 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
The Col. Dobbins auction will be Friday, October 17, starting at 6 P. M. at the Creston Community Building. Everyone is welcome, report on how many squirrels have been shot, who has seen the biggest buck deer, who has dug the most 'sang', etc.
The Wirt County Farm Bureau annual meeting will be Tuesday, October 21 at 6:30 P. M. at the cafeteria at the high school in Elizabeth.
The Creston Halloween party will be Saturday, October 25 at the Creston Community Building. Last week the local columnist got the date wrong. The Creston Halloween party is the annual chance for "children of all ages" to dress up and "be somebody". There will be costume judging followed by a covered dish [consult with Donna Sue Ferrell or Pat Anderson] and then later there will be a ghastly hay ride for those who are not faint at heart.
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church and had Holy Communion.
Charles Russell was calling on Mr. & Mrs. Parris Parsons, Ray Gumm & brother Euell at the Miletree Center. Euell Russell noted that he rode in the Black Walnut Festival parade on Saturday.
Edith Kittle's roommate, Gladys Cain, has been on the puny list.
It was noted that Jenny Belt hasn't been able to sleep well at night. Some wag suggested that she was sleeping during the day so she could join "the Midnight Supply Corp." and run around at night.
The Times of London reported that now the United States has outpaced Saudi Arabia as the #1 producer of oil. Much of this is the result of the drilling in the wet Marcellus & Utica in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio which now makes this the biggest oil & gas field in the nation. The nation's biggest shale gas well is in Tyler County just out of Middlebourne.
Cap'n Spock was calling on Lula Hughes the other day. Then he and A. C. Marks were attending to business in Oxford, Rockport and various points in Ritchie & Tyler Counties.
The deadline for filing written comments on the rules under little senator Unger's tank bill is October 24. Some oil tanks on Sycamore and White Pine (Laurel) have been, for some reason, classified as "high risk" which means they must be checked every 72 hours "for leaks". They are said be 'close to public water supplies'.
It was reported that Columbia Gas Transmission is going to drill two new wells near Rockport. The firm which is a subsidiary of Nisource operates a storage field in the Oriskany sand in that area.
The leaves continue to change color and fall and there has been some isolated frost.
Mr. & Mrs. Carl Ferrell & family were among the local folks who attended the 60th annual Black Walnut Festival in Spencer.
The Big Eared One has held up the Keystone oil pipeline for some years now and apparently, Canada is going to ship the oil by a line in that country to that nation's Atlantic ports thus eliminating American jobs. The Big Eared One's buddy, Warren Buffett continues to make a fortune hauling oil on the railroad that he purchased and the folks down at the mouth of the Elk won't tell anyone how much of the Bakken crude goes through the Mountain State on Mr. Buffett's railroad cars. When local folks were in the Dee Cee area last weekend it was obvious that a large number of tank cars were going through the nation's capitol. One wonders if the oil in tank cars is going to some port city for export to a foreign land.
Local residents cringe as various plagues and pestilences spread throughout the country and we are told that it would not be PC to take actions to protect America from bad diseases that came from foreign nations. Then folks learn that the war "against ISIS" is pretty much for show as some do not want to "make people mad". If the terrorists hit us and kill a few million that apparently, in the view of our leaders, including Madame Hillary who intends to be the next president/ruler of the nation.
Bucky Bell had a load of stone put on his driveway in the Germany section.
The brine tankers that have been routine on U. S. 50 and elsewhere are now seen quite often on W. Va. 5.
It was reported that one firm that has drilled Marcellus wells on a 1906 lease that hasn't been modified is/was deducting 30% for expensed from the royalty.
Those who have not got their oil and gas acreage in the Wirt Oil & Gas Group should do so soon so that competed blocks of acreage can be presented to various of the bidders. It was noted that HG plans to drill at Brohard but presently they want acreage without paying a bonus or increasing the royalty to what would be adequate for world class oil & gas fields, that is to say 25% (where the folks have towels wrapped around their heads, the royalty is 50% or more).
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude dropped to $84.82/bbl. with drip bringing only $62.32 while Marcellus & Utica light fetched $78.82 and medium $84.82/bbl.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald. | 
