 By Alvin Engelke
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church.
Cora Boggs, age 85, passed away. The daughter of Charlie & Lillie Hall she was the widow of Chester Boggs. She & her late husband ran a service station at
Elizabeth for 65 years and provided excellent service to the generations of customers who passed by. She and her husband were both from the Creston area and had lots of relatives and friends both here and elsewhere.
David C. Wise, age 55, of Glenville passed away as the result of injuries resulting from a fall. He was the son of the late Sherman & Sarah Jane Wise.
The local area received a light snow Saturday morning that caused all the tree limbs to be white, making the area a winter wonderland with a minimum of slick roads.
A big hole came in the Little Kanawha River bridge at Creston and pictures were shown far and wide on the internet. The bridge crew came and placed a steel plate over the hole.
Gay Park who has been on the puny list was consulting with her physician and is said to be on the mend and now has more appetite.
Several area residents motored to the Mouth of the Elk for District 33 Day at the Legislature sponsored primarily by Dr. Roger Hanshaw who is the new delegate for Calhoun County. For the geographically impaired, the Creston area is partly in Calhoun County. District 33 includes Clay & Calhoun Counties and part of Gilmer County. Unlike in the past when nothing is done in the legislature until the last week, bills are being moved, meetings start on time and folks are busy. It was notable the number of Gadsden flags that are proudly placed on desks in the House of Delegates chamber.
Those who work full time under the golden dome note that the legislature this time is different. Broadway Joe's "Cap & Trade" bill against coal was voted down 33 -0 in the state senate and 94-5 in the house and he, of course, is crying foul. Also upset is the little Unger boy, the state senator who brought W. Va. the infamous tank bill that, hopefully will be modified soon as the replacement bill has already been written. Little Unger has his panties in a twist as "that mean Mitch Carmichael" didn't put him on the senate rules committee where he might cause trouble. It was noted that no one down there really cares that Unger threw another tantrum.
Madame Hillary who was involved in a secret deal to allow Iran to get nuclear bombs went to Saskatoon Canada to give a paid speech and the American taxpayers had to pay for 65 extra secret service agents to protect her while she was hauling in the big bucks for her talk. She plans to take over after the big eared one's term is up but hubby, along with Prince Andrew has been drawn into an under aged sex slave controversy in Florida and the Virgin Islands.
The world's ruling elite met in Davos Switzerland to deal with the world's problems with an emphasis on "global warming" and income disparity. The visiting sultans, emirs, pashas, moguls, international bankers, magnates, socialites, maggots, premiers, sheiks and charlatans arrived in over 1700 private jets [showing their environmental concern] and, reflecting their concern over the less fortunate, paid a minimum of $40,000 to attend the gala event. Albert Gore, Jr. who once claimed to have invented the internet said all the world's cities should be torn down and rebuilt and cars should be abolished. Perhaps he has in mind for Crestonites to have jinrikishas to get to Grantsville, Elizabeth, Spencer, etc.
Gulfport Energy has moved into the northern panhandle where they plan to drill Utica wells. The firm acquired leases obtained by Fossil Creek Ohio.
The agriculture & forestry day at the legislature will be Tuesday, February 3 starting at 10 A. M. at the well directly under the golden dome. There is free parking at Laidley field with free bus service to the capitol building. That is the day that folks should go visit with their legislators. At 5 P. M. there will be an informational meeting for Farm Bureau members and their friends at the Marriot and in the evening there will be the Taste of West Virginia reception at the hotel. While feasting on some of the best food in the state one can meet one on one with most of the legislators and some of the state wide elected officials. Those who have an interest in farming, timbering, rural life, etc. should make it a point to attend.
The next Creston auction is scheduled for Friday, February 6, starting at 6 P. M. just to keep calendars clear.
Antero, one of the big Marcellus players in West Virginia has announced a cut of 41% in their budget for 2015 from $3.05 billion to $1.8 billion and a 1/3rd reduced rig count. One traveler in Doddridge County noted that an entire rig assembly, along with housing trailers, etc. was being taken to storage in Jane Lew. Earlier Antero had announced that their 2014 production was up 93% from 2013 numbers and that they had a contract to send gas to the Cove Point plant for LNG to export and that their hedge price was $4.39/mcf as opposed to the less than $2 price received by those who sell on the Rockefeller (Mother Hope) system. Antero noted that their plan is to move to the liquids rich Marcellus which is, of course, to the west and south of existing production.
The crash in oil prices has had a major impact all over the nation and many feel that several companies will not survive the downturn as cash flow will not be there. Saudi Arabia had been concerned that they were losing market share and, along with others, started a price war to bankrupt Russia, Iran and the American shale oil producers. The kingdom's oil minister Ali Baba al-Naimi said that they could withstand two to three years of low prices, even $20/bbl. in order that they get "their share" of the market which has been defined as between 14% & 16%. However, John Hofmeister, the former head of Royal Dutch Shell feels that the oil price will rebound as demand grows and new production is curtailed. In West Virginia next year's severance tax and county personal property taxes will be much lower. In addition the wise ones down at the Mouth of the Elk added more paperwork to the severance tax forms that are due February 2. Now each well must be listed separately which might be appropriate to wells that gross over $1 million/month but seems as over kill for wells that do well to make $1000/year.
Reflecting the "oil war" the price of local Pennsylvania grade crude dropped to $44.59/bbl. with Appalachian light sweet (drip) fetching only $20.59, Marcellus & Utica light $38.58 and medium $44.59/bbl.
Freddie Bush's log truck was parked along the road at the top of the Creston hill for a time. He is timbering the property around the old ball diamond.
alvinengelke@hotmail.com | 
