 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The Creston donation auction will be held Saturday, June 7 at the Community Building. This is the place one comes to pick up bargains that had been stored in other folks' garages, back rooms, attics, etc. Also Bobby Ray Starcher will have cheese, pepperoni and his other goodies.
Wanda Grim Juart had a special birthday on May 24. First her great grandson was born and then she and Jimmy Tucker got married.
Brandon and Andrea Ferrell were visiting Mr. & Mrs. Carl Ferrell, Jeremy and Amy. Melissa Ferrell and the handsome Tyler were also visiting the Ferrell family.
Mr. & Mrs. Wilbur Schenerlein and son W. Harrison IV, Nancy & Alvin Engelke spent the weekend visiting Anna Engelke in Virginia.
The local area continues to receive rain which has put hay harvest on hold.
The Board of Governors (BOG) up at the big school in Morgantown, the majority of whom were selected by the Big Boss, decided that the university president who was hand picked by the big boss, was not involved in giving a bogus degree to the Big Boss's daughter who has a big job with her daddy's friend who runs a drug company in Pennsylvania. Of course those who have worked in state government know that the Big Boss micromanages the entire state, even going so far as to kill an economic development proposal for Wirt County as he said, "They don't need that!"
The new approach is to say, "Well there are lots of other MBA degrees that were the same way." Of course that besmirches anyone who has a degree from the school for, as the administration says, "Deals have been done and the governor's daughter is no big deal." A little more of that talk and a clever computer person can make up certificates that are worth just as much.
Chesapeake returned to the "bait & switch" game again after the state Supremes ruled 5-0 against them in the Roane County fraud case. Now, once again, they are not going to build a new eastern HQ but only rent office space. The Big Boss indicated he was upset with the Supremes who "didn't look at the whole picture". Once again, the big boss is talking intervention for his Oklahoma City friend.
Locally, gasoline has gone above $4 while it is about $3.88 in Virginia and $3.84 in Maryland. With West Virginians being richer than "our poor neighbors" perhaps it is appropriate that we pay more. At least such would be PC. The big liberals in Washington and elsewhere who have been pushing for years for higher fuel costs to cut down on driving and gasoline use have pointed out that gasoline in America is still "a bargain" since it costs $10/gallon in Europe. Mrs. Pelosey has decided to sue OPEC & the Arabs for not pumping more crude but continues to block drilling in large sections of America. It seems obvious that she and others do not want lower prices but intend to reap political hay from the fallout from high energy prices which they intend to blame on others. Indonesia, one of the members of OPEC, said it was going to drop out since that country has now become a net petroleum importer rather than an exporter.
B. Hussein Obama noted he had an uncle who liberated Auschwitz. Apparently he had a maternal great uncle who was at Buchtenwald, a camp located hundreds of miles away. The former camp was "liberated" by the Russian Red Army. Mr. Hussein has been heralded as a Harvard grad. Obviously, he is an affirmative action Harvard grad.
The price of natural gas continues to be in he $12/MCF range reflecting the high crude oil price. The price of local crude is now $120.25/bbl.
High gasoline prices and resultant higher fertilizer and food prices have been rough on local residents but, bad news bulletins to the contrary, the national economy continues on seemingly unabated. Unemployment is 5% (4% is considered full employment) and the news folks had to admit that there is a construction boom in New York. Obviously the folks there must see a great future. Apartments are renting for up to $8,000/month in Washington, Dee Cee and there seems to be no shortage of cars and big trucks on the highways.
Those sojourning in Virginia noted luxury vehicles full of Mexicans. One might wonder if they were importing Acapulco gold, one of those jobs "Americans won't do".
Closer to home, Dickerson & Davis have been advertising for men to work as mechanics and welders at their shop in Ripley. They work on rotary drilling rigs and such.
It was learned that Marathon is now in the $400/acre range for lease bonus payments in Fayette County. A recent article in several of the state's major newspapers was said to have not been welcomed by the big boys who have been trying to acquire oil and gas acreage on the cheap in West Virginia.
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