CRESTON NEWS
 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
Rev. Keith Belt filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church. He noted he had fallen and may have cracked a rib.
Michael Norman from the Spring Creek country was attending to business in Creston one day last week.
The high water went down [again], the electric came back on, the snow melted and robins are busy eating earth worms, crocuses & hairy bittercress are blooming, the spring peepers are singing and, for now, spring appears to be on the way. Because of the melting snow, rain and thawing ground, the mud is deep and some roads are not passable to some automobiles. Before the warm up there were several nights of ideal maple syrup weather.
Speaking of roads there is a "bumper crop" of potholes highlighting poor road maintenance, shoddy paving work and general mismanagement. On W. Va. 14 one of the worst places was at Slate. While the state road has both regular cold mix and the high dollar stuff neither works if it is improperly applied. The other day some pathetic patching was observed both on I-77 and on W. Va. 14. One wonders why the highway workers were trained as to how to properly install the patches and then they are sent out to do it in a way that guarantees failure.
It was reported that Ricky Tucker was a patient in the hospital but is home now.
A representative of the West Virginia Medical Institute was calling on Charles Russell the other day. Then he was calling on Dr. Balasubramony and received a good report.
A big pine tree fell and blocked the Ann's Run road Sunday morning.
The federal government has now taken over the internet under the guise of "net neutrality". The big spenders ($millions) were George Soros and the Ford Foundation. The latter is the far out think tank that said years ago that manufacturing should be sent to "developing nations" and convinced the federal government to institute laws, regulations, etc. to force manufacturers to take their factories elsewhere. The promoters want the UN to control the web. Some have complained that those who do not tow the official line should not be allowed to speak and such is the case in places like China, Cuba and other Marxist dictatorships. The other day Albert Gore, Jr. the head global warming charlatan said that those who didn't go along with his "settled science" should be made to pay fines. Jr. Gore, like Arab terrorist Yasser Arafat, "won" a No Bull peace prize.
Charles Russell was calling on Mr. & Mrs. Paris Parsons, Ray Gumm and brother Euell at the Miletree Center. All were doing well. Edith Kittle noted that she now makes a special effort to read the news in the Calhoun Chronicle.
Several area residents and their friends in other parts of the state were active in the move to kill the forced pooling bill that the big out of state firms [& foreign nations] wanted the legislature to impose on the citizens. The so-called compromise bill would have allowed the big boys to legally make off with $billions that should have gone to state land and mineral owners. Some folks in the northern panhandle received some quick education on how the big boys work and they, as well as others, enlightened the uninformed.
The folks down at the Mouth of the Elk did pass a bill which, apparently, fixed most of the damage done bill the little Unger boy's tank and water bill passed after the Freedom Industries spill on the Elk above the water intake. Freedom had earlier received $400,000 in the Big Eared One's "stimulus" bill & was well connected. The head honcho was upset that, as a result of the criminal investigation the feds took his prize Bentley. Not very many around Creston drive Bentleys.
A strong move was made to ship common core to the land fill and start the reform of the hopelessly broken educational system in the state but the entrenched interests stopped any meaningful reform. With the boom in oil & gas it is obvious that West Virginia youth need science training so they can be engineers & chemists but the educrats, lead by Broadway Joe's little wife Gayle, want them to be only trained for menial jobs with no hope for advancement.
Hay was being hauled in the Creston area over the weekend.
Pipeliners know all to well about the federal government and the "endangered" bats but the new species "in peril" is the monarch butterfly. The larvae eat milkweeds, tasty plants that many local folks cook and eat. When in hay cows also like to eat them. It is now clear how the Big Eared One's minions will enforce "protection" of the butterflies. Also on the horizon is a new ozone standard taking the "critical" level from 80 to 65. Since W. Va. is "out of compliance" any newly constructed facilities would require that some existing business or operation be shuttered. This would impact construction of the ethane cracker plant, new compressor and fractionation plants, fertilizer plants, etc.
Local residents are grappling with the federally mandated time change to fast time. Medical records show that the shift is unhealthy but since when did bureaucrats care about the impact of their actions on the peasants.
The Creston area had an interruption in internet service which caused the local news to be first "lost" and then unable to be sent. Internet became available Tuesday morning.
The Creston Community Easter Party is scheduled for 2 P. M. on Sunday, March 29 at the community building. Bring a covered dish. For details call Wilma or Barb or call 275-3795 or 0006.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald. | 
