Page 5 - aruba-today-20190706

A5
U.S. NEWS Saturday 6 July 2019
W.Va. coal billionaire Cline killed in helicopter crash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) based Foresight Energy, a lice received a report from
— Coal tycoon Chris Cline, company he formed. Florida that Cline's helicop-
who worked his way out Cline sold most of his in- ter failed to arrive in Fort
of West Virginia's under- terest in Foresight for $1.4 Lauderdale as expected
ground mines to amass a billion and then dropped on Thursday, Bahamas Po-
fortune and become a ma- $150 million into a metal- lice Supt. Shanta Knowles
jor Republican donor, has lurgical coal mine in Nova told The Associated Press.
died in a helicopter crash Scotia, according to a 2017 The bodies of the four
outside a string of islands Forbes article titled, "Chris women and three men
he owned in the Bahamas. Cline Could Be The Last were recovered Thursday
Cline and his 22-year-old Coal Tycoon Standing ." and taken to the Bahamian
daughter Kameron were The piece captured his op- capital of Nassau to be offi-
on board the aircraft with ulence: A mansion in West cially identified, said Delvin
five others when it went Virginia with a manmade Major, chief investigator for
down Thursday, a spokes- lake big enough to water- the Bahamas' Air Accident
man for his attorney Brian ski on and a pasture that in- Investigation Department.
Glasser said Friday. cluded a while stallion stud The Augusta AW139 heli-
The death of the 60-year- name Fabio. A gun collec- copter was still in the water In this Sept. 6, 2014 photo, Chris Cline speaks as Marshall Univer-
sity dedicates the new indoor practice facility as the Chris Cline
old magnate led to eulo- tion so deep that federal on Friday, and based on Athletic Complex in Huntington, W.Va.
gies from industry leaders, officials would take stock preliminary information, she Associated Press
government officials and once a month. A 200-foot did not believe there had
academics, who described (61-meter) yacht called been a distress call before ocean and had five bed- off some of the scientific ev-
Cline as a visionary who Mine Games. the helicopter when down. rooms and four bathrooms. idence of climate change
was generous with his $1.8 His deep pockets eventu- The cause of the crash is West Virginia Gov. Jim Jus- when he wasn't posing for
billion fortune. ally opened to politics: He still undetermined, officials tice mourned Cline's loss, photos in front of tall pyra-
"He was a very farsighted donated heavily to Presi- said. first in a tweet he sent out mids of the black stuff.
entrepreneur," said Bill dent Donald Trump and A Royal Bahamas Police Thursday in which he noted "People deserve the
Raney, president of the other Republicans. Cline Force statement said au- that his and Cline's families cheapest energy they can
West Virginia Coal Associa- gave the president's inau- thorities and locals found had been very close for get," he said. "Tell the poor
tion. "Chris was just one of gural committee $1 million the site 2 miles (3 kilome- years. in India and China that
those folks who had the Mi- in 2017 and shared thou- ters) off Big Grand Cay, "Today we lost a WV super- they don't deserve to have
das touch." sands more with conserva- a group of private islands star and I lost a very close reliable, affordable elec-
Raney said Cline began tive groups as well as com- Cline bought in 2014 for less friend," Justice wrote in the tricity."
toiling in the mines of mittees representing GOP than the $11.5 million ask- tweet. "Chris Cline built an And to that effect, he also
southern West Virginia at a bigs such as Senate Major- ing price. empire and on every oc- spoke about solar panels,
young age, rising through ity Leader Mitch McConnell Bahamas real-estate agent casion was always there wind turbines and Tesla
the ranks of his father's and Florida Sen. Marco Ru- John Christie, who sold the to give. What a wonderful, batteries on Big Grand
company quickly with a bio, according to federal land, said Big Grand Cay loving, and giving man." Cay, saying "Where it
reserved demeanor and records. was developed by the late Cline, in his Forbes profile, makes sense, I'm absolutely
savvy business moves. He also gave to academia, Robert Abplanalp, inven- defended coal and waved for it."q
He formed his own energy bestowing at least $8.5 mil- tor of the modern aerosol
development business, the lion on Marshall University in spray valve and a friend
Cline Group, which grew West Virginia. of President Richard Nix-
into one of the country's "Our hearts are heavy," said on. The property became
top coal producers. Marshall University President known as an escape for
When he thought mining Jerome A. Gilbert. "Chris's Nixon in the 1970s.
in the Appalachian region generosity to our research Big Grand Cay comprises
was drying up, he started and athletics programs has about 213 acres (86 hect-
buying reserves in the Illinois made a mark on Marshall ares) distributed over about
Basin in what turned out to University and our students half a dozen narrow islands.
be a smart investment in for many years to come." At the time of its sale, the
high sulfur coal, according Authorities began search- property's mansion sat on
to the website of Missouri- ing for the copter after po- a bluff overlooking the

Officer's police powers suspended

after videotaped arrest

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) use of force after a video The officer then lifts Pesoa's
— A Maryland law enforce- of Wednesday's arrest be- shirt and covers his face
ment officer's police pow- gan circulating on social with it. The statement said
ers have been suspended media. The video appears Pesoa became "disorderly"
while his department inves- to show the officer knee- and resisted arrest when
tigates whether he used ing 19-year-old Arnaldo plainclothes officers tried
excessive force during an Pesoa's head into the side- to detain him inside the
arrest captured on video, walk outside a restaurant in restaurant. "The Montgom-
officials said Friday. a shopping center as Pesoa ery County Department of
The Montgomery County lies prone on his stomach. Police takes all complaints
Police Department said in Pesoa screams as his head or evidence of excessive
a statement it began inves- slams down and his mouth force seriously," the depart-
tigating Officer Kevin Moris' appears to be bleeding. ment's statement says.q