April 28th, 2017 by WCBC Radio
The Cumberland Times News reports United Steel Workers Local 676, Verso Corporation, reports the death of one of its members at the Beryl woodyard on April 8 was the result of a fall into a wood chip reclaimer.
Matthew Shumaker, 45, Westernport, a 20-year employee of the paper mill, had recently transferred from the converting plant to the woodyard, according to a report at www.usw.org/news.
Shumaker was on his last shift of a two-week training period and was running a dozer on the chip pile, the union said. "He dismounted from the dozer and walked parts of the chip pile for reasons unknown," the website stated.
Shumaker was standing near the chip reclaimer when a portion of the wood chip bed unexpectedly collapsed underneath him. He was working alone at the time, the statement said.
Mineral County Sheriff Jeremy Taylor told the Times-News this week that his investigation into the matter is completed. Taylor awaits a report from the state medical examiner.
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