Cindy Skrzycki Piece on Stickler Published

Word from MSHA is that acting assistant secretary David Dye had cleaned out his office and was not seen in MSHA after Mr. Stickler arrived on the scene, to Stickler's apparent regret.

"A Miner Matter"
By Cindy Skrzycki

The Senate sent Richard Stickler' s nomination to become the top U.S. mine-safety official back to the White House -- twice. Widows and relatives of dead miners pleaded that he not be given the job. Stickler lacked the support of lawmakers from key mining states, and some newspaper editorials criticized him as an industry insider.

None of this fazed the White House. When Congress departed for its Election Day recess, President Bush on Oct. 19 made Stickler head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the Department of Labor . His tenure will last though the end of the Senate's next session, sometime next year....

but read the whole thing.