Rev. Kevin Gillespie filled his regular appointment at the Burning Springs M. E. Church.. The crowd was thin since some have yet to adjust to the government mandated “fast time” which was instituted during WW II so there would be more daylight hours for workers to make war material to fight the nation’s enemies. Now, it would seem the changes, which fouls up folks biological clocks, is to allow the elite more time on the golf course.
There will be a baked steak dinner Saturday March 18th from 11 A. M. until 3 P. M. Creston is noted for having good cooks so stop by, visit and eat or get meals to go.
Creston had a little snow both Saturday & Sunday mornings but it all went away. Violets are blooming as are many trees and the birds are singing their little hearts out.
Debbie Griffin has been on the sick list and other residents seem to be unable to shake coughing and other respiratory ailments.
TransCanada/Columbia Gas Transmission now has a major slip where their big pipeline crosses W. Va. 5 between Creston & Burning Springs. While their road is “gone” it seems that the pipe is still OK. There are several monitors in the area that are checked by out of state folks.
The other day the Calhoun road crew was cutting young trees along W. Va. 16 just north of Grantsville. It was noted that five new men were hired for the crew & the spokesman, when asked if all the potholes were patched replied, “Oh no, but those are repaired by contractors.” “We have to cut down these trees because they fall & kill people.” At the time a witch hazel bush was being removed before anyone was injured. He noted that all the trees had to be cut down as there was to be a paving job and the equipment could not get in to do the work. Someone might sell this fellow a bridge.
The Creston Neighborhood Watch will have a litter pickup on Saturday, March 25. To help come to the Creston Community Building at 9 A. M. There will be food provided for the workers.
The Creston Easter Party will be Sunday, April 2 at 2 P. M. at the community Building. There will be a covered dish dinner. Contact Barb or Wilma about what food to bring.
The Creston area is scheduled for planned power interruptions. PJM Interconnection runs the power grid that covers 13 states including Creston. A study by the firm noted that the projections indicated that the current pace of new entry [of power producers] would be insufficient to keep up with expected retirement [of power plants] and demand growth by 2030. The firm also noted that the move to solar & wind is at “an asymmetrical pace”. It was also noted that during the cold snap at Christmas time solar contribution to electric dropped to zero and wind fell drastically. Natural gas filled the void and kept many from freezing in the dark. Probably the moral is keep kerosene on hand for grandma’s lamps and firewood for when the electrically controlled furnace stops working.
It was reported that the W. Va. legislature wound up their session but not before Sen. president Baldy Blair kicked out Sen. Karnes. Seems there is “bad blood” down in paradise.
At the Ohio Oil & Gas meeting in Columbus it was noted that because of the spectacular wells drilled in the Marcellus & Utica formations if W. Va., Pennsylvania & Ohio were a separate country it would be #3 world wide after the USA and Russia. Persia [Iran] is #4. One of the overwhelming messages of the meeting was “produce it here & use it here”. The dimbulbs down at the Mouth of the Elk seem to think that it all should be exported to generate wealth elsewhere. It was noted that Ohio has landed some huge industrial plants that are not directly related to oil & gas but it was noted that after all the window dressing about “green energy”, ESG, equity and such is said to be “proper” & woke, the bottom line is having reliable reasonably priced energy. The Marcellus & Utica has made that a reality for this whole area.
Some local folks drove to East Palestine Ohio to see first hand the disaster that hit that town that is about twice the size of Spencer. While obviously a working class community it is well maintained with civic pride & with obviously several small manufacturing or maintenance facilities. The community is surrounded by rolling woods and farms and at least what were described as “wild rivers”. Crews were still working digging up dirt which is now piled in huge mounds as the EPA won’t allow it to be moved. The workers were not using any sort of protective gear in spite of the obvious contamination of dioxins and other toxins as a result of the fire that, apparently, the government man ordered. There were new top of the line vacuum trucks with licenses from all over the nation. No birds were observed in the area.
The price of local Pennsylvania grade crude is $75.68/bbl. with condensate, formerly called Appalachian light sweet, fetching just $59.68/bbl. while Marcellus & Utica light brought $66.68 & medium $75.68/bbl. Henry Hub natural gas was $2.43/mmbtu [dekatherm].
