 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Keith Belt brought the message at the Burning Springs M. E. church.
The Creston auction is scheduled, weather permitting, for 6 P. M. on Saturday, March 6th at the Creston Community Building.
Euell Russell broke his femur while a patient in the Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center and is now a patient at CAMC (Charleston Area Medical Center). On Friday he underwent hip surgery and is now out of intensive care. Charles Russell was among those calling on Euell.
The past week brought more snow and slick roads to the Creston area although on Sunday there was some warming and melting of snow. The high priest of the global warming cult, Albert Gore, Jr. was ridiculed at the Apple Computer annual meeting (he is on the board - remember he "invented" the Internet) so he wrote a piece for the New York Slimes bemoaning those who would encourage folks to question his "settled science" that he refuses to debate or discuss. One of his toadies recently exclaimed that, "January was the hottest ever!" Likely they can all see their schemes for more ill gotten wealth (Gore has already made hundreds of millions) sliding away on the ice. Many companies, such as GE, Goldman Sachs (the Big Eared One's Wall Street buddies), etc. have big plans to collect billions in tribute from American citizens.
Up in Minnesota the government required that 12% of the electric come from "renewable resources". The interesting thing up there is that while lots of taxpayer funded windmills have been erected in the land of 10,000 lakes, they cannot be operated there in the winter.
Speaking of winter there has been quite a bit of criticism, especially elsewhere, about how the DOH did on snow removal. Apparently, part of the big money saving ventures advanced by the Big Boss, was selling off all or most of the heavy duty snow removal equipment used to move drifts, etc. in the mountain counties. On Friday night one of the trucks from Wirt County got hung up while trying to remove a drift on Monroe Ridge. A road grader had to be called to extricate the truck.
The cat hunters who have been working the area between Katy's Run and Island Run reported getting another of the big bobcats. This makes at least 3 that they have harvested.
The wild turkeys along the West Fork have started gobbling. Likely the hens would have trouble building nests in the snow. Turkey buzzards have also returned to the area feasting on some of the DNR's venison that hit automobiles, etc.
A spokesperson for Equitable Gas (EQT) announced that they would be drilling horizontal wells in the Marcellus shale in Lewis County and it would appear that they have similar plans for Gilmer County.
Magnum Hunter Resources of Houston Texas has purchased Triad Energy which is based in Reno Ohio. Triad has wells in Creston and all surrounding counties. The price was $81 million.
Exxon, the flagship company of the Rockefeller family, purchased XTO, a Texas based firm that, not so long back, acquired the local wells owned by Linn Energy.
Dominion, one of Exxon's sister companies, announced that the Cornwell compressor station located on the Elk River in Clay County was back in operation and shut in gas wells could be placed back in production. Gas from numerous Wirt County (& surrounding counties) wells goes to Cornwell before it heads back north again to Hastings Station in Wetzel County for stripping of the goodies (defined as making it dry).
Chesapeake Appalachia, via their contractors Red Sky Land/S & A Property Research announced another meeting for mineral owners who wanted to lease to them. The meeting will be from 4 to 6 P. M. on March 6 at the Wileyville auction barn in Wileyville, West Virginia (Wetzel County). Additional meetings are scheduled according to a spokesperson. When asked about free gas it was said that such was unsafe when one had 3000 psi. Of course one does not feed wells at that pressure and "Big Joe" regulators are sold at all oilfield supply stores. Talk about an insult; a gas well by the house and having to burn wood. Also being paid wholesale for gas and having expenses taken out of royalty and having to pay retail to buy gas to keep warm, heat farm buildings, chicken houses, etc. As one fellow said, "Leases are contracts & they are negotiable."
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