| By Alvin Engelke
 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Paul Williams filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. church.
Rev. Gladson Grim, age 89, passed away shortly before being scheduled to have hip replacement surgery. He had a positive impact on many people and worked to spread the gospel. After moving to the nursing home he was the greeter for the facility.
Wanda Tucker Duncan, age 76, passed away while making her bed. She was found when her brother went to check on her. She did not want to go to a rest home and her wish was granted. She had been suffering chest pains.
Vernon "Tiny" Marlow of Walker passed away. As bridge supervisor for the state road he had spent a lot of time in the Creston area and had many local friends.
Chuck Richter and Roger Riddle were out and about in the Creston area Sunday riding motorcycles, taking advantage of the unseasonable weather which was a change from a few days earlier. They checked out Katy's Run, Hippie Hollow (Little Rowell), Mt. Beulah, The Woodring cemetery and other areas.
A jolly gent from the polar region arrived early in Creston Saturday evening bringing treats to good little boys & girls. By any measure the Creston Christmas party was a big success for both young and old. The cooks were all busy and the tables were sagging under the load. Ted Grim fetched down a fine ham from Pennsylvania, there was turkey, chicken, lots of kinds of beans, home made noodles, home baked rolls (two out of a bushel were left), mashed potatoes, etc. After that there was the dessert table with all sorts of yummies although Jerry Campbell's pineapple upside down cake was the best this feller ever tasted. Someone said he would make some woman a good cook & a comely lady chuckled.
In addition to the big feed fruit baskets were delivered to those who weren't able to get out and do for themselves.
The state road crew has been busy in the Creston area with the long arm mower and cleaning out ditch lines. They shut down Friday for a big dinner at the road garage which a number of local residents attended.
Anna Engelke went on a four-day work trip to Gettysburg and Washington D. C. Each year they go on a mystery trip related to the tours that they do. Sunday afternoon they were on a boat in the Potomac looking at the capitol sites and dining on fancy grub.
Artex drilled in their well in downtown Dooleyville and it was reported that they hit "several pockets of gas". The well was drilled to 6,000 feet which being so situate on the anticline would make it a deep well. The idea was to tap into the formation that brought about the famous Bruce Bell well and brought famous oil well fire fighter Red Adair to Wirt County. Presently there are two rotary rigs drilling in Rock Run out in the Million Dollar Ridge section.
It was reported that agents for some company are busy in the Belleville section of Wood County trying to get folks to sign coal leases. Residents were told the mining would go from there all the way to Pennsylvania and the company would not be responsible for damage to houses, wells, springs or anything else on the land. A long wall mine that took out 25 feet of coal (as would be the case at Belleville) would cause major problems on the surface, to say the least. Some years back the Rockefellers (Exxon) acquired coal rights in the area for a very low price.
Rodney Gibson, representing Penn Virginia Corp., was attending to business in Creston. His company had offered to lease coal bed methane and pay a "1/8th net" royalty and it was suggested that a 1/8th gross royalty would be much better and would conform with long established custom in the local oil patch for shallow wells. He said, "Bad news for you; the company declined."
It would seem that such would be bad news for the Virginia based outfit for without leases they cannot drill and produce the coalbed methane. If they cannot afford to pay at least a 1/8th royalty they do not need to produce. Perhaps they will get some folks who don't read the lease to sign but, since large blocks are needed, some will then be paid more while others get paid substantially less & some will have free gas from the new wells while others will have to buy propane or split wood.
The price of local Penn grade crude rose $1/bbl Saturday to $59.25/bbl with December gas prices expected to be $8.70 on Dominion (Hope) & $8.53 on Columbia (United Fuel/Nisource). October gas was in the $4 range although domestic customers didn't see that drop in their bills.
Someone threw a burning box on the porch of the Starcher residence out on the ridge. It was understood that it was a message to a young fellow that he had best change his ways. The fire was extinguished without any substantial damage.
One of the Katzenjammer Kids reported that their "Ann's Run connection" has been on the sick list and was consulting with the medical folks.
R. J. Wilson was doing some road scraper work for the Heartwood Fund. While the new owner of the former Westvaco land seldom does roadwork, there had to be some reclamation after their big pulp wood job in the Katy's Run section.
Brohard resident Clarence Mills celebrated his 90th birthday with some folks coming to play music. He, Virgil Maze, and the late Ernest "Pat" Shimer, Denver Dennis and others formerly played music at the Creston Community Building.
One local lass is now back on foot after one of the DNR's deer demolished her automobile. She found out that the DNR does not insure their animals so she is "out of luck".
A certain person was bragging that they received a Christmas card from the big brick mansion down at the Mouth of the Elk that was recently remodeled for a few million taxpayer dollars and now has big plasma tee vees in each room (or so they say). The individual asked, "Did you get one from there too?" The answer was, "No but we did get a nice card from Crawford, Texas." | 
