 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
There were 246 riders at the Creston ATV poker run which took riders through the Rock Run & Bear Run country before heading down Macfarlan Creek and then through Brohard and down Lower Leading Creek to Munday Beach. Jacob Bumgarner came in first followed by Jimmy Riggs & John S. Whitacre. Mika Belt won the winch and no one has yet claimed the 50/50 ticket. The last four numbers are 3100 and the winner can claim the prize by providing the ticket. One rider said the ride was far better than the famed "Hatfield & McCoy" trail in southern West Virginia and put some other local ATV rides to shame.
One couple accidentally tipped their four wheeler over into a yellow jackets' nest which caused some "pushback" from the unhappy insects. One woman came to the ride in her "dress whites" and when they came out from the Bear Run section she was giving the man driving "what for" saying that this was her first AND last ride after taking her through that awful area and bouncing over the rocks. He replied that he was planning on coming back and if she wouldn't come he would bring some other woman with him.
Many riders were covered with mud from head to toe and their machines were brown, not the shiny colors that were obvious when starting out on the run. The community would like to thank all who came, those who worked in the kitchen, signing folks up, putting up & taking down signs sending out cards, giving donations, fixing food, worked the stations, etc.
One minor problem was a potty mouthed utility company worker with a blue top who didn't want the four wheelers going by his residence. He or someone sprayed arrows directing folks to go the wrong way on the road and changed the directions of the signs. This fellow who didn't want riders disturbing him during the daytime has a reputation for shooting guns in the middle of the night, just to torment his neighbors. The folks on the poker run understood that there was always someone like that around and took being sent on wild goose chases with stride and had a great time anyway.
Sunday evening there were a group of four wheelers in Creston who were completely lost. They were trying to get back to Reedy and included in the group was the son of a prominent lawman. They reported being out on the Umstead.
Local residents are looking forward to the Wirt County Fair which starts Wednesday. There are lots of animals and there are a bunch of track events including the big mud bog Saturday evening. Two local Creston damsels are in the Wednesday evening pageants.
Some local second cutting hay has gone up in between showers and high humidity. Speaking of hot weather, NASA which had been a big promoter of "global warming" came out with a report that showed that there was a big error in the amount of the sun's heat that was radiated back into space which means that the basis for the calculations "showing global warming" are false. Those folks have been flummoxed with the actual cooling shown for the last few years.
The Marcellus hearings in the legislature are scheduled for 6 P. M. on Monday, 7 P. M. on Tuesday and 3 P. M. on Wednesday. Also on tap are the proposed redistricting. State Sen. Unger, who claims to have worked and worshiped at the feet of the late Mother Teresa came up with a plan that would place Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito in the same district with Congressman McKinley who lives in Wheeling. Unger represents the same group that has brought W. Va. so much prosperity over the years that the state went from having six (6) members of congress to the present three (3). I guess some might say, "Something to be proud about".
W. Harrison Schenerlein, IV, was checking out paddle wheel and ferry travel on the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers over the weekend. His baby sister, for the moment, directs most of her efforts on acquiring more food, combined with sleep, etc.
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. church.
Some folks missed the bridge that crosses Straight Creek near the Munday road and the chariot landed in the creek. Some were injured and the car parts were left in the stream. There was also a wreck reported at Annamoriah.
Bessie Arthur underwent CPR training in Vienna.
Alvin Engelke attended Fred Graham's funeral at the Indian Fork Primitive Baptist church near Culloden. The hymns were sung in the old traditional style and the body was taken to the graveyard in a horse drawn hearse. Burial was with full military honors.
The folks working at the Annamoriah bridge are working four day weeks, apparently because of federal guidelines, etc. Of course on construction jobs the guide formerly was like with farming, "Make hay when the sun shines" but with government regulations one has to put off work to bad weather times -- no doubt "to be fair to the workers". They finally got all the firewood burned up (that is being green, no doubt) and lots of dirt is being moved and some concrete has been poured, apparently for the temporary span.
The Wirt road crew mowed the berm along W. Va. Route 5.
It was learned that Occidental Petroleum which formerly was headed up by Albert Gore Sr.'s sugar daddy and famous Russian spy Dr. Armand Hammer is actively acquiring oil and gas leases for Marcellus drilling in Fayette & Raleigh Counties.
The debt "crisis" caught several local folks' attention when the Big Eared One said, "Maybe no social security checks". Of course that made it clear, even to the dense, that the story about the special trust fund was just talk as the checks come from general revenue as it is collected. If the deal were to have fallen through the fedrales might have had to cut their spending by 42%, eliminating those who tell automakers what kind of cars they can build & sell and tell American citizens that they cannot make regular light bulbs but must buy China made curly light bulbs that create hazardous waste if broken.
The price of local Penn grade crude oil dropped $1.75 to $91.00/bbl.
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