 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Keith Belt brought the message at the Burning Springs M. E. Church. He
recently completed ministerial studies conducted by the Methodist church. His father)
Bob Belt is not doing well at all.
While Jacques Frost came calling both Thursday & Friday mornings, spring
continues to march along. The toads are trilling, turkeys continue to gobble and squirrels
dash across roads all over the area. Some have ended up being meals for old Brer
Buzzard. If there is much mast there should be enough bushy tails that local folks will be
able to can them to eat during the winter, such as was done years ago. Turkey season
comes in on April 27. One local woman saw a monster gobbler out on Ground Hog
Saturday whose beard was 'dragging the ground'. Likely he would be tough but, perhaps,
still tasty.
There were 543 riders at the Creston ATV Poker Run -- a record. They came
from far and near and the general consensus was that a great time was had. One man
said, "There were 17 in our group; we had a flat tire and the fuel pump went out on
another that had to be towed 25 miles but we had a great time." Some had to be pulled
out of mudholes out on Craig Ridge & others had difficulties down in Rock Camp and
some got lost but that was all part of it.
The riders cleaned up all the biscuits & gravy and then they ate all the hot dogs &
hamburgers. Then the beans & cornbread began to get scarce & so it went. The route
went through areas where the state road had to be opened up (by cutting out trees that had
fallen over the years) so new territory was seen by the riders.
Cousin Earl Davis's daughter rode as did Wirt County Commissioner Bob
Gunnoe. Ted Grim & Debbie McCracken came in from Erie Pennsylvania & Garren
McKown & friends as well as many others, came down from Ohio. Dustin Farnsworth
of Belpre won the 50/50 while Andrew Norman of Big Bend was first with Wes Lovejoy of Chloe (Walnut); second and Clarence Lott of Elizabeth third. Clarence had come so
Gabby would have someone to ride with but Gabby first had technical difficulties and
then he had an upset. As Gabby said, "I already had a couple of broken ribs." Lemon &
Barrett had a display and folks at the event which was well received.
The community would like to thank all the merchants & individuals who donated
events for door prizes, etc. all those who worked on all the aspects, flyers, addressing,
publicity, route, checkers, kitchen, sign-up & cleanup workers and, of course, all those
who 'came and participated & rode in the event. As someone said, "There sure were a
bunch of people who aren't participating in Obama's depression & they aren't worried about 'carbon footprints' on the environment." There were Lincoln Navigators, lots of
dualies and top of the line trucks, trailers and four wheelers. Trucks & trailers were
parked all over Creston, down Route 5, up the West Fork, up Little Creek. etc. One landowner allowed some riders to go through his place so they could ride over from their
cabins and avoid the road. Needless to say that was appreciated too.
Jerry Campbell baked a pineapple upside down cake for, as he said, "I don't want
to read about my 'not doing my job'". He wasn't feeling very well and went home early.
His grandsons came to see him at the building and one woman noted that they looked just
like Jerry & his brother when they were the same age.
The next Creston ATV poker run will be July 18 while the Shrine ride will be
May 30.
The folks who meet down at the Mouth of the Elk to pass laws, etc. did it a little
differently this time, apparently at the direction of the Big Boss. This time they
"adjourned until May 26 when there will be a "special session". One of the bills passed
was the governor's "pore space bill" which attempts to define who owns the pores in the
rock -- the permeability, porosity, vugs, etc. These are usually considered the areas where
oil and gas [and brine] have been trapped. The plan is to pump carbon dioxide (C02)
into the pore spaces "to stop global warming". Of course all this C02 disposal will be
very expensive and jack up electric bills.
The surface owner's rights bill was killed, apparently at the orders of the Big
Boss, and instead there will be a "Responsible Neighbor Policy" which consists of an
informative door hanger that addresses landowner issues with drilling companies that
create difficulties.
The Big Eared one went down to Mexico & said guns from America was a
problem and "we would have to clamp down". [on American citizens & ignore the second
amendment). Of course AK-47s are made in China & Russia. & 90% of the guns used by
the drug barons there come from places other than the USA. Chavez the dictator of
Venezuela received a warm handshake and some of the dear leader's congressional
buddies went down and visited with the Castro brothers & reported finding a workers
paradise filled with milk, honey and general prosperity. Apparently they didn't look for
or find the detention facilities for the dissidents.
Several local folks weren't very proud when they learned that the president told
folks over in the mideast that "America was no longer a Christian nation." It seems that
some of the news media kept that sound bite off their tee vee reports. If America is no
longer a Christian nation it would follow that our country is now just another heathen
nation.
Speaking of the heathen, the pirates have been emboldened as no one has
indicated that they were going to wipe them out and solve the problem. One European
group turned loose a bunch they had caught "as they had no guidelines as to what to do
with them." Apparently they didn't have a plank on board the ship.
The murder of a couple on Sycamore continues to be be topic of discussion locally.
As one person said, "That is getting awfully close to home!" One man noted that there might be a link with a double murder a few years back on Three Forks of Bear Fork.
It was learned that the repair cost on the telephone line that was cut recently was
just $42,000. No one has yet heard about Verizon's proposed DSL update to service
Creston.
Diane Ludwig was attending to business in Creston.
Brandon Ferrell was visiting Mr. & Mrs. Carl Ferrell. Jeremy gave Brandon a
four wheeler ride.
Some local folks participated in an e-bay auction of a boat manifest from the
Steamer Oneida that used to run to Creston a century & more ago. Someone with deep
pockets elsewhere was the winner.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude was $43.50 over the weekend. Local
producers were able to turn gas wells back into the line that had been ordered shut-in
earlier.
Freddie Bush hauled a double load of logs through Creston.
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