Kentucky license plate shows support for coal

Kentucky residents have a new way to show support for the coal industry. Borrowing a theme from West Virginia, the Bluegrass State is offering a "Friends of Coal" license plate, and officials say it has already proven extremely popular.

The state requires 900 applications before a specialty license plate will be produced, a process that can take three years. This plate got those applications in only five months, perhaps because the industry promoted it. “The process was extremely quick," said Dave Moss, the director of governmental affairs with the Kentucky Coal Association and a board member of Friends of Coal, told John Middleton of the Harlan Daily Enterprise. "We had 1,179 people signed up for the plate when we turned it over to the cabinet.”

Moss says the license plate provides an opportunity for people to show their support for the industry and for miners, even when they do not have family members working in coal. Harlan County Clerk Wanda Clem told Middleton, “The miners deserve to be honored for their work. They really provide a great service, and they deserve all of the recognition they get." The specialty plates cost $34, compared to $21 for the standard license plates. (Read more)