Putting hundreds of coal miners out of the job
On New Year's Eve, Patriot Coal announced the closing of two Western Kentucky mines - Highland Mine near Henderson, and the Dodge Hill Mining Complex near Sturgis - putting hundreds of coal miners out of the job. Since then, efforts have been made to help those displaced miners find new jobs.
There is no charge to have a table at the fair, and all the former employees from Patriot's Dodge Hill and Highland mines, as well as former employees of support businesses impacted by the shutdowns are welcome.
"Patriot's workforce in Western Kentucky includes some of the finest, most-skilled folks in our region, and I know other firms in our area could use their services," Kyndle CEO Brad Schneider said. "The mine closures are a dark cloud, but a silver lining could be the hiring of these talented people with other local companies."
The fair is a joint effort of Kyndle, the Green River Area Development District, Union County First, Henderson Community College Workforce Solutions, the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training, the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet, the Murray State Small Business Development Center and the Northwest Kentucky Training Consortium.