Ed Wiley walks along state Route 51 in Oldtown Tuesday afternoon.

Wiley, the grandfather of a Marsh Fork Elementary (W.Va.) student, left Charleston, W.Va., en route to Washington Aug. 2 with hopes of meeting with Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and a representative of the Mine, Safety and Health Administration.

Wiley is trying to raise awareness about issues at the school, which sits beside one coal silo and where a proposal for a second was recently denied.

Wiley, who is also trying to raise funds for a new school, is representing the campaign Pennies of Promise and plans to arrive in Washington on Sept. 12.

For more information, log onto penniesofpromise.org.