 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
A number of area residents attended the W. Va. Farm Bureau annual meeting in Flatwoods which was highlighted by a speech from national FB president Bob Stallman and a talk presented by the AFBF lawyer on the case with the EPA that is trying to shut down poultry production and b eef growing in West Virginia. It was learned there that some in the mountains received 4 feet of snow and still have no power -- in fact some may have to wait until January to get electric. This is, of course, somewhat different that the situation in New Jersey & New York. There non-union electric workers were told to go home and the government run electric company apparently is the worst as the bureaucrats do not have to answer to anyone. This is ironic as socialists hate private companies and profits and the subsequent incentive to do the best job possible.
Sue Ann Shepler Bailey, age 75, passed away in Westland Michigan. She was a granddaughter of Tam Alec Hopkins, the fellow who rounded up the logs that got away from the boom at Creston. She had formerly taught school in the Akron area and suffered from diabetes and died from pneumonia fever.
Mr. & Mrs. Adam Yates were visiting at the W. H. Schenerlein III residence in Vienna as were Alvin & Nancy Engelke.
Don Rhodes & Dickie Deel were attending to business in Elizabeth.
A "well known chicken thief" got a special birthday "celebration". Details are available both in Creston and in Brooksville.
Locals have been keeping their eyes on the local trophy bucks although some frenzied four wheeler activity the other day by "a disabled fellow" may have meant that one nice rack got harvested early. Over in the Munday country someone got caught with payment stubs for deer that had been sold up in Ohio.
The ruling oligarachy prevailed in W. Va. once again assuring 4 more years of the rule that started in 1928 with virtually no interruption. Walt Helmick who got the agriculture chief said he finally got up to his camp in Pocahontas County to clean up the June storm damage [he lives in a condo situate at the mouth of the Elk]. He also said he hadn't talked with anyone at the agency he is to take over since the primary in the spring although he promised jobs to lots of folks including Mrs. Sen Facemyer who formerly had a $100,000/year job that was phased out because of the financial crisis that the state faces because of decreasing revenue, especially coal taxes.
When the nation was founded it was determined that paupers should not have the right to vote as it was felt such folks could be easily influenced to "vote as told". Over time perhaps well meaning people said it was "unfair " that poor people couldn't vote and the rules were changed. When the mother of the Creston correspondent graduated from college in 1933 she got a job with the DPA (now DHHR) and she was told "to sign up every house whether they needed relief or not". Some workers did as told and the regions where they worked are now devoid of people [in an upriver county]. While all 55 W. Va. counties voted against the big eared one, in Philadelphia and other large cities there was 95% turnout with 99+% vote. As someone said Santa Claus won as lots of goodies were promised. One local woman noted that "It is clear that no Christian can ever be elected president again". The UN treaty to restrict firearms has already been signed by the messiah and new EPA rules are said to be coming very soon to "stop global warming" even though there has been no increase for the last 17 years.
There is quite a bit of talk down at the Mouth of the Elk & elsewhere about automobiles being powered by natural gas which presently is about one fourth the price of crude oil. A new Pilot service station has been built at Flatwoods on I-79 and it is said it will be a natural gas filling station. Of course there are those who are trying to get the taxpayers to fund the new "infrastructure". Private companies are said to have more such stations soon along the major interstates, corridor G, etc. In Parkersburg the price of gasoline fell below $3.25/gallon but is much higher elsewhere in the state.
The Wirt oil & gas group has a meeting scheduled for 9 A. M. on Saturday, December 8 at the high school in Elizabeth to go over the proposed lease. The group has 50,000 committed acres for Marcellus development.
The Ohio acres for your Marcellus lease group in Tyler County was told that Antero rejected some of the members because their attorneys had contacted Antero about other matters and those folks were to be excluded from any deal. Also the company removed all the protective clauses in the lease so that the mineral owners could determine the actual production quantities and the amounts obtained from the sale of the oil, gas and components there of. It was noted that Antero deducted from 35% to 39% for costs before calculating royalties and said such was standard business procedure. The lease was to have been $4,000/acre bonus and 20% royalty "gross" but less expenses without any detail or itemization.
Brandon Ferrell was visiting Mr. & Mrs. Carl Ferrell, Jeremy and Amy over the weekend.
The price of Pennsylvania grade crude fell to $85.97/bbl with drip fetching $75.22, Marcellus & Utica light $80.47 and medium $87.47.
It was reported that Eastern American (ECA) sold their local wells. Mountain Country Partners [the outfit that paid $7 million for the Buffalo Properties wells] is in bankruptcy & for sale by the bankruptcy trustees and Hayden Harper Energy is said to "be in receivership".
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