 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
There will be a revival at the Burning Springs Methodist church Wednesday, October 9 and Thursday, October 10, starting at 7 P. M. Everyone is invited. The revival starts Monday October 7 at the Bell Chapel church at Munday and ends Saturday evening at the New Home (Mayberry) church south of Palestine.
The Creston Area Neighborhood Watch will meet at 6 P. M. on Tuesday, October 15 at the Creston Community Building. Note this is different from the former time. There will be a drawing then for a dump truck load of gravel. Tickets are still available from any neighborhood watch member. In addition there is a planning session for the Creston Halloween party which is one of the social highlights for that is the one night that anyone can dress up and be "somebody". Even the Big Eared One showed up once.
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church. His mother, Jenny Belt is scheduled for hospitalization to work on her "ticker" which is not ticking properly.
Betty Bish is home after being a patient in the hospital. She was suffering from blood pressure problems.
The Creston auction was cancelled because of the health problems of Bobby Ray Starcher, the auctioneer.
Susan Frame Hartshorn was killed in a four wheeler accident Saturday evening out off Sixteen Ridge. She was said to be going from her home to her brother's residence and when she didn't show up a search was instituted.
Several area residents visited and participated in the Pioneer Day celebration at Elizabeth. In conjunction there was a Civil War reenactment.
Dr. Scott dePue who practices medicine in Philadelphia was attending to business in Creston & Elizabeth.
Chuck & Sally Haavik of Duluth Minnesota were in the Creston area checking on their oil interests.
Bradley & Bethel Stutler were calling on Spark & Bessie Arthur. Bradley & Spark showed the "young bucks" how to ride up hard hills without difficulty. Spark has a new four wheeler.
Several local residents attended the Wirt County FFA (Future Farmers of America) Beef Barbecue at the high school in Elizabeth. The Wirt County FFA program is a big success and the state president is a member of the Wirt chapter.
The retired circulation editor of the Akron Beacon Journal & his wife were attending to business in Elizabeth and he noted that he read the Creston News each week to keep up on the news.
A big crowd was on hand for the meeting of the Wirt Oil & Gas Group. Jim Lydon, the chairman, brought the group up to speed on the status of negotiations. Presently there are 92,000 net acres in the group. Atty. Thomas N. Whittier, the group's lawyer was also present to answer questions. Both Jim & Atty. Whittier received rounds of applause from the group.
It was learned that a well pad in Doddridge County was shut down after encountering "poisonous gas" which means hydrogen sulphide or H2S [rotten egg gas]. It had been reported that some of the "Marcellus" wells there were actually checking out the Utica and it would seem that they likely were in the Newburg which ofttimes has H2S or sour gas. When sour gas is encountered there are certain safety rules that must be followed so the workmen (and others in the area, farmers, timbermen, tourists, etc.) will not be killed.
Former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon caused a big stir when he officially announced that his new company, American Energy Utica had come up with $2 billion [that's with a B] and planned to have 12 rigs going in the "southern" wet Utica. Earlier it had been announced that Aubrey had acquired 50,000 acres from Royal Dutch Shell and 22,000 acres for $250 million from Enervest. Some thought he was talking about the southern part of the wet Utica in Ohio but others, including some well known W. Va. producers believe that the plan is in West Virginia. The wet Utica would be in part of Pleasants and all of Wood Counties as well as most of Wirt and Roane and likely portions of Jackson County. John Raymond's Energy & Minerals Group and First Reserve are the chief financiers of Aubrey's new venture.
Bob Gertz was attending to business in Creston one day last week.
A number of local oil and gas men and women attended the big Ergon Mississippi catfish fry at their oil terminal above Marietta. The consensus was that the vittles, especially the catfish were fine. There was a big crowd for the occasion.
Alvin Ferrell and Charles Russell were both attending to business in Spencer. Charles was also calling on Parris Parsons, Ray Gumm and brother Euell at Miletree.
The Calhoun road crew has a bucket truck and is trimming trees and cutting firewood along W. Va. 5. Some would assume that all the road maintenance has been done but travelers on CR 12/3 report plugged culverts and ditches in the roadway three feet deep. The "timbering" operations bring to mind the time the Calhoun crew was ordered to deliver a dump truck load of fire wood to a "needy " banker.
It was reported that about a dozen men who worked for the Ritchie County state road crew left their state jobs and went to work in the oil fields. One local Calhoun high school graduate started pipelining at $24/hour in Doddridge County.
Some Creston residents have been hooked up to the newly available high speed internet. Very shortly local residents will know if it is for real or just a sham.
Folks in neighboring areas report that the stink bugs have invaded their homes. Some local structures have been sprayed to keep the government ladybugs (Asiatic beetles) out.
Acorns, walnuts & hickory nuts are falling as well as many leaves have been falling making it clear that fall is here. Out in the high plains there have been blizzards which make a mockery of Albert Gore Jr.'s global warming hoax which, apparently, is taught as "gospel" in the school system. Speaking of schools more folks are finding out about the federally "mandated" common core and the big shots down in the swamps along the lower Potomac are making comments about "the ignorant who question the wise ones".
Local residents are watching the so called government shutdown. 83% of the highly paid federal employees are working during the "shutdown" and the Big Eared One had park employees close off open air memorials in Washington and elsewhere in the nation and world to, as said a spokesperson, "inflict a maximum amount of hardship on the citizens". 93% of EPA workers were determined to be "non essential" which indicates a place where cuts could easily be made to help balance the budget. With those busybodies gone, perhaps West Virginia farmers & farmers elsewhere would not be tormented about "non-point source pollution" caused in part by deer and bear droppings near streams. Seems the DNR haven't got their critters properly bathroom trained yet. It is quite clear that the big shutdown is mostly hype and it could go on for months without impacting anyone negatively. It has now been admitted that "if there is a default" the debt can still be serviced but perhaps illegal aliens might not get their freebies, such a pity.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude is $101.34 with Appalachian Light Sweet (drip) fetching $80.73, Marcellus & Utica light $97.70 and medium $102.84/bbl.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald.
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