 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The Creston auction will be Saturday, January 3, starting at 6 P. M. at the Creston Community Building, of course, weather permitting.
Keith Belt brought the message at the Burning Springs M. E. Church.
The postal system reported elsewhere in the country that they were losing megabucks and were going to have to eliminate 40,000 jobs but the postal spokesperson said, "Not to worry; none of them would be union jobs." Of course, most of the mail in the local area is delivered by contract employees who have no benefits, etc.
Eva G. Pennington had another sojourn in the Camden Clark Hospital.
Nancy Engelke had a follow up visit with her dental surgeon.
Anna Engelke and friend Adam Yates were visiting at the Engelke residence in Creston.
Mr. & Mrs. Todd Rhodes & daughters & Mr. & Mrs. Tim Rhodes & family were calling in Creston.
Don Rhodes hasn't been doing very well since he suffered a stroke.
One Creston News reader noted that she had placed an ad for free firewood since there had been much talk about those who had problems paying for heat. She noted that not one person called or showed up to obtain the free fuel.
It was noted that the forms to apply for federal bailout forms are now available on the Internet. They are easy to fill out.
Several people have expressed concern over the new rules that require "nutrient management plans" before one can spread manure on gardens, crop and pasture land. Obviously the federal government is polluted with those who do not believe in the private ownership of property and the big-eared one hasn't even taken over. His apologists note that the constitutional requirement for being born in America is "out dated" and inconsequential. Likely the Bill of Rights will soon be classed in the same way, especially those rights concerning speech & the right to bear arms.
The catfight between Her Thighness Madame Hillary and Mrs. Caroline Schlossberg, the Kennedy heiress for the New York Senate seat is very instructive as to how positions are dealt out among the elite to rule over the rest of us. Of course New York has the little Rockefeller boy as a West Virginia senator, at least until the Great Obombo names him as an ambassador to some foreign land where he can "be important".
Apparently the folks in Israel decided that they had better deal with Moslem terrorists in the Gaza strip before an anti Israel administration took over in America. As some know there are some very plain warnings in a certain "Good Book" about what happens to those who wish harm on Israel and Abraham & Sarah's descendants.
The price of local Penn grade crude oil "rose" to $31.50/bbl. The price of natural gasoline (Mountain High Test) is 86 cents/gallon while propane is just under 65 cents/gallon. Natural gas has been running in the $7 range for December.
It was learned recently that in the Pennsylvania State Game Lands lease sale the average bonus price/acre was over $2,500 with a 16% royalty. Also in Pennsylvania there is a lawsuit to set aside leases taken by the Keeton Group because they do not pay the minimum royalty of 1/8th that is required by Pennsylvania law. They are like the net leases that Chesapeake and others have been circulating in West Virginia.
CDX one of the coal bed methane drillers is in bankruptcy in Texas. Details are not locally known.
The former CEO of Triad Resources has come back from retirement to steer the firm after the death of Kean Weaver. It is understood that Calhoun, Roane & Clay operations are pretty much unchanged.
East Resources which acquired much of the old South Penn (Pennzoil) property reported that they held one million acres of leaseholds in Appalachia & that they planned to do some extensive drilling in 2009. Other companies have indicated that their drilling plans are still full speed ahead.
Mr. Madoff (Made Off) has brought the topic of Ponzi schemes back into the limelight. Of course the federal government runs one too. It is called Social Security. Back when there were 30 workers and one retiree. Now the ratio is 3 to 1 and soon the ratio will be less. Some years back the SS people wrote glowing press releases about old men who had only paid in a little and had drawn checks for decades. Interesting they don't write glowing stories about those who pay in for a lifetime and draw nothing or only for a few months.
There are those who believe that government knows best and is efficient. The news folks kept it pretty much quiet but the federal government had a sludge pond dam break down in Tennessee causing quite a mess. Lest we all forget the government runs an electric company called Tennessee Valley Authority that has huge coal plants, etc. but, of course, since they are government, they don't pollute, don't rape mountains, torture the timber, etc.
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