| Debbie Navarro-Bruno and Robin Bray of Holiday Inn help Josh Brotherson of Union Pacific, John Pennington of DXP and Gary Jensen of MSHA sort out rooming arrangements. The hotel was booked but with all the people coming into town to either work on the mine rescue many with prior bookings offered to give up rooms and double bunk their employees. |
The Carbon County community is reeling from the impact of the cave-in at Crandall Canyon mine.
The strain, worry and concern cloud the faces of local residents. Even people from out of town are feeling the pain.
“I am only here for a little while,” said a gas field employee while he was getting breakfast at a local convenience store. “But you can feel the pain of this community.”
While no one knows what will happen in the next few days, the disaster has affected the populace of the county.
The names of the trapped miners have not officially been released. But almost all local residents know at least one of the missing miners.
And local residents are also stepping up to the plate, offering to help the families, the rescuers and people coming to town for various reasons involving the situation.
“It’s amazing what people will do to help out,” said Barbara Deleeuw, comptroller and human resources officer at Holiday Inn. “Our place has been booked. But when many of the companies that have people staying here found out that MSHA officials and others who were coming to help out needed rooms, they gave up their accommodations and bunked with others in their group.”
Deleeuw said she doesn’t think there have ever been as many people staying at Holiday Inn as there is at the present time.
“For these guys, it’s kind of like being in dorm rooms now,” she stated. “A number of places in town, including the Carriage Inn and the Greenwell, have really helped out on more accommodations, too.”
Companies that had accommodations booked like Questar, DBT, ITS, Haliburton, Cook Sanders and Union Pacific have helped out immensely, added Deleeuw.
“Even one bus tour from Snydner Bus Tours out of California called before they got here asking what they could do to help out,” she said.
The cave-in is all people seem to be talking about at other businesses and locations across the county.
“Since it happened, we have heard a few people talking about it. But then, I don’t know for sure because I am not out on the floor all the time,” said Janiece Foster who works at El Salto on Main Street. “We as a staff were talking about it this morning as we were opening and we sure hope they get them all out okay.”
Many residents in the community wonder about how the rescue crew members accomplish what they have to do.
“I’ve been wondering how they know where to drill the hole to get to those guys,” said local businessman Landon Jacobson . “It just like it would be so hard to judge. I hope they get them out OK.”
Jacobson owns Landon’s Diesel Service in south Price.
The economic development summit committee met in Price on Tuesday. Even though the group planned to meet for a few minutes to approve a couple of pieces of literature for seminars scheduled in late September, the committee’s discussion centered on the subject of the miners. Chairperson Jo Sansevero had to keep bringing the eight members back to the business at hand.
At the Maverik on south Main in Price, clerk Rose Nielsen indicated that words concerning the miners are on the lips of almost all of the customers stopping at the convenience store.
“I hear it being talked about, especially by the miners,” commented Nielsen. “A lot of them say that they want to see something positive being done – they want some good news.”