Monthly Archives: February 2012

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Testing coal miners for drugs presents both benefits and burdens to West Virginia regulators, the House and Senate Judiciary committees heard Monday as lawmakers pursue measures this session to improve mine safety. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has proposed a wide-ranging mine safety bill that includes a mandatory, random screening program for all mine jobs requiring certification. The random testing should annually screen half of any employer's certified workforce, the legislation says. The two committees launched a two-day series of hearings Monday for that bill and others. Lawmakers seek to focus on proposals that respond to the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion. The worst U.S. coal mining disaster in four decades, the underground Raleigh County blast killed 29 miners. The second hearing is slated for 2 p.m.Tuesday in the House of Delegates Chamber. Eugene White, acting deputy director of the state Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training, estimated that drugs played a role in around 200 of the 5,413 complaints and incidents his agency investigated last year. "Most of the complaints we get, believe it or not, a lot of them are from the wives of the miner," White told the committees. "He's home for … Continue reading →

7 February 2012 Last updated at 10:15 ET A woman who hid 28g of cannabis resin and 292 diazepam tablets in her baby's nappy during a prison visit, has been given a suspended sentence. The drugs were found by prison staff at Magilligan Prison when Stacey Grimley, 21, removed the nappy from a bag which was about to be scanned in May 2011. Grimley, from Garvaghy Road, Portadown, was trying to smuggle the drugs to her prisoner boyfriend in May of last year. She was given an 18-month jail sentence suspended for two years. Londonderry Crown Court Judge Piers Grant was told that Grimley, who had no previous convictions, was pressurised by her then boyfriend who is the father of her daughter into bringing the drugs to the prison. A police officer told Judge Grant that the former boyfriend, who has several drugs convictions, had told her he had to pay off a debt to other prisoners. He said he believed he would be stabbed if he did not pay off the debt. Judge Grant said it was "with the most considerable hesitation" that he was imposing the suspended sentence. View original post here: Prison visitor hid drugs in nappy … Continue reading →