 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Carlos Nutter filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. church.
The Creston area received more rain and, of course, an interruption of electric service. Hay is ready to cut but there will first have to be a few dry days. Peonies are now in full bloom which means most of them will be gone before Decoration Day.
Grover Knight, age 63, son of the late Hobart Clay Knight, passed away.
Some of the Lowther family were visiting Mr. & Mrs. H. Wayne Nida.
It was learned that a local mail carrier got "real high" the other day. Seems she was given a ride in an aeroplane and was flown around the entire mail route.
W. Harrison Schenerlein IV was attending to business in Ohio Amish country and then attended the Big Foot convention at Salt Fork State Park near Cadiz, Ohio.
The state road crew sprayed herbicide in the Creston area. Speaking of bad stuff some local folks have been pulling up the garlic mustard they have found growing on them. It would seem that the local infection came from power company contractors and was then spread by state road equipment, etc.
The Creston Community auction will be held June 5. Those wishing to donate goodies can call Alvin at 275-3578 to get the items hauled to the Community Building.
The other morning a postal official from Charleston was going through the Creston area mail and entering data in her laptop computer.
The state Public Service Commission approved the sale of Verizon, one of the baby bells to Frontier. Most of Creston has Verizon "service" although the equipment in the switching office was, according to one of their men, "obsolete when installed". It would seem that Verizon has taken the view that land lines are obsolete so why bother with them. Of course in Creston cellular phones do not work and the satellite is the only option (in good weather, etc.) for the internet. Of course the PSC has a history of looking after the companies that they are supposed to "regulate".
The letters from the Equitable (EQT) class action suit have gone out. It seems obvious that one should not take the high number (modify the lease) for then free gas will be gone and the lease becomes a net lease. However, the better of the choices isn't too good either for the price is to be 90% of the Inside FERC price which, at a minimum will be 10% less than what EQT will be paid for the gas. Of course EQT had Judge Joe Bob in their corner and he, like the rest of his family and their political friends, take care of the big boys at the expense of West Virginia's peasants.
The oil and gas business has been in the news quite a bit lately and, wonder of wonders, BP (British Petroleum) had been the recipient of numerous favors from the powers that be. Of course, now Chrissy Matthews, the "mainstream newsman" wants to nationalize them and execute those who foul up. When the trouble started someone joked they would blame George Bush & Dick Cheney and now they have. Kinda like when Hollie Griffith was blamed for bank robberies in several different counties on the same day when he was traveling on foot (Likely he committed none of them.)
Not so long back there was a report by an environmental group that quoted a Louisiana chemist that benzene levels were higher than normal in folks who lived around Dish Texas which is in the heart of the Barnet shale gas development. The article was put in the newspaper and then reprinted all over the country "as fact & proof". This article was used extensively in New York & Pennsylvania where there has been opposition to drilling and fracturing of the Marcellus shale.
However, when the Texas State Health Dept. tried to replicate the results they found only that cigarette smokers had higher than normal benzene (as one would expect) and that the general population in the area tested the same as folks elsewhere.
The Big Eared One's EPA is going to study fracturing now.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude fell to $64.50/bbl and gasoline up in Ohio was in the $2.64 range.
While some talk about the economic situation improving, others point to Greece and other nations in Europe that are floundering as are California and other states & cities. Some have pointed out that only China has the finances to pick up all the pieces since now the "wise ones" have destroyed America's finances. Those who feel "entitled" obviously do not intend to help themselves as noted by the lack of gardens planted, etc.
The new woman who is to be on the Supreme Court should be "a dandy". She has proved she hates the military and has openly opposed both the first & second amendments to the Constitution. Obviously in workers paradises, ordinary people need neither as the Big Eared One said when talking about "too much information".
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