CRESTON NEWS

(12/04/2007)
By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com

The Creston Community Christmas party will be held December 15th at the Community Building. Residents & friends are asked to bring a covered dish and those who wish to contribute to the candy and gift fund should contact Rosie White or others on the Christmas party committee. It is anticipated that a resident from the polar regions may visit and, it is understood, that photographs can be arranged.

Connie Boggs is recuperating at home after having a kidney removed. She plans to return to carrying the mail.

Bessie Arthur is now home after spending some time at Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center recovering from pneumonia fever.

Grace Kirby, widow of Fred Kirby, passed away at age 96. Until something less than a year ago she had spent most of her time in her beloved Two Runs - that is the one down over the hill from the old Ruble log church. She was living proof that hard work wasn't lethal but made for long, healthy life. Not so many years ago some "would be tough guys" decided to break in after dark and rob her. That was a big mistake on their part, to put things mildly.

The Annamoriah Cowpoke bagged a fine 10 pointer on the Richardsonville road. Pictures of the fine buck can be seen on line at basnettoutdoors.com.

Lamont and Sanford were at the Carl Ferrell residence gathering up junk. Lamont indicated he wasn't happy with the world or at least some folks.

Apparently the Calhoun tax sale has been a major topic of discussion with comments about who sat with whom and the high prices. It was noted that the banker left early in the sale just shaking his head after being outbid by Rock Wilson. An elected official advised some of the buyers it was noted.

It was reported that one of the local oil haulers had a major spill and they couldn't pick up oil until the cleanup job was finished. The price of local Penn grade crude fell to $82.50/bbl over the weekend.

One local resident received a Christmas card that was mailed from Crawford Texas. It was a very nice card with a Scripture verse on it.

A man from California called looking to lease 800,000 to 1 million acres in West Virginia for the big Marcellus shale play that has already started elsewhere in the state. He had initially called about a large tract near Grantsville that had been held by the Hope since the beginning of the last century.

Don Hall was reminiscing the other day about when he was involved in drilling wells in the Creston area. He still has his business in Williamstown.

A Pennsylvania resident reported that Consolidation Coal drilled a number of CBM (coalbed methane) wells on his land and one of them makes $3 million/month. There is a major dispute over the royalties and leasing rights.

Drilling apparently is continuing on the Lewis Smith farm in the Knight or Big Bend of the river. The new one by the graveyard is now famous outside the area with drillers looking for open tracts anywhere close.

Former DNR Director David Callaghan is now obtaining oil and gas leases. In addition a new outfit, Halo, LLC has acquired some Roane County acreage.

There has been a lot of hay hauled in all directions. Tobacco growers had been trying to work up their burley but, even with rains, the tobacco wasn't "in case".