 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The Creston area Christmas party will be held Saturday, December 15, starting at 6 P. M. at the Creston Community Building. Everyone, of course, is invited and one should bring a covered dish. Also donations for candy, etc. should be directed to Connie Boggs or Rosalie White.
Several area residents were at the Miletree Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner Friday evening with residents there. Charles Russell and neighbors ate with Euell as well as with Ray Gumm's family and friends. Charles was also over there Sunday to dine with Euell, Ray, Parris Parsons and Mrs. Tanner. Those visiting Bob Basnett there for the special event included sisters Brenda and Debbie.
Gay Park has been on the sick list and was not able to attend church. Rev. Keith Belt brought the message and he noted that his mother also had been on the puny list.
The Annamoriah Cowpoke has been ill with a bug ever since he returned to his employment in North Carolina. It was thought that he caught the nasty virus from nephew Steve. Several other local residents have been battling the disease as well.
Rev. Jim Anderson, age 86, of Blue Goose passed away. He had been active in the Wirt Senior Citizens and was well known for making tasty molasses.
Bill Myers, age 57, of Washington Bottom passed away at St. Joseph's Hospital. He had been an electrician at E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. He was a grandson of Hannibal Hopkins and a great grandson Tom Alec Hopkins, the man who, along with his crew, caught all the logs that got away from the boom that formerly was operated at the mouth of the West Fork in Creston.
The DOH inspectors were looking at and under the Creston bridge.
The Little Elf, otherwise known as State Senator McCabe, a big liberal who has used his political position [championing the poor & downtrodden] for substantial personal aggrandizement called folks in Elizabeth to advise that that under new state law that someone slipped in sometime that if counties failed the school systems could continue under the old names; that is to say that if Wirt County failed the school system could still retain the Wirt name regardless of who really ran matters. The Little Elf also indicated that Wirt could be combined with Calhoun, not Wood County has had been suggested earlier. Taxpayers fund his development at the Stonewall Jackson dam in Lewis County among other ventures.
Mr. & Mrs. Charles White and Connie Boggs both have spectacular Christmas light displays that are worth a drive to see. They live on the Boice Hill Road.
Orders & Haynes are tearing down the Annamoriah bridge that was recently replaced by a new one that is in a curve.
Nancy Engelke & the Schenerlein family took in the Holiday house tour down at the mouth of the Little Kanawha. They also saw the special display in the window of the Chase Manhattan Bank in Marietta.
The Big Eared One's Ag Secretary, Mr. Vilsak said that rural America is now "les relevant." He said that rural folks were raising too much fuss over EPA rules that would make agricultural pursuits impossible and that the rural population should become "more positive". Of course lots of food now comes from China and some years back the Clintons shut down the local tobacco business so their "friends" in Brazil could sell their tobacco that was grown under less stringent regulations. He also noted that since agriculture was irrelevant there was seen no need to pass a farm bill. The proposed 'fiscal cliff' will also put more farmers out of business with a confiscatory 55% inheritance tax which is otherwise called "redistribution".
It was recently learned that Shangai & Peking China both have more multimillionaires than does Los Angeles with all the nouveau riche movie stars, starlets and harlots. Some years back the Ford Foundation, a left wing think tank that advises the "smart people" said, "America is a mature nation and mature nations do not have manufacturing!" The so called leaders listened and make policy that drove manufacturing and subsequently wealth generation from the country.
Over the last four years 1,000 people/day have "qualified" to draw disability from the federal government while others who have real problems continue to work and pay taxes to support those who elect not to work. It was noted that many able bodied on the disability dole get in money and benefits $3,500/month which, of course makes certain that they will never, ever go back into the workforce as long as the gravy train continues.
The report that the first lateral drilled by Noble Energy at Normantown is both wet & high volume has stirred interest in Marcellus drilling. It was learned that water wells are being sampled in southern Calhoun County which means that permits for horizontal drilling will be issued there soon. It was learned that a water well along a horizontal in Tyler County recently went bad and closer to home a water well went dry after a frac job in an old field that has lots of abandoned oil wells that were not plugged, some of which have big holes around where the pipe was formerly located.
Some of the folks down in South Charleston are upset that the new tee vee series that pokes fun at West Virginia residents was filmed in their "upscale neighborhood" which, of course, doesn't have "that kind of people" in their mist. Some of the louder yelling politicians who love cameras have said the program should be banned while in the past they did and promoted similar actions. One of them was "pro life" when playing locally but now that he is on the national/world scene is all for baby killing. One wonders if his priest understands.
A large crowd was on hand Saturday in Elizabeth to go over the lease for the Wirt Oil & Gas group. Folks from far and near were present to get updates. Some had questions about existing leases where Noble has obtained the Marcellus rights for $7,100/acre. Some have been asked to sign lease modification papers for nothing which, of course, is not really a good idea. The big boys want the legislature to institute "forced pooling" which will allow the big boys to do whatever and pay the peasants whatever pittance they feel is "fair".
Antero had more bad luck over in Harrison County when a compressor operated by them jointly with Enervest caught on fire. The reason for the fire and the investigation is being kept quiet.
The other day when it was warm amphibians were out and about hopping across the road.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude oil fell o $86.33 with condensate (drip) fetching $75.80, Marcellus & Utica light $80.81 and medium $87.83.
Mark West & Antero had a ribbon cutting ceremony December 6 at their fractionation plant at Sherwood in Doddridge County (along U. S. 50). While much more capacity is being built the plant now can process 120 mmcf (120 million cubic feet) of gas/day to remove the propane, butanes, pentanes and natural gasoline. When and if ethane crackers are built the ethane also will be removed. Presently the products are then trucked to Houston Pennsylvania where the individual components are separated and sold although a pipeline is said to be in the plans. Under most oil and gas leases the mineral owners are not paid for the components that are removed. EQT noted that they recovered 1.8 gallons of liquids from each mcf (thousand cubic feet of natural gas) and netted $2.50 which was not shared with the mineral owners, severance tax collectors, etc. Mark West noted that one of their new facilities at Majorsville in Marshall County will produce 38,000 bbl of gas liquids/day. Mark West has a facility at Mobley (near Mother Hope's Hastings Station in Wetzel County) and Cobb Station just upriver from Clendenin a little way south of the Roane County line.
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