https://www.timeswv.com/news/local_news/protesters-ask-west-virginia-sen-man...

Protesters ask West Virginia Sen. Manchin to vote for clean energy policy, help for those in poverty From an Article by Eric Cravey, Times West Virginian, April 9, 2022 GRANT TOWN, W.Va. — At least 16 activists were arrested Saturday on trespassing charges during a protest outside the front gate of the coal-fired Grant Town Power Plant.

About 200 protesters from different states carried signs with slogans such as "WV Rising for Good Jobs," "In my father's house, there is no room for this Manchin" and "Solidarity With All Coal Miners Just Transition."

The protest, which was organized by the Morgantown-based group WV Rising, was meant to get the attention of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., in hopes he would abandon his support for fossil fuels and instead support green energy legislation.

Protesters also want Manchin to vote for legislation such as the failed Build Back Better to lift up families living in poverty. Manchin's family business, Enersystems, sells waste coal to the power plant – which, in turn, sells the power to First Energy Corp.

"I am here because I know the effects that coal has and it's not positive anymore, it's just not," said Rylee Haught, of Morgantown. "It's a dying industry. It's hurting West Virginia, it's hurting all of America and the rest of the world at this point with global warming increasing rapidly, so I would just try to level with him."

Haught, who acted as an unofficial media spokeswoman for the group Saturday, said she became involved in social justice when she was a student at Fairmont State University when she took Dr. Paul Edwards' global warming class.

That led her to take part in the March For Our Lives in Washington, D.C. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native said she just wants to see her state thrive and not continue to wither.

Currently studying psychology and addiction at West Virginia University, Haught said, she would like Manchin to work to improve the state's addiction and mental health system to improve the quality of life for West Virginians.

"I just want (Manchin) to really hear out the young people who are considering leaving because we don't have new industries and we don't have new opportunities that we deserve," she said as protesters sang songs reminiscent of the suffrage and civil rights movements.

Haught said the main message protesters wanted to convey was that Enersystems is profiting from the coal industry, while Manchin serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. "That is a huge conflict of interest and it absolutely should not be allowed to happen," Haught said.

Kathy Ferguson drove from her home in Institute, W.Va., to take part in the protest. She said she wants Manchin to use his influence in the Senate to lift up West Virginia families who face poverty and drug addiction.

"West Virginia is a state that suffers with poor education, poor health outcomes – there's a lot of opioid use here," Ferguson said. "There's just so many issues that we're struggling with and Build Back Better has so many components and pieces that will elevate the quality of lives and the economy."

Ferguson said the senator needs to serve the people of his state better. "I believe he's like many politicians who actually have the ability to make personal gains from legislation that does not ... help a lot of folks," Ferguson said.

Environmental attorney Lisa Johnson, of Pittsburgh, was one of at least two attorneys on site. Donning a cap bearing the words National Lawyers Guild, Johnson said she was there out of personal interest.

"I'm Switzerland," she said. "I am very interested in making sure that when people protest, they are able to under the confines of the (U.S.) Constitution, of course, so to be able to just observe and document what is happening without being actively engaged in order to make sure the process remains intact."

Johnson stood across Highway 17 from the chainlink fence of the power plant and snapped photos and documented some of the arrests by dictating voice memos to her smartphone.