Five witnesses took the stand yesterday in the trial of former CEO of Massey Energy Don Blankenship, including his former secretary, a media consultant who dealt with the fallout from the Big Branch explosion, and three former employees. Blankenship is alleged to have ignored safety regulations, leading to the deaths of 29 miners. Gary Young was a rock duster at the mine, and he claimed that he was not given adequate resources to do his job. Rock dust is used to settle coal dust in mines, since airborne coal dust can be explosive. Michael Smith was a former miner, and according to him employees were warned about MSHA inspections, and given a chance to clear up violations. When Smith was cross-examined by the defense he also said that the miners did the same before Massey inspections. The trial will continue today in Federal Court in Charleston.