 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The Creston auction will be Saturday, April 5, starting at 6 P. M. at the Creston Community Building. Last month Bobby Ray was snowed in up in Pennsylvania and some have run out of cheese and other goodies. One can come and tell about all the big gobblers that are trying to entice the hens.
The first Creston ATV Poker run will be held on April 19. at the Creston Community Building.
Rev. Carlos Nutter filled his regular 5th Sunday appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. church and gave Holy Communion.
Gifford Marks, age 72 of Lemuel's Run passed away at WVU Hospital in Morgantown. Burial was in the Blackshire cemetery.
The fuel thieves were caught in a neighboring community. The ringleader of the gang got to meet up with 3-5-7 and instructions not to move until his daddy came to fetch him home. Later the gendarmes came and said "not to threaten the boys" who had been trouble several times before. One fellow noted, "Well, OK, next time Mr. 3-5-7 will just go rooty-toot-toot. That should solve any 'learning disabilities'".
Russ Richardson, the consulting forester, was attending to business in Creston. He gave an excellent explanation for the depressed log market. Local hardwoods had, for years, gone to North Carolina where furniture was made, but in the move to take all manufacturing overseas (something likely thought up by the pointy headed ones at the Ford Foundation or some equivalent "think tank") furniture construction is now done in the Chinese "workers' paradise". North of China is a large virgin hardwood forest in Siberia which is now being cut and sold to the Chicoms. With the profits they can annihilate Tibetan Buddhist monks and then, anyone else who gets in their way.
Richardson was also concerned about the future of the former BPB cross tie facility at Billings.
Travelers in Calhoun County have been commenting about the large number of yellow signs promoting a hesperidium.
Cabot Corporation announced that they are looking for a corrosion specialist to be based at their shop at Cabot Station below Grantsville. One can stop by or call for details. Cabot, Chesapeake and Atlas are busy leasing Marcellus shale and Trenton/Black River acreage in Pennsylvania where lease bonuses recently rose to $3,000/acre and the royalty offered to ordinary folks rose to 15% although the Pennsylvania state game lands receive a royalty of 3/8 or 37.5%.
Beckwith Lumber Company sold 62,000 acres of oil and gas for $200/acre up in the mountains. There is a leasing frenzy in Pocahontas, Greenbrier and other counties in that area and new lease hounds continue to come to Wirt County. Recently an Indiana landman came looking for "the large landowners". Of course the contract leasemen are obviously being paid on a per acre basis. An agent working for Chesapeake tried to buy some acreage for $200/acre where they plan on a deep well in the Cambrian.
Regina Hupp whose husband has CAD Energy purchased the Randall Lynch lands situate primarily on Ann's Run.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude fell $2/bbl to $99.25 over the weekend. In New Jersey the price of gasoline is under $3/gallon while in Maryland it is, in many locations, just over $3. Locally the price generally is 40 cents/gallon higher, reflecting, no doubt, the big boss's "Open for Business" attitude and economic climate. Natural gas trading on the stock exchange would seem to indicate prices would trend upwards from $9.58 while crude will be over $100/bbl.
The warm weather has caused the USDA's multiflora rose to start growing. Chickweed and henbit are blooming and ramps should be coming up.
The high price of corn, caused by the ethanol (corn likker) stills, continues to cause problems but the "tree huggers" who wanted to "save the planet" are having their way. One local farmer said he wasn't feeding the DNR's deer this year which would mean that he is not going to grow corn. Many years ago it became impossible to grow alfalfa around Creston because of the venison.
Alvin & Nancy Engelke were among those who attended an excellent American Farm Bureau training session in Cherry Hill New Jersey which is across the river from Philadelphia. While there they saw the Liberty Bell, the U. S. Mint & other local sights.
One of the main concerns is a group calling itself the "humane society" that wants to prohibit animal agriculture. They are not to be confused with the folks that operate the dog pounds and cat shelters. Also a recent survey reported in the Delta Farm Press emphasized the frightening fact that a significant amount of American residents really have no idea where their food comes from and fail to appreciate the role of farmers. This was noted at the Farm Bureau meeting inasmuch as the new New Jersey governor and his legislature just recently abolished the state department of agriculture.
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