I would like to comment on the recent article titled "Coal mine brings worries, hope" (Dec. 7). The author presented a very one-sided picture of the public comments regarding the potential mine expansion in Alton, Utah.
Had she attended the public hearings held in Cedar City, she would have found a room full of southern Utah residents (not California-based environmentalists) enthusiastically supporting the mine. I attended that meeting and was struck by the almost unanimous support of the mine expansion proposal by those who will be most affected by it.
The Alton Coal Mine will directly and indirectly generate over 400 good paying, long-term jobs in the most economically depressed area of our state. I have visited the mine. It is professionally run, clean and will be completely reclaimed at the conclusion of the mining. Comments by the Sierra Club, such as "It's just the wrong place for that kind of industry," are sadly misinformed.
Coal must be mined where it lies. The good paying, local jobs that will result will be a great benefit to southern Utah for years to come.
Rob Campbell
Sandy