 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Some local residents celebrated the New Year by eating corned beef and cabbage, the latter coming from the cellar.
Anna Engelke and friends Paul, Ben & Dina visited Nathan & Caroline Harrison who live in Bayonne, New Jersey. Nathan who works in Gotham's financial district gave them a tour of Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange.
An out of state outfit was doing some surveying at the Annamoriah bridge. There were also markers for aerial work. Having out of state contractors always helps with the local economy as, apparently, the oligarchy down at the Mouth of the Elk must assume that there are no competent local surveyors or engineers.
It was reported that Hugh Dale &/or David Dale went to New York City to get $10 million to acquire an interest in Carl E. Smith Petroleum.
Vada Riep Davis, age 91, passed away at Espyville Pennsylvania (up in the Pymatuning country). The daughter of mountain rifle repairman H. Curt Parsons, she was a sister of the late Joe Parsons of Straight Creek.
In spite of the claims by the "global warming politicians" areas to the north have already had record snowfall and the New Year came in at Creston with snow and temperatures in the single digits. Also it was reported that there was snow & frost even in Florida. It is amazing that politicians and those who believe what they say, think that they, through higher taxes, saying what kinds of vehicles we can drive and banning light bulbs and other such nonsense, can change the amount of energy that the sun directs toward the earth and the other planets - that is to say control sunspots, solar storms and winds and such. In spite of all the hysteria no one yet is keeping cattle in Greenland like they did back in the Viking days and, obviously, the polar bears and Esquimeaux survived that warming trend which, by the way, was followed by "the little ice age". The real sad thing though is that this drivel is being taught as fact in the schools.
P. E. Graham was calling on Charles & Euell Russell working on plumbing problems. They were among the local folks whose water underwent phase change when the mercury plunged.
Mr. & Mrs. Denver McFarland, Mr. & Mrs. I. J. Lynch, Jr., Luke & Levi and Margaret Lynch helped Ira J. Lynch, Sr. celebrate his 70th birthday on January 3. The celebrated with sandwiches, pizza and a cake decorated like a farm.
The folks on Creston R. F. D. #1 were unhappy since they went several days without mail delivery. When the mail came from the Creston post office such was unheard of except when the roads were blocked by high water or with trees during the big ice storm.
Paul Goodrich was in Creston hauling oil.
The comely Erin Smith who is a student at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg reported that she reads the Creston News each week. She noted that she received very little mail.
An older lady who lives down at the county seat had been having some health problems and her physician asked that some urine samples be fetched down to his office. On Thursday the daughter, on her way to work, brought the samples, in the proper containers and in plastic bags, to the office as instructed. When she brought them to the receptionist, she threw up her hands and said, "Oh no, OSHA rules do not allow me to accept these. I'll have to call the nurse!" Isn't it wonderful what government regulations do to help ordinary folks with their lives?
A local resident was discussing a legal matter with well-known Parkersburg attorney Ernie Douglass in the Wood County courthouse when his cell phone rang. He answered, & for all to hear, one could hear the man on the other end ask, "Why is traffic backed up on I-77?" Of course Atty. Douglass had no idea and told the man so and asked why he had called him for guidance. The caller said, "Onstar gave me this number." He then said the number which Douglas noted was correct. He then said, "Let me tell you why I was given this cell phone. I am the Mental Hygiene Commissioner." The man laughed & apologized for calling & those listening suggested that if the traffic was driving folks crazy the commissioner probably could fix folks up with padded rooms & such. Likely that is not an Onstar phone call that will be used in their ads.
Three big military helicopters flew over the Creston area.
The folks from Eastern American Energy, Louis Martin and Paul Batten, were down in Fishpot Run fixing a gas leak.
Local residents have been receiving inquiries about the availability of hay for sale. The bureaucrats at the census bureau sent out "mandatory' forms for local residents to fill out. The 24 page form will tell the government busybodies just how much local residents received for hay, raspberries, pigs and emus as well has how much income folks received as well as the availability of high speed internet. Back in the 1930s the federal government was infested with Marxists who demanded to know all about everyone so that they could institute 5 years plans just like they had done in Mother Russia. This mental attitude has become entrenched in the federal government, much to the dismay of folks who work & pay taxes to support such boondoggles. Of course it "provides employment" for those who read & file all the reports & who would otherwise have to get real jobs in the marketplace.
Tim Copen was calling on Randy Tucker.
Aubrey McClendon, head honcho of Chesapeake Energy, announced that the company had sold interests in 4,000 W. Va. & Kentucky wells to UBS, AG and Deutsche Bank for $1.1 billion. McClendon noted that the money would likely be used to finance low risk drilling which would have a minimum return of 30% and in most instances much more. The company is drilling many new wells in West Virginia. In the past this sort of deal would have been called a production payment. Deutsche Bank is better known in some circles as being the parent of Country Wide Home Loans, what might be considered a controversial outfit in the "home loan business". For details one can ask one's local banker.
Chesapeake announced that they are going to drill some horizontal wells in the Marcellus shale in Marshall County while Mike Hall, Syndex and Loren Bagley have permitted wells to the Marcellus in Harrison, Ritchie, Pleasants & Wetzel Counties. Haughts have permitted an Onondaga well in Wetzel County as well.
The New York papers have noted that there is now a big oil boom out in North Dakota with drilling and the court houses filled with abstractors looking for leases to drill. A picture in the New York Slimes showed a new oil well and a big flame where the natural gas was being flared into the air. This the same paper that, in addition to having a big tobacco patch growing up Mayberry Run, came out against light bulbs because that is pollution and makes too big a "carbon footprint." How many other words are there for clueless? Entire oil fields in West Virginia were ruined in the past by flaring the gas (a "waste product") and causing reservoir energy to be lost.
Mr. & Mrs. Bill McFee & Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Engelke were among those who attended the farm bureau and forestry association meeting with legislators at the Wood County 4-H grounds. The forestry folks said there was no light at the end of the tunnel in depressed prices for logs and wood products. Some would wonder if Madame Hillary has not instructed her international financier friends, George Soros, Mark Rich & such to create a recession so that she can run to "fix it" just like she and Bill did with Global Crossing, Enron & Whitewater Development Corp.
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