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By Alvin Engelke
For a few days the rain has ceased. Lots of hay is being made during the interlude.
Tony Arthur, son of Bessie Belcher and the late Ira Arthur was mowing hay on the former Mary Bryner farm near Joker when he hit one of Dominion's (formerly Mother Hope) gas valves in the middle of the bottom. A huge inferno resulted and the tractor was consumed. Tony is reported to being doing well after being airlifted to a Huntington burn center.
The folks who look after the buildings out at the Ground Hog (Mt. Pleasant) church noted that nothing of value is kept in the buildings and there is no need to break in and steal what the church has to offer inasmuch as salvation is a free gift from God to those seek.
The Travel After Dark Drilling Company moved a big rig through Creston about midnight the other evening. Someone noted that their "overweight permit" required nighttime movement . They helped wallow out some more bad places on Ground Hog.
Anna Engelke went camping at Wolf Run up in Ohio with Mr. and Mrs. Kenny Collins and son Keith. They were also attending to business in Caldwell. They had planned to go on the old B & O right-of-way from North Bend State Park but it was full.
Charles Russell was consulting with his physician.
Sonja Artibese and husband were visiting Ray & Hallie Cunningham. Hallie hit her leg on a sharp object in Wally World and lost a lot of blood.
Rev. Bob Stanley filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. church. He is next scheduled for June 24.
Josemite Sam Dawson and Cap'n & Mrs. Spock were among those calling on Mr. & Mrs. C. Romeo Griffin, Jr. Kayla & Dalton. they worked on the water pump and well. It is reported to be amusing to watch C. Romeo taming Ol' Sally's colt, "Sparky".
SFC Thomas Fluharty, USA, Retired of Annamoriah and Robert (Bob) C. Marshall , formerly of Grantsville but now of Sparta, Tennessee, attended the graduation of Bob's son Damien Nicholas Marshall of Athens, Ohio from Ohio University. He obtained a cum laude degree in International Relations on Saturday and leaves on Monday, June 11 to go to Italy for furthur training. He will then go to Bulgaria and return to Italy for more studies. SFC Fluharty also did some brush hog work along the Little Kanawha upstream from the mouth of Spring Creek in anticipation of camping, etc.
Matt Langley who was in the area for the Griffin reunion was attending to business in Creston. Dalton L. Griffin won the prize for the youngest fellow at the gathering.
Ronnie Wyers was attending to business in Elizabeth.
Several local residents took in the activities at the Wood Festival at Grantsville.
Nancy Engelke attended a conference down at the Mouth of Elk River.
Alvin Engelke has several very cute kittens to give away to good homes. There are various colours and types.
Cap'n Spock helped the anonymous farmer type gent administer a long needed haircut to his Collie dog, Smokey. Smokey is said to appear cooler but another session is in the works. The Cap'n & Dixie were also calling on Uncle Pete and Aunt Verda.
Energy news continues to be a big topic and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer's quote about Enron's chairman sets the tolerant tone. The AG said, "I would love to personally escort Lay to an 8 x 10 cell that he would share with a tattooed dude who says, 'Hi, my name is Spike, honey.'" Enron is a major buyer of natural gas in the local area and one of the firms top executives was killed when the airplane "crashed" in Croatia when Clinton Commerce Sec. Ron Brown was 'taken out'.
Columbia plugged the Orchard Run well and was said to have plugged the one at Medina although they plan to drill a new one there. The rig from Orchard Run is said to be going to Braxton County while the Medina rig is to drill a CO2 (carbon dioxide) well near the airport down at the Mouth of Elk River. Columbia said the stuff to the northeast (Calhoun County) wasn't good as they looked elsewhere. Meantimes Dominion (formerly Mother Hope and CNG) and East (formerly Pennzoil) are permitting 20,000' deep holes in Calhoun County including one less that 1000' from the Exxon test that they swore was dry. All the while lease hounds are scouring for unleased acres any where in the nearby counties to drill or trade to others. Seismic crews are mapping the area but few who get mapped get copies of the reports of the minerals that they own. The proposed drill holes, if not properly placed may ruin water wells and cause slips and slides. Hundreds and hundreds of slips along the highway system were caused by prior seismic shots and the culprits, including the Standard Oil Trust companies, stuck the W.Va. taxpayers with the bill.
Royalty owners in Columbia's Roane deep wells were told they wouldn't be paid as "a wrong multiplier" was used in calculating January royalty. The situation might help provide work for accountants and attorneys who might otherwise be having slack times.
Bob and Mae Carter, former Creston residents, were visiting at the Pennington residence on Burning Springs Run. The Carters still have a camp down near the Wolf Pen dip.
Jeremy Ferrell has accepted oil field employment with Gas Search. Presently there are lots of employment opportunities in the energy field.
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The Wirt County Farm Bureau will hold its regular monthly meeting Tuesday, June 19 at the road garage in Elizabeth. There will be a program on Lyme's Disease. The tick carried disease has infected area residents and is a health risk for local residents. Everyone is urged to attend and refreshments will be served.
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