Obituary: Graham, Harold Lee - Friday, September 19, 2008 Submitted by: Carole Bays ********************************************************************** CAMPTON - Harold Lee Graham, 53, of Campton, KY, departed this life Fri, Sep 19, 2008. He was born at Campton, KY on March 4, 1955. He was a heavy equipment operator employed by International Coal Group of Hazard, KY, a member of Campton City Council, and he was affiliated with the Campton Baptist Church. He is survived by three sons, Andrew Graham, Patrick Graham and Steven Graham, all of Campton, KY; his mother, Mattie Rose Graham of Campton, KY; two brothers, Bill David Graham and wife, Joan, and Scott Graham and wife, Kim, both of Campton, KY; four sisters, Barbara Tutt and husband, Lynn, of Nicholasville, KY, Mary Jo Hatton of Frenchburg, KY, Maudie Nickell and husband, Terry, of Hazel Green, KY and Jeanette Pickett and husband, Steve, of Campton, KY; and a special friend, Denise Imam and son, Joseph of Campton, KY. He was preceded in death by his father, Reed Graham. Funeral services will be at 1pm Mon, Sep 22, 2008 at Porter & Son Funeral Directors Chapel with Bro. Paul Pence, Jr. and Bro. Gary Conner officiating. Visitation will be Sun evening after 5pm at the funeral home. Pallbearers will be Vernon Pence, Gus Pence, Tony Moore, Kevin Graham, Reed Graham, Jeffery Wilson, William Friend and Mike Addington. Burial will be in the Graham Family Cemetery at Stillwater, KY. At the family's request, in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: The Shriners' Hospital, 1900 Richmond Rd., Lexington, KY 40502, Attn: Carol Gabbard. Perry County miner killed in bulldozer accident Staff, Wire Reports An experienced surface coal miner was killed early Friday when the bulldozer he was operating plunged over a 180-foot cliff at a Perry County mine. Harold Lee Graham, 53, of Campton was killed instantly, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Graham was still strapped in the bulldozer when he was found. He probably died of internal injuries, said Kyle Wolfe, a deputy coroner in Perry County. The accident happened at 1:15 a.m. Friday at an ICG Hazard mine at Ary, near where Perry, Breathitt and Knott counties meet. There is extensive surface mining in the area. Graham was using a large bulldozer, a Caterpillar D-11N, at the East Mac & Nellie mine to push rock and dirt over a cliff - a highwall, in mining terms - when the dozer fell over into a pit below, according to regulators. In surface mining, explosives are used to shatter rock covering coal seams. Operators then use heavy equipment to move rock and dirt and load the coal. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident, according to the federal report. Wolfe, the deputy coroner, said other mine employees noticed Graham was missing and looked for him. Twenty-nine of the mine's 75 employees were at work when the accident happened, according to the MSHA report. Wolfe said Graham's body had been sent to Frankfort for an autopsy. The autopsy will include a routine screening for alcohol and drugs, but Wolfe said he wasn't aware of any indication that they were involved in the accident. The cause of the accident was not known Friday. The state Office of Mine Safety and Licensing had scheduled interviews in its investigation for Saturday, said spokesman Jim Carroll. Graham had been a miner for 30 years and a dozer operator for 20, according to state and federal records. Graham's death is the fourth coal mining fatality in Kentucky this year - three at surface mines and one underground - and the 20th nationwide. There were only two coal-mining deaths in Kentucky last year, the lowest in state history and the first time there were no underground deaths. A spokesman for International Coal Group Inc. said the company had no comment beyond a statement confirming Graham's death. MSHA's data system said ICG Hazard began operating the mine in February 2006. The system does not list any fatalities, serious injuries or large proposed fines for alleged violations at the mine since. ******************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or his legal representative and then contact the listed USGENWEB archivist with proof of this consent.