By Alvin Engelke
 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Juanita Lockhart filled her regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church.
Eva G. Pennington received a good report from her physician.
Jacques Frost made a professional call in the local area but not before one local resident picked two bushels of sweet peppers on October 29. Even with the frost and some ice on standing water some Creston area petunias are still blooming. Dorothy Lynch's beautiful nasturtiums didn't survive, however.
Scott Spencer was doing some excavating work in Creston this week.
Randy Tucker purchased the former Clancy Wilson property on the West Fork.
Jody Goff was calling on Charles & Euell Russell.
There will be a cleanup day held at the Cooper Cemetery on Stutler road on Saturday, November 10. The work will start around 8 A. M. Anyone interested in helping should bring brush cutting tools and personal safety equipment. A rain date has been set for November 17. Those with questions should call 354-0095 for details and particulars.
Local residents have been filling out their applications to be delegates for the first ever (at least in modern times) Republican state convention to pick 18 delegates to the Republican National Convention next summer. The state convention will be on Super Tuesday and registrations must be completed and sent in during November. For details one can contact local party leaders or log onto www.wvgopconvention.com.
Down at the Mouth of the Elk the Big Boss continues to consolidate his power crushing anyone who might object to the most mundane of his schemes. The other day the archivist at the State Cultural Center was escorted out with a police guard when he objected to the research library being turned into a snack bar and tourist trinket sales office. He had been a state employee for almost 30 years. One is somewhat reminded of when the Mongol horde used the famous library in Samarkand to stable their steeds and then used the collection for bedding. After all they didn't read and all that written stuff was nonsense to them.
On the national scene Her Thighness's buddy in Harlem announced her trillion-dollar tax increase to coincide with her promise to take money from those who work to give it to those who elect not to work and stepwise socialize medicine. Someone noted that if we get socialized medicine where will the Canadians go to get treatment? Presently Detroit and Cleveland are popular for such as the wait for treatment in Canada now is 18 weeks after referral.
W. Harrison Schenerlein IV, along with two of his little cousins, were baptized Saturday evening at St. Michael R. C. Church in Vienna. His aunt Anna Engelke was an overnight guest at the Schenerlein residence.
Susan Myers who is the editor of the new newspaper Living Appalachian was an overnight guest at the Engelke residence in Creston. She also attended the baptism ceremony in Vienna. The new paper is to celebrate the culture, people, history, lifestyle, attitude and landscape of the area. The paper can also been seen on line at LivingAppalachian.com. Susan & Nancy are both former CRI teachers and employees. Susan also has a loving cat family that needs a new home. She can be reached by calling 927-5064.
One local family used to read stories about Jimmy Coon and Farmer Dan and Dan's hapless dog. The stories which are ideal for reading by parents to young readers, always end up with Jimmy Coon, who lives in the big hollow tree across the creek always getting the best for Farmer Dan and his dog. Now it seems that Jimmy Coon has moved up on the Richardsonville road and has determined how to get in the cat food can even though the lid is tied down with a bungee strap. The other morning Teddy Parsons reached in for a handful to feed one of the welfare cats ("Lips that touch mice will never touch mine." Garfield once said to Arlene) and grabbed a handful of hair, 'coon hair.
Even though the price of crude oil had been going up the local price of gasoline had been rather stable but apparently all the gas on hand was sold out and the price took a steep jump of twenty-five cents or more depending on the location. The world price rose up in the nineties while the local price rose to just $89.75/bbl. The local price is based on the posted price of West Texas Intermediate Plains (WTI) less $1.60 bbl for loads greater than 150 bbl or less $3.10 for loads less than 150 bbl loads. This is the price for Wirt County while the price for Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Roane, Jackson, etc. are less $2.50 and $4.00 respectively. Brine disposal for Wirt, Wood, Ritchie, etc. is $4.50 with the next tier of counties costing $5.50/bbl.
Two of the local oil haulers noted that they were having problems as all the tankage they were hauling to was full. Some feel that manipulators like Mark Rich and George Soros are playing with both the price of oil and the value of the U. S. dollar.
Margaret Lynch fell and broke her ankle. She underwent surgery to have a metal plate installed.
One woman who read the stories of the former Creston postal patrons told of her postal woes. Her mailbox was in her driveway as she was at the end of the route and the carrier turned there. An inspector came out & said that was unsafe as someone was killed somewhere when a carrier turned in a driveway. She was told to put her box in a remote area away from her house or else put it down the road where her daughter's mailbox was located. So now she has to drive to her daughter's mailbox to get her mail and the carrier still turns around in her driveway but "it is safe since he isn't delivering mail there." Another woman noted that the Cox's Mills office was closed "for lack of a facility" when several were available. When they asked the boss up at Clarksburg when the public hearing was to happen they were told, "We have months to make a decision!"
Some local residents attended the Trick or Treat event at the grade school in Elizabeth. | 
