Top leaders from the James River Coal Company’s multi-state operations gathered at the Perry County JobSight workforce center near Hazard for a three-day “safety summit” to discuss new mine safety regulations and ways the company’s mines can remain both safe and productive.

James River Coal corporate administrators discussed those topics with officials from the company’s five Kentucky subsidiaries—including Blue Diamond Coal and Leeco in Perry County—and its two-county operation in southern Indiana, according to Jack Duff, manager of the Perry County JobSight.

“This is a brainstorming session for all of James River Coal’s administrative people,” Duff said. “They’re going to go out and look at some of their mines here and in eastern Kentucky, and also take a look at all of the new state mine safety laws going into effect.”

Duff said the JobSight’s close proximity to several of James River Coal’s major mines was one factor in the company’s decision to hold the summit at the one-stop workforce center located in the L.K.L.P. Community Action Council at Jeff, KY, just south of Hazard on KY 15. He said the JobSight also has a working history with the company, having hosted weekend safety training sessions for James River Coal employees for the past 10 months.

“This is a really big deal, and I’m very pleased they’re using the JobSight for this,” Duff said.

James River Coal Company is the sixth largest coal producer in Central Appalachia and the fifth largest in the Illinois Basin. The company mines and sells bituminous, steam-grade, and industrial-grade coal through its six subsidiaries in eastern Kentucky and southern Indiana.

James River Coal has utilized several employer services provided through JobSight by the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP). The company has successfully used EKCEP’s Employer-Specific Orientation and Screening (ESOS), On-the-Job Training (OJT) program, and JobFit on-line job-profiling system to pinpoint and hire miners who have the best attitude, aptitude, and abilities to become productive employees in the company’s Perry County mining operations.

Based in Hazard, EKCEP is a federally funded non-profit agency that administers the JobSight network of workforce centers in 23 eastern Kentucky counties. At JobSight “one-stop” workforce centers, job seekers and employers can access over a dozen state and federal employment and training programs and employer services in a single location.

Duff said the decision to hold the safety summit at the workforce center illustrates how JobSight’s commitment to helping both sides of the workforce equation has established an ongoing sense of trust between JobSight and a key player in the region’s top industry.

“We’re glad to help out James River Coal, or any other employer,” Duff said. “We’re here to help business do business, and when you do that, everybody wins.”