(shown) Randy Harris, Safety Supervisor with Barrick/Turquoise Ridge, is shown with his grandson, Josef Schoenecker, age 3, and Patrick Steepleton, of AirGas, is shown with his grandson, Braydon Andrews, age 2, at the first Barrick/Turquoise Ridge Winter Safety Fair. 

WINNEMUCCA — Area organizations working with the community on health & safety issues gathered at the Humboldt County Convention Center on Saturday to promote their causes at Barrick/Turquoise Ridge's First Winter Safety Fair.  Randy Harris, Safety Supervisor at the Barrick/Turquoise Ridge site, said they started planning the event way in advance of the earthquake in Haiti, but the images from the devastated island nation demonstrated the importance of many of the health & safety issues under discussion at the event -- such as emergency preparedness.  Harris commented, "Because of the events in Haiti, we really see the importance of being prepared for emergencies and disasters."

ARLINGTON, Va. -Preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released today indicate that mine fatalities in 2009 fell to an all-time low for the second straight year. Coal mines recorded 18 mining deaths, and metal/nonmetal mines recorded 16 mining deaths, for a combined total of 34 mining deaths nationwide and a significant drop from last year's total of 53 deaths.

Only one death occured in Nevada.  On June 6, Steven L. Halverson, 57, a drill operator, was working at Newmont's Genesis Mine in Eureka County when he was struck and killed by a flatbed truck as it backed up. 

"No one should have to die for a job," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Our nation's miners, like all workers, deserve jobs that allow them to provide for themselves and their families. No job is truly good unless it is safe, and the U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring safety is priority one in our nation's mines."