 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Cold weather and snow have been the news in the Creston area. On Saturday the much heralded storm arrived with white out conditions. One vehicle lost control on W. Va. 5 near the former Garry Anderson trailer and went over the bank apparently almost going into the river. Church services and other events were cancelled and more inclemency is anticipated. True believers in the Church of Global Warming still insist that the cold weather, snow, blizzards and such are a result of "man-made global warming" the fraud that results in $22 billion/year taxpayer funding of the fraudsters, Solyndra types, etc.
The bridge crew came and repaired the big hole in the Little Kanawha River bridge at Creston. A concern was raised that big trucks couldn't stop with the proposed signage so a message board was placed up on the Creston Flats which was generally agreed to have been a wise move as there were no known problems.
Olga Ferrell,age 99, passed away. She was a daughter of Dwight & Etta Meadows, late Creston residents. She was preceded in death by her husbands Carl Walker & Russell Ferrell. She was a former resident of Little Creek. In addition to a large family she was survived by a host of friends.
Naomi Toler, one of Olga's daughters, had been providing the usual excellent service at the Brooksville (Big Bend) post office but the postal biggies sent her off someplace else and brought in a fellow named Randy whose prior postal experience is what one might expect elsewhere.
Mary Reno was involved in an automobile accident over at Ravenswood but apparently wasn't seriously injured. She is staying with her daughter Anna.
The long awaited oil and gas bill was introduced in the legislature down at the Mouth of the Elk and some were dismayed and some even felt betrayed. HB 2688 was to be somewhat of an omnibus bill addressing several oil and gas problems relating to both producers and land owners. However, there was no mention of flat rate gas wells, fixed priced gas wells and problems related to payments to state residents for storage fields. The bill allows the out of state biggies to force pool if they have 80% under lease or perhaps listed as unknown. That was a "concession" as their bill from last year allowed the confiscation at 67%. While there is a convoluted provision that is supposed to allow "lost" mineral interests to be reunited with the surface, present court actions in Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie & Harrison Counties show that the biggies are taking these interests for themselves as some of the judges are trying to keep up with Judge Joe Bob Goodwin who worked overtime to help his out of state clients on the CNG & EQT class action suits after the Tawney case.
The proposed bill increases the size of the oil & gas conservation board to 7 with a farmer and mineral owner but, as it was noted, "Farmer Walt" is the current Ag Commissioner even though he never farmed.
The out of state biggies allowed as how they were "real white" when the said the bill would give forced pooled property a 1/8th royalty which apparently will be gross although there is no provision for accounting or transparency. As we are told by folks all over the nation the local Marcellus, Utica and Rogersville shales are the best in the nation and West Virginia is in the center of the biggest oil & gas field on the planet. Considering the bonuses and royalties paid for the Barnett, Haynesville & Fayetteville shales royalties in West Virginia should be at least 1/4th with bonuses at $25,000/acre. One might say that this proposed bill could be as bad a ripoff as when the Rockefeller family paid $300/year or less for gas wells back in the 1890s. Folks were told then "Oh, you know, you can't measure a gas." Down under the golden dome the presence of the shills for the big boys who "want to help us" is pervasive.
There were 200 present at a Farm Bureau meeting up in the panhandle concerning the taxes levied on folks there who had Chesapeake wells drilled on their properties. The folks from the state tax department said, "pay up" because you got big lease bonuses but most of the folks there had leased when the company was paying $5/acre and the taxes proposed are more than the royalties that the owners received. None of the problems facing these folks are addressed in the proposed "company relief" bill.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude rose to $51.78/bbl with drip (Appalachian light sweet) bringing $27.78, Marcellus & Utica light $45.78 & medium $51/78/bbl. Gasoline prices locally are still in the $2.30 range but travelers note that in Virginia low test is still less than $2/gallon.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald. | 
