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This story was published July 27, 2005, during an internship at Richmond.com.

For most, a rubber duckie represents little more than childhood memories of bath time. We’re all familiar with the slick-painted orange beak, the grooves cut into the mold as tail feathers and that distinctive plastic smell. For Richmond’s Big Brothers Big Sisters program, these yellow duckies are a lot more than toys – they’re the biggest fundraiser of the year.

This Saturday, for the 16th duck, I mean year, in a row, the Big Brothers and Big Sisters will hold a Duck Race on Brown’s Island. 20,000 ducks will dig, dive and dawdle their way to the finish line as they compete for more than $31,000 in prizes, including the Grand Prize – a 2005 Ford Escape XLT.

The race begins at 3 p.m., but the festivities kick off in the a.m. There will be a variety of free activities for children and adults, such as face painting, arts and crafts and the usual carnival games. Expect the climbing wall and inflatable slides to be crowd favorites, along with the free snow cones designed to keep kids cool. The Duck Race will also feature live musical performances by Radio Disney , Mad Science , Premiere and Shaolin Dragon School of Kung Fu that are sure to keep your toes tapping and your hands quacking. I mean, clapping.

Proceeds from the event go to Big Brothers Big Sisters so they can continue to carry out their mission of providing caring adult role-models and site-based mentoring programs for the children in the greater Richmond and Tri-Cities areas. The attendance last year was over 6,000 and Nancy Nietman , Director of Donor Services for Big Brother Big Sister and Duck Race Coordinator, says “We’re anticipating record crowds if the projected weather [note: highs are expected to be in the low 80s] holds true and it’s a cool day.”

“People of all ages attend the Duck Race, but our largest concentration is families with kids under 12. Then again, last year we had a lot of teenagers and retirees,” says Nietman.

Once the ducks are warmed up, stretched out and ready to rock, they’re loaded into a giant dumpster. “It should sound more glamorous than that,” laughs Nietman. The can is hoisted into the air by a crane and the ducks are dropped into the river below. They travel under the pedestrian bridge, around several turns and then funnel into a V into the finish tube, which is only wide enough for one duck. This narrow tube assures accuracy in determining the top 25 ducks.

The purchase of one duck is $6. Two ducks are $10, five ducks are $25 and the sixth is free. If you buy ten ducks for $50, you get two ducks free and a t-shirt. The elite races can be a silver duck backer or a gold duck backer – silver backers get 25 ducks for $125, a t-shirt and their name listed in the event program while gold backers get 50 ducks for $250, a t-shirt, their name in the program and access to the VIP tent at the event.

Don’t duck out of attending this event, and don’t forget to bring sunscreen, hats and plenty of fluids. Once you’re adequately prepared for the heat, your family will take to the fun like well, a duck to water. 16th Annual Duck Race will be held Saturday, July 30 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Brown’s Island. Actual race begins at 3 p.m. Ducks are still available for purchase. For information, call (804) 261- 4940 or visit www.bigbrobigsis.com.

This story was published July 8, 2005, during an internship at Richmond.com.

About 100 people protesting Massey Energy ‘s use of strip mines in the Appalachian mountains marched from Monroe Park to Massey’s headquarters Friday.

The march was organized by Mountain Justice Summer , a non-violent, grassroots campaign. Larry Gibson , a long-time environmental activist from West Virginia, explained, “We’re about people, and their lives and their homes… Mountain Justice Summer is about making a positive statement.”

The goal of the rally was to encourage Massey to abandon strip mining and especially the practice of Mountain Top Removal (MTR) mining. MTR, which is jokingly referred to as Mountain Top Decapitation, involves scraping away the top layers of ridges and mountains until the peak forms a flat surface. The soil, vegetation and rock that have been scraped off are then deposited in nearby valleys. Due to coal’s chemical makeup – carbon, nitrogen and sulfur are its main components – when it is exposed to water and air, sulfuric acid seeps into surrounding water sources. Combined with hazardous flooding problems and sediment erosion due to the area’s new topography, the acid can easily affect the water supply of nearby towns and cities, making it difficult for native plants and animals to continue thriving after mining has occurred.

However, MTR is the most efficient, most cost-effective form of surface mining available. The risk to miners and other workers is vastly lower than underground mining and it takes less time to extract the coal. A statement on the Massey Energy website says, “Massey Energy takes very seriously its responsibility to protect, restore and reclaim land and communities where it operates… we are focused on improving the lands impacted by mining-related activities.” One example of Massey’s continued involvement is in Mingo County , W.V.; fifty-five acres of the flattened landscape were set aside to form a dirt racetrack.

In the last two months, 20 coalfield residents and supporters of Mountain Justice Summer have been arrested. Said Julia Bonds , a protester and participant in the Coal River Mountain Watch , “Our goal is to educate America that there is no such thing as clean coal. Coal must be mined responsibly and burned responsibly. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it and we want to educate America about the right way.”

Bonds and other protesters suggest that solar powered sun panels as a clean, energy-efficient alternative to fossil fuels. Indeed, a yellow diesel Mercedes and the amplification system at the protest were both fueled by already-used vegetable cooking oil.

Carrying signs that read “Honk if you love mountains,” the group gathered under the windows of the Massey Energy headquarters with cries of “Save Marsh Fork!” Marsh Fork Elementary School , in Sundial, W.V., rests at the base of a mountain which has been selected for MTR mining. Along with the mining paraphernalia, a coal preparation plant and sludge pond have been established. The protest group presented a list of demands to Massey officials that included shutting down the prep plant, ceasing all MTR mining above the Marsh Fork Elementary School, abandoning plans for a second coal silo directly adjacent to the school and that the Marsh Fork school be cleaned up or relocated.

Today’s protest is part of an international day of communication between community groups and corporations which coincides with the G8 summit meetings in Scotland. For more information, visit www.mountainjusticesummer.org and www.masseyenergy.com .