 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the B urning Springs M. E. Church. His mother is home now and on the mend, though weak.
C. Burt Marks, the famed 'coon hunter, presently is at Health South and is reported to not be doing very well. He plans to go stay with Neil & Cheryl Belt until he recovers.
A big crowd was on hand for the Creston Auction Saturday night. Some of the fellows who were working away in the Marcellus drilling fields were home and catching up with neighbors & friends.
The State Tax Department sent out more tax increase letters. One local resident who does not own any house trailers & owns no property in Clarksburg received tax increase notices from Gilmer, Wood, Wirt, Calhoun, Jackson and Roane Counties for a mobile home on two lots with 4275 square feet in East Clarksburg, which of course is in Harrison County. The value, in one instance was $32,176 and lesser numbers on other notices.
The prior year's value varied from zero to $22,342. To further obfuscate the matter the notices talked about mineral values. Apparently Earl Ray and his buddies down at the Mouth of the Elk think ordinary taxpayers have nothing better to do with their time than deal such nonsense, scheduling meetings and going to meet the "experts" trying to find the data that ordinary folks don't have and in some instances cannot obtain, etc. The earlier comments from the state this year were, "Well we increased the values as the prices and royalties went up and that's the way it is. Of course you can argue with the county Board of Equalization & Review." One can talk to them after the state tax department man tells them the state is the expert and the counties must do what the state says. One county commission president who likes to see his face on Tee Vee said, "They [the state] are the experts and I rely completely and fully on them. I would not think of questioning their expertise and judgement! Now, Mr. Taxpayer, do you have something that you want to say?"
Speaking of Earl Ray he said that if the Marcellus bill was "tweaked" it could be passed in a special session later this month. Apparently the big boys do not want a minimal casing schedule set in law. Not that long ago a well connected individual ruined many Big Injun wells in Calhoun County by deciding not to case off the intermediate producing zones as "they were depleted" and no one in DEP could, because of political pull, force him to obey the rules since it "wasn't the law".
Broadway Joe, who now is a big U. S. Senator who carries water for the Big Eared One there but talks tough here, has a famous daughter who received a bogus degree from the school up at Morgantown and daddy knew nothing about it even though his political buddies ran the operation. She is now getting lots of press about "all her good work protecting ordinary citizens". Apparently she is being groomed to step into "public service" which, apparently, is the Manchin family business.
Glenn Patrick Keeney, age 81 of
Spencer passed away. He more or less took over Camp Looney, located near the mouth of Beaver Dam and renamed it Viagra Falls.
Locally there has been a lot of talk about the perverts at Penn State University and many wondered why no one did anything to protect the children. A well known public figure noted that he had an acquaintance who has, for many years, bet on college sports, especially high profile college football. The man noted, "There are two things that one does not do when doing this. First, do not bet on the college at Morgantown and, second, never, ever bet on Penn State as Paterno always covers the spread." With this perspective many other things become much clearer and obvious. For one thing no one wanted their feet to be set in concrete.
Up in the mountains they had 4" of snow and plowed roads but locally the weather has varied between blooming dandelions and very frosty mornings.
Those who did not opt out from the class action suit brought against Roy G. Hildreth, Jr. and his companies have been paid. Being in the suit caused one to never be able to sue again even if one found major reason to collect improperly unpaid sums.
Jim Bush noted that he felt that hard times were just around the corner and that one had best prepare. It was noted that he had some fine livestock on his farm that would help one through difficult circumstances.
A while back one local company fractured a well near Burning Springs and at least one other well, quite some distance away went on almost pure nitrogen and had to be vented. The landowner had to be hooked up elsewhere for gas for his home to cook and keep warm. Now the well that was fracted has "cleaned up" and is back in line selling gas while the well that "got the frac" still is 30% nitrogen and not marketable.
Nancy Engelke has been on the sick list.
Charles Russell was attending to business in Spencer and dined with brother Euell and Ray Gum.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude oil rose 76 cents to $99.51/bbl.
While the politicians down at the Mouth of the Elk and hustlers elsewhere talk big about the "Ethane cracker that West Virginia is going to get" those who work in the petrochemical business note that the new crackers are going to be built in the Gulf states of Louisiana and Texas. Presently Shell is building a $4.5 billion facility in Singapore. As many have said for years, the political climate in West Virginia is somewhat less (big advertising campaigns aside) than business friendly. Of course this means that, once again, West Virginia misses out on a golden opportunity. No doubt that is why West Virginia now only has three (3) people in the U. S. House of Representatives when, in this writer's lifetime there were once six (6).
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