 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The Creston auction will be Saturday, October 5, starting at 6 P. M. at the Creston Community Building. Hopefully, this time the Starchers will be well and their chariot is running.
The Wirt Oil & Gas Group will meet at 8:30 A. M. on Saturday, October 5 at the high school auditorium in Elizabeth.
On Saturday, October 5 there will be all the activities of Pioneer Day in Elizabeth and then on Sunday, starting at 11A. M. on Sunday, October 6,the Wirt FFA will have their annual beef barbecue at the high school auditorium in Elizabeth. That has historically been one of the tastier meals of the season. A Civil War reenactment is also scheduled.
There were 230 riders at the Creston ATV poker run. Shelly Primm & Chris McKown split first place, Bill Allman came in second and Morgan Lockhart took 3rd place. Bobby Wayne won the 50/50. Several chariots broke down along the route and a RAZR which was unattended at the time rolled down over a rock cliff out on Egypt Ridge. The machine did not fare well. Alvin Engelke's machine broke down whilst setting up the route and had to be towed back to the shop. Some folks got a little "excited" going down the waterfall on Lower Barnes Run (a state maintained highway) and some encountered difficulty getting up on Craig Ridge. Some riders checked out the "play holes" on Craig Ridge, at the mouth of Beaver Dam, etc. and, of course, some had to be extricated.
The community would like to thank all those who came & rode, those who fixed all the food, worked the kitchen, did the signups, worked the stations, set up the route [It was Chancy Shaw's brainstorm.], donated the door prizes, etc. Ted Grimm came all the way from Erie Pennsylvania to help & Travis Burdette came down from Ohio to help set up the route and then help Ted take down the signs, ribbons and cover up the painted arrows at intersections. The route took riders past caves, rock cliffs, clear streams, oil wells, meadows, flowers, majestic timber, scenic vistas from high ridges and through the woods, pasture fields, swamps and one state road that had a sign "road not suitable for two wheel drive vehicles".
Freddie Bush was making hay in the Creston area over the weekend. Out on the old Russell Boggs & Ross Simmons farms he wrapped the round bales in plastic.
Don Hursell reported that his granddaughter Emery Lynn was born on September 27 which also is his son's birthday. All are said to be doing well. Don was spending time at his place in Beaver Dam and took in the poker run.
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church. His mother, Mary [Jenny] Belt, is scheduled to consult with her physician.
Gay Park noted that she had been diagnosed with macular degeneration in one eye, her "best" eye.
Kenneth Belt, who has been in rehab, is scheduled to get to come home although he will have to have some help.
A number of local oil and gas women & men attended the B D (Butch Deer) OIl Gathering Open House & hog roast. Gene Hopkins said he cooked three (3) hogs for the event as well as a whole bunch of chickens and there were 500 or more there to consume the tasty food and enjoy the comraderie.
John Kiger, who in addition to his insurance and accounting business, is involved in the brine hauling business was calling in Creston and took in the ATV poker run. He reported having a great time.
The Wirt road crew did some blacktop patching on the Creston hill.
Several local residents & friends gathered Friday evening at the Creston Community Building for a wiener roast and belly buster. Ted Grimm fetched down some special hot dogs and local women made all sorts of goodies to make a complete meal for community building workers, etc.
The FHA, a federal government program, reported that they had got into trouble with their "so called" reverse mortgage program and had to have a $1.7 billion bailout, complements of the U. S. taxpayers.
Donna Sue Ferrell has been on the puny list but has been resisting consulting with her physician and the undergoing of tests to ascertain the problem(s). Her husband Carl consulted his audiologist who told him he needed an ear trumpet or some modern day model thereof.
Some local folks were attending to business in Fayetteville and noticed a plaque in front of the Court House there that states that Abraham Vandal gave the land for the Court House & jail, A soldier of the Revolution, he is the ancestor of all the local Vandals, Vandalls, Vandales, etc. Female members of the Creston dePue family used their descent from him to join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).
Missy Ferrell is back at work after nearly being electrocuted at her employment at a factory in the Pittsburgh area. A coworker was not paying attention and turned on the power before she had completed her part of a fabrication.
Charles Russell was calling on Parris Parsons, Ray Gumm and brother Euell. Ray noted that his wife had returned from a visit to Yellowstone National Park. Speaking of parks, it seems that the park service had so much surplus money that they made movies about how moslems work for women's rights, apparently like genital mutilation, child marriages, banning female education, etc.
It was noted that the state road has had surveying done to replace the bridge that crosses the West Fork to go up Egypt Ridge. Although the span, with a little maintenance could easily last for another century, it "doesn't meet federal guidelines". Of course if one had more money that what one knew what to do with it could be replaced but one would wonder why such would be done. Should someone need to take 18 wheelers out Egypt Ridge (a nice, well maintained but narrow road) one can easily access the area from "The Nine Foot". Those who have traveled in Europe note that there are bridges there that were built by the Romans -- likely they wouldn't pass bureaucratic muster either.
A Doddridge County farmer was told by EQT over 5 years ago that they were going to take 45 acres of his farm and make a big well pad for Marcellus drilling and then they told him that the plans were off and that he could keep his big meadow, back & forth & so it went. Finally the farmer decided he had been jacked around one time too many so he got a water well permit and drilled a water well near where he planned to build a cabin. EQT took offense and hauled the West Virginia citizen & taxpayer into federal court claiming that he had dealt dirty because he foiled their plan to destroy his farm 'under their terms'.
The Devonian shale well that was drilled on the Newman lease near Creston was fracted last week.
Those who are out and about traveling report seeing more new vehicles with oil & gas names on them that are not familiar.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude dropped again, this time to $100.37/bbl. with drip fetching $79.97/bbl, Marcellus & Utica light $96.78 and medium $101.87/bbl. Natural gas fetched $2.55/mmbtu. Because of the fire at the Dominion Natrium facility some local gas that goes to the Cornwell Station in Clay County remains shut in.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald.
| 
