course I also called the coal company to complain and Mr. Luke
apologized and said he would have the water supply taken care of
soon as possible. It was done in several hours so the cattle were
not in any danger.
Floyd Simpson
12/7/2005 (Picture
12/7/2005)
THE CATTLE WERE OUT OF WATER AGAIN THIS MORNING! This time the
tanks were filled but the water froze solid with the overnight temperature
of 14 degrees. The coal company needs to get electricity across
the highway to run the line heaters. This was promised to me a year
and a half ago.
Floyd Simpson
12/8/2005
I had broken through the ice yesterday for the cattle to get water
and had to do it again today. Needless to say I am outraged about
this!!!! Erb Electric Co. sent a man out to look at the situation
due to a call from Mr. Luke. He said he could not do anything until
the utility company came out and set a pole and got a hot wire across
the road.
Nothing has happened with ODOT giving the coal company permission
to bore under the road to put in an underground wire. I would be
complicated as the Belmont County Water line runs along the road
right a way as well as the ATT phone trunk line.
This is a state highway and permission gets complicated to get
this type of permit. I understand this but it was known two and
a half years ago that this was going to be needed.
Floyd Simpson
12/9/2005
I had to break the ice again at the cattle water fountain. The
plastic cattle fountain was frozen so deep the cattle were out of
water due to ice. I had a little water left from the rain water
in my old stock tank which never used to freeze up because ground
water at almost 50 degrees and at a rate of 20 gallons a minute
never let the stock tank freeze before mining. But, I broke about
6 inches of ice on it and got water for the cattle.
I also called David Bartsch about getting the artifacts. He still
has not received anything on them, either the archaeologists analysis
report or the artifacts themselves.
Floyd Simpson
12/13/2005 (Pictures
12/12/2005)
This afternoon the cattle were OUT OF WATER AGAIN!!!!! Again I
called OVCC, Deans Water and ODNR-DMR
Floyd Simpson
12/14/2005
Water finally got delivered for the cattle last night. It had been
bitter cold out and had been for a week. The water for the cattle
had frozen and Mellots Plumbing’s men came by and broke the
ice for me this time. I got a call from Mr. Pulay of ODNR-DMR about
the violation by OVCC in not providing water for livestock. I did
not file a written complaint but DMR must have cited them
Floyd Simpson
12/16/2005
For the first time this month I did not have to worry about the
water for the cattle freezing because the weather warmed up above
freezing. Still nothing has been done to permanently correct the
problem. I called Mr. Bartsch again but got his recording, I left
a message to say the artifacts issue has reached a critical stage.
I needed them to give as a donation to Ohio Historical Society which
would allow me to claim a tax deduction for this years taxes.
Floyd Simpson
12/20/2005 (Pictures
12/20/2005)
Water in the cattle stock tank was frozen so deep the cattle could
not break the ice this morning. I called OVCC and got a recording,
called ODNR – DMR and got a recording. I left frantic messages
for both. I then called the coal company’s plumber and they
sent out a crew to break the ice. It was in the single digits last
night and not much warmer all day. The guys from the plumbers got
it going for the cattle to get a drink. When I got back over to
the pasture to feed hay I noticed that water was available. Erb
Electric‘s man called to get the pole number of our electric
service provider (AEP) so they could get the system in place to
run wires over the highway and get a pole set near the cattle water
tanks. Erb can get the wiring done when this is accomplished. Ohio
Valley Coal Company was informed by me over a year and a half ago
that this would be needed and they put it on the back burner until
we are getting freezing weather and cattle have no water.
Floyd Simpson
12/22/2005
Got calls from plumber with questions on setting the A.E.P. electric
pole so we can get electric to the heaters already in place in the
cattle water system to prevent the frozen water situation.
A.E.P. representative and Erb Electric Co. men came out to look
at the site together. Discussion was made to install an A.E.P. power
pole at the highway and Erb Electric to put in a pole in our field
near the tanks. A tree has to be cut out (a rare Indiana Coffee
Tree) but it will give them a direct line from the transformer pole
and not carry power over our telephone line. In asking how long
this will take to get power to the water tanks the AEP man said
conservatively it will take a month. Again a whole month of freezing
water in the cattle tanks is quite a bothersome thing.
Floyd Simpson
12/26/2005
The water supply truck is dumping 1,200 gallons a day for the cattle
now. The cattle have not been allowed to run out since they stepped
up delivery. It is warmer weather right now so freezing is not an
issue at the moment. We are so dependant on the weather!
Floyd Simpson
12/30/2005
It has been two years since longwall mining occured under the Historic
James Kinney house and buildings. I am still living in a very broken
up house. Ceilings are still broken and the insulation which is
granular, is sifting down into the house. It is nearly impossible
to heat the house as the heat just goes up through the lath into
the un insulated attic. No restoration has been done. Indeed some
of the cracks in the walls and ceilings are getting wider and longer
due to continued subsidence.
Floyd Simpson
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