Home >  Local News

Monday, August 05, 2002

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Just one week ago, the Quecreek Nine, some of them still hospitalized, were recovering from a 78-hour ordeal after being trapped in the mine where they worked.

Today, the men will meet President Bush.

Bush, who is in town for a fund-raising luncheon for gubernatorial candidate Mike Fisher, will meet with the nine miners this morning at the Green Tree Volunteer Fire Company.

The men, employees of Black Wolf Coal Co., were working in the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County on July 24 when they drilled through a wall and into an abandoned mine, unleashing millions of gallons of water. After being trapped for 78 hours, all were rescued in a drama that unfolded on television screens around the world.

The president is scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh just after 10 a.m. and will meet with the miners and rescue workers around 11 a.m. Gov. Mark Schweiker and U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao will join Bush in a ceremony honoring the group.

Afterward, Bush will travel to the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers, Downtown, for the luncheon in support of Fisher, the state attorney general. Then shortly after 1 p.m. he will sign a bill ensuring that infants born alive receive additional federal protection.

He will then leave the Hilton and return to the airport, for a scheduled 2:10 p.m. departure.

Because of Bush's visit, motorists are advised that some roads between the airport and Downtown may be closed throughout the morning and early afternoon. State police generally close ramps on the Parkway West for a presidential motorcade. Downtown traffic around the Hilton also is expected to be rerouted.