FAIRMONT, W.Va. — With President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, a local congressman felt it was a perfect opportunity to give a member of his constituency a chance to view this firsthand.
For the State of the Union, representatives are allowed to bring one guest, and this year, U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., chose to bring Larry “Smokey” Gore, a coal miner from Fairmont.
Gore is a superintendent at the Leer mine in Grafton and has worked nearly all his adult life in the coal industry.
“Since I’ve been 18 years old,” Gore explained. “I graduated in July and went to work for my dad maybe two months after that.
“I got the invite and have been very excited about it,” he said via phone Tuesday afternoon prior to the address.
For McKinley, the decision to pick a coal miner this year was not difficult…