 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Alvin, Jeremy, Carl & Donna Sue Ferrell & Charles Russell were among those calling on Euell Russell at Miletree Nursing Home. Since Euell the Mule wouldn't walk inside his walker he is mostly restricted now to a wheel chair.
The Creston area and environs received from 8 to 12 inches of new snow before the weather warmed up. With the new DOH policy of not treating "back roads" certain area roadways became very, very slick and at least one school bus in Wirt County got stuck. It was very interesting on Saturday seeing all the state road trucks (at least a dozen) hauling material up W. Va. 5 since, apparently, Calhoun County had run out of material to treat the roadways. Some said that was hard to believe that they ran out of salt, etc. since now there were so many smart people in the DOH management.
Brandon Ferrell spent the weekend visiting Mr. & Mrs. Carl Ferrell & Jeremy.
Because of the uncertainties of the weather (seems global warming just didn't work out) there will be no February auction at Creston and the next auction will be Saturday, March 5, weather permitting.
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Miller & Mr. & Mrs. Randall Miller & daughters were attending to business in Spencer.
Alvin & Nancy Engelke attended the American Farm Bureau meeting in Atlanta. There were folks there from all over including some folks from the orient that did not speak English. The trade show was huge with combines that could pick 50,000 bu of corn in a 10 hour shift, immense hay balers, sprayers that could do 100' swaths, etc. One could have taken days and still not see everything that was on display. While government regulation, especially EPA rules on CO2, dust and claimed farm pollution of the Chesapeake Bay and other bodies of water threaten agriculture, demand remains strong for many crops, especially grain for the Chinese to feed their growing army and navy that is being built to bring down America once the Big Eared One makes the nation insolvent and unable to defend the homeland. Exports of farm products is one of the bright spots on the nation's bleak economic future.
During the meeting the Atlanta area received 7" of snow which brought the area to a standstill. One might describe the result as affirmative action liberal incompetence in full bloom and display. It seems the wise ones there decided to wait until the snow stopped before starting to plow the roadways but then it started to mist & rain and the cars packed down the mix. Of course the plows (truck mounted only and no road graders) couldn't cut it and salt on top of six inches of ice didn't work either, as, apparently, no calcuim chloride was available for the much lower than usual temeratures. In a few places someone had plowed off one lane (of 8 on the interstates) but almost all the bridges were pure ice. They finally told folks that they would have to wait for warm weather to melt off the ice. Abandoned cars were seen in the ditches and medians and wrecked semis were stark reminders of the slick nature of the highways. Four wheelers were out & about in what, in normal times, would seem to be unusual places and men were seen riding around on horseback. Across the state line in Virginia gasoline was only $2.84/gallon or 30 cents less than the West Virginia price. Some always said that "some of the boys" had to get a cut in W. Va.
On the local scene two Wirt County businesses are closing, first the Nationwide office and then, at the order of the federales, the credit union that recently opened in Elizabeth.
Turmoil continues to be the word of the day down at the Mouth of the Elk where the state's august legislature presently is in session. There was considerable double crossing in the coup by the new senate leader and everyone, it seems, is running for governor whenever the supremes decide the election, which is mandated by the state's constitution, will be held.
Dominion sent a fellow to ask if one man would sell his minerals in the neighborhood of the Marcellus drilling to the company for $350/acre so that they could lease them out and receive a $3,000/acre lease bonus. Apparently some of the Rockefeller children must be having to wear shoes that came from Goodwill or yard sales. While the price of local natural gas dropped to $3.25 the price of Pennsylvania grade crude rose to $86.25/bbl. The folks with the towells wrapped around their heads say it will be $100 oil but that, in large part, reflects the decline in dollar value which is alos obvious when one goes shopping for groceries. Little Timmy Geitner cerainly is showing his "financial skills". Seems his daddy used to have the Big Eared One's mommy on the payroll over in Indonesia.
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