| By Alvin Engelke
 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Juanita Lockhart filled her regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. church. Next week Keith Belt will bring the message. On July 8 there will be no services as there will be a combined service with all the other churches on the charge as well as a picnic at the Sportsman's Park in Elizabeth. Everyone is welcome.
Belle Marchuk had a heart attack and got to spend her birthday in one of those fancy places were breakfast is served in bed.
Local residents are looking forward to the big ice cream social Saturday, June 30 at the fire station in Elizabeth.
The next regular meeting of the Creston Community will be Tuesday, July 3 at 7 P. M. at the schoolhouse.
Those visiting Denver and Tammy McFarland on June 16 included Mr. & Mrs. Ira J. Lynch, Sr. Mr. & Mrs. Ira J. Lynch, Jr., Luke & Levi, Betty Rae & Darby McFarland, Travis, Kerry, Josh, Jocie & Brandon Lucas, Eric, Kathy, Rick & Rebecca Newsome. Denver grilled some chicken and others brought covered dishes and all celebrated the day.
Local residents are excited about the new Toyota truck factory in Williamstown although others are concerned about the glass factory there that is on very shaky ground and now has some Chinese items in their store. Apparently the powers that be down at the Mouth of the Elk are not concerned about one of the key tourist attractions and employers of the region.
The local road crews have been fixing bad places in the black top. Earlier they had all been told to "save their money and not spend". Folks continue to be amazed that one of the big shots told that, "Why you don't need a gradall - there isn't anything one does with them that one can't do with a backhoe." There is a fable about the blind leading the blind and we all know where they went.
Apparently the big boys, including the Big Boss, down at the Mouth of the Elk are furious that the folks in Jefferson County voted down the gambling casino plan. Earlier the legislative big wigs and the boss man all flew down to a posh resort in Puerto Rico to learn how to do it better, maybe with Bacardi. Many are waiting for the great improvements to state government and governance that should be the result of the conference/junket to the exclusive resort.
Joe O'Ferrell, currently doing business as Standard Oil of W. Va. is drilling at Newark. Probably little Johnny Rockefeller IV likely doesn't even know that the Standard Oil Trust's flagship company was Standard of New Jersey, now Exxon while Standard of New York, now Mobil which is merged back with the New Jersey affiliate.
Several horizontal wells are planned for further south in West Virginia as well as numerous coalbed methane wells. Junior Hildreth is planning more wells in Roane County as troubles continue with surface owners.
Paul Goodrich was in Creston hauling oil the other day. He was somewhat handicapped with a set of directions that left quite a bit to be desired although he found his destination.
The Richardsonville road has been hot with activity with Russell Hupp's drilling in/near David Miller's garden on the West Fork. It was reported that Bob Matthey's big drilling operation continues to be plagued with breakdowns on the spudder.
The local area received rain the other day but shortly thereafter the ground was dry again.
Several area residents attended the W. Va. State Folk Festival in Glenville. The festival was dedicated to Lester & Linda McCumbers of Nicut. A number of Palestine & Newark residents competed in the music contests while David O'Dell from Spencer won both the under 50 old time fiddle & banjo contests.
Mr. & Mrs. George Engelke motored in from Tennessee for the festivities. Many sampled the Gilmer County Farm Bureau barbecued beef & chicken while others sampled the beans and corn bread from the Cedar Creek women.
Runyon, the Buckeye logger who only takes the butt logs, was seen going through the Creston area. Some folks are really looking for him, especially since he has trouble finding property lines, etc. He said one time, "I don't even buy Twinkies in West Virginia." No doubt he pays all the taxes that he owes the state. Doesn't everyone?
Those who study the book of Revelation are concerned about the new terror group taking over in Gaza, part of the "Palestinian state". They are backed by Syria and Iran who now has a bunch of bomb grade uranium. Those who made political deals with terror groups are now sewing the results on others and the consequences may be severe. It seems that any time one makes a pact with the devil, the devil always wins even though others may get peace prizes, etc. The Christians who still live in that territory have been told to shut up or else, "consequences would be severe". They know what that means.
The price of local Penn grade crude in northern West Virginia rose to $64.25 while oil in Pennsylvania is worth $65.25. Propane is fetching $1.138/gallon while isobutane brings $1.44 and natural gasoline (mountain high test) is worth $1.704/gal. Folks in Grantsville continue to talk about the spectacular oil well that Justine & Mike Rogers drilled near the Knight graveyard in the Big Bend on the former Lewis Smith farm.
The local area received a nice rain but by the next day the ground was dry again. Some while back the birds ate Carl Ferrell's cherries before they even turned and now the crows are searching out small green apples and the DNR's venison is dining on succulent tomato and other plants in folk's gardens. Gary dePue who farms part of the ancestral land on Spring Creek reported that his first cutting hay crop was off over one third and second cutting looks very light, to say the least.
Nancy Engelke, Jane, Scheny & Harrison Schenerlein made it back home after visiting Nancy's father and the rest of his family in Melbourne Florida. They were all worn out after a week of vacation. | 
