CRESTON NEWS

(01/13/2003)
By Alvin Engelke

It was learned that the bureaucrats somewhere in the postal system have decided to shut down the Creston & Macfarlan post offices. Apparently when there was not a big uproar over the Reedy office being closed they allowed as how they could slip in and "move to be efficient" without being held to account.

While mail delivery leaves a lot to be desired in many parts of the nation, the service from the Creston post office has been exemplary. It was noted that well placed petitions, etc. would have impact. In addition to having a postmaster, two star route (non-government contract) star route carriers and a rural route carrier operate from the office. Ida Wager has been in charge.

Local residents are asked to contact Alvin Engelke at 275-3578 to set up a meeting at the Creston Community Building to effectively deal with this threat to the community.

Cold weather has returned to Creston with some snow, solid water pipes and such.

Former Creston resident Rev. Gladson Grim is a patient in a Parkersburg hospital. He is not doing well at all.

Rev. Harold Francis preached at Burning Springs Sunday morning as a result of a pastoral rotation plan. He brought a good message.

Juanita Bell is scheduled for her eye surgery on January 13 and Nancy Hall is scheduled to start her cancer treatments on January 14.

Local residents have been following the troubles down at the Mouth of Elk River. It certainly could be said that some talk a good talk but it remains if they can or will walk a good walk. Band aids won't fix fractures and rhetoric will not solve the state's problems. One bright spot on he scene is the fact that $320,000 had to be cut from the program to "study TMDSs (Total Maximum Daily Loads in streams).

Some of the EPA folks want to make erosion illegal and now the State of W. Va. will have less money to fritter away on what is a natural phenomenon. At Mt. Zion in Calhoun County there are, underfoot, 20,000 feet of sediments, all washed there by erosion over the eons. Those who have seen the Grand Canyon can look at where the river eroded through countless layers of sediments that were deposited when the washed away from someplace else millions of years ago. However, just because such is the way of nature a self serving bureaucrat can still give himself and his friends jobs "to address the problems".

Nancy, Jane & Anna Engelke spent the weekend at the Fairs & Festivals Convention down at the Mouth of Elk River.

The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude oil fell to $28/bbl and while the spot price on natural gas dropped a little the January price remains above $5/mcf although some gas is still purchased for 20 cents - a real boon for the middlemen who hold people to such contracts.

It was reported that Stalnaker Energy has entered the fray in the Devonian shale well contest in Roane County. Sen Mike Ross noted down at the Mouth of Elk that, last year, he drilled 20 wells at a cost of $4 million or $200,000 each. One out of state oil and gas promoter charged his investors $500,000 for similar wells

. The Creston Community Association met on January 7 for their regular monthly meeting. It was agreed that meetings would be the first Tuesday of each month and that the kitchen painting would be done when the temperature was a little more suitable. It was determined that there would be three poker runs during 2003.

The Wirt County Farm Bureau will meet Tuesday, January 21 at 7 P. M. at the road garage.