CRESTON NEWS

(07/02/2002)
By Alvin Engelke

There were 30 on hand Wednesday evening for the special church service for healing held at the Burning Springs M. E. church. Special music was provided by Mr. and Mrs. "Cooter" Marks and J. B. Griffin. On Sunday Rev. Carlos Nutter served Holy Communion and brought Gayenell Pennington into membership of the church. Attendance is up and there is an active youth Sunday School class.

\ Nancy Hall who is undergoing chemotherapy has been very sick.

Those visiting Dorothy & P. E. Graham included Tom & Betty Jo Lemon, their daughter Gena Madison and children Cora Jo & Logan and Tom's mother Elsie Lemon as well as Boyd and Mary Schrader.

Barbara Jane Fluharty was consulting her chiropractor/massage specialist. Although she was razzed about her treatment, details will be provided upon request.

The official report from the Canadian fishing expedition was that it was windy which restricted fish harvest operations. The new members of the party learned how it was done and were "real impressed" by the biscuits that Gerald served up for breakfast the first day. Seems the Pifu and Gerald were served the fresh ones (fluffy & moist) while A. P. and Wayne received the five day old 'overcooked' ones that had made a trip from Davisville.

Jackie Sue Boggs is beginning LPN school at Roane Jackson Technical Center. She has been working at a nursing home this summer as a preparation for her classes.

Connie Boggs has been having serious problems with her leg.

Tommy Gay Wright put a new roof and some siding on his home down on the Petty place.

One of the DNR's deer met an untimely death near the former H. C. "Brick" dePue residence at the end of the Creston bridge. The venison ended up helping feed the local buzzard flock.

It was learned the Columbia's new offset to the Parker discovery well will be a Devonian shale well. The new well and the existing Parker shale well will both be on a 97.25 acre unit. Some thought this might involve ongoing testing and searching operations.

While local deep well operations have slowed, at least publicly, deep drilling is hot elsewhere in the land. Burlington resources (formerly known as a rail road) put $35.8 million in the Bighorn 8-35 well near Lysite, Wyoming. The hole is 25,018' deep in the Wind River basin and produces 30 million per day of gas that has 12.5% Hydrogen sulphide (H2S). A $480 million stripping plant has been built but with that the well produces $3.2 million per month with an estimated life of 25 to 30 years. Some while back Columbia noted that their well on Dutch Ridge in Kanawha County 'wasn't very good since it had a few parts per million (ppm) of H2S.

Martin Twist's (Cherokee Energy) well near the Vista Church in Jackson County seems to be on hold. While there is a pipe in the ground and forms have been built to form up the concrete cellar the old Carl E. Smith drilling rig is parked at the foot of the hill and nothing seems to be happening. A dam like low water bridge has been constructed in Bear Fork which might create interesting hydraulic problems. It was built by a bridge contractor who also built a low water crossing to the Belknap well on Pocatalico River.

The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude rose to $23.25/bbl.

There is lots of local excitement over the proposed visit in Ripley of the president and his wife.

The "chicken flu" epidemic that has caused the deaths of millions of chickens in Virginia & eastern W. Va. is now having local impact. No poultry can be shown at any local fairs and foreign nations "with high standards like Mexico & Russia" have blockaded West Virginia grown chicken products.

Aunt Verda, Cap'n and Mrs. Spock, Rev. Rick Swearingen and sons, Herb and Edith Smith, Willard Jones, Bub and Junior Brown, Betty and Harry Curry were among those attending the cookout/sing at Whytsell Park down on the West Fork Saturday afternoon. Cap'n Spock had his camera but got sidetracked whilst eating some of Randall's fine home made hot dog sauce that he forgot to snap any shots for the Creston News and the Hur Herald. Perhaps spacemen have their priorities in order.

Mr. & Mrs. Cooter Marks and sons JP, RP, & AC are, at this writing, en route to Florida to visit with Mary, Steve, Greg, & Michael Newton and C. Romeo Griffin, Sr. in Kissimmee.

Dixie the spacepooch visited Schnauzer Paradise to get her hair and nails done recently. She will be sporting her "skirt" till the next time.