RRC meeting at 9:30 a.m., gauntlets have been thrown

The Railroad Commission, overseer of the Texas oil universe, will meet virtually this morning to discuss the pros and cons of prorating oil prices and restricting oil production.

According to the meeting agenda, this is in response to a verified complaint of Pioneer Natural Resources U.S.A.  Inc. and Parsley Energy Inc. to determine reasonable market demand for oil in the state of Texas.

147 comments were submitted laying out reasons for and against the pro rata. Devon Energy, who was influential in the rise of the current Fisher County oil boom, has come out against it. There is a great divide. It seems some environmentalists are misconstruing the purpose of the meeting to encourage disassembly of the oil industry altogether.

A list of comments can be found here.

The meeting can be viewed live or later here.

March 2020 drilling permits

Fisher County permits for March have been posted and can be seen by clicking on the tab above.

I don't think I have to tell you, the pickin's were slim. There are five listings, but Mason 1938 Unit 1H, near US 180 in the western part of the county, was listed twice this month (as well as back in December 2019), and ATE117, in the eastern part of the county between Rotan and Hamlin, looks like a sacrificial drill to maintain another well. So that leaves Carter, B.F. 12, out in Eskota, and Ashley 1H, out here by Hobbs.

I haven't been to see the other wells, but I can tell you Ashley is at a standstill. It was hot and heavy there at the beginning of the month, but once the pad was built, all activity ceased. This was right about when oil prices took a nosedive. There's a real pretty lease with full water pits just waiting for things to change.

Prices have come up a little bit this week, hovering right around $26 a barrel. I'm a little sad about Ashley, because I have a stake in her. It's like that time I won the lottery, but it was only $1.

Isaac Donaghey 1988-2020

- Isaac, 2006 -

When I first met Isaac, I didn't like him. It was sometime during his teenage years, and my husband at the time, Fred, and I were giving Isaac and my son, Dylan, a ride back to Rotan from the Rattlesnake Round-Up. The boys climbed into the back seat of the pick-up, and Isaac, a big ol' boy, was eating a bag of pork skins. He would eat one, burp, say he was going to be sick, then resume eating them. I didn't know what to make of him. I kept rolling my eyes at Fred, like "Can you believe this guy?"

It's funny to think now that I didn't know then how this boy was going to be a fixture in the background of my life. I'm not fooling myself into thinking I knew him in any deep way. He was my son's friend, and kids have a parallel but separate life from adults. I certainly didn't know him as those in his close circle in the Rotan contingent did, or even in the way the general community knew him. He threaded in and out of my sight, but I was always hearing about him. A little bit of Isaac went a long way, and that made him a bit of an enigma.

We all have our Isaac stories because he was a larger than life character. He wasn't shy. He wasn't demure. He was loud. Nothing was ever just Isaac did this, there was always a tale in the telling.

One of my own Isaac episodes had us in a car chase down Cleveland Street in Rotan. Some people had taken my pick-up joy riding and I was on their bumper in my other vehicle, yelling "Pull over the damned pick-up!" Unbeknownst to me, Isaac was in the back seat, and when he got out, my demeanor completely changed, from crazy-woman to mother-of-somebody, very polite all of a sudden (I was a little ashamed of my behavior, and I guess he was a little surprised). He was very respectful. I even had him drive the truck and park it at a secure location, and I gave him a ride to where he wanted to go.

I told my son about this later, how politely Isaac had spoken to me, and my son said, "That sounds like how he talks to cops." So I know he probably always put on his speaking-to-the-uncool facade with me, but I can still say I knew him. I have a lot of photos and stories to back that up.

I don't know what happened that fateful morning when he physically ceased to be, but it was too soon for such a young man to leave us. Gone but not forgotten is a trite saying, yet true in this instance. I can't help but wonder what he would have to say about all of this.

I bet it would be a hell of a story.

Not a cat

- Texas Opossum -

I heard loud crunching coming from the porch the other night, and looked out to see an opossum eating the food I put out for stray cats. I called out "Hey, Pickles!" and it momentarily looked up, then resumed eating. Eventually, it licked its paws clean and clambered down the steps. The creature's back feet looked like little hands wearing fingerless gloves.

In the photo, up to the right, there are two bits of metal I've found around. They're shaped like a J and a D, my children's initials.

The porch was poured by my Uncle Haskel (Hack), Dad's brother, back in 1964. My Grandma Daisy bought the house in Snyder and had it moved to the Hobbs farm for my mom and dad to live in. This was after my Grandpa Les died that same year. He ran off the Spring Creek Bridge in his pick-up, just north of Hobbs, and was killed in the crash.

The plumbing in the house was done by my uncle, Buster Taggart, who was married to my Aunt Imogene, my father's sister.

The house has passed through many hands since that time, and has had many hands take part in the maintenance and enhancement of it.

I look around inside the house and note that a table came from a neighbor, a desk from my mother, a couch from a friend. Everything this land and house and contents represents is an amalgamation of people and their efforts and what they left behind.

I realize that is also what I am, and what we all are. Imagine, each being that walks this earth is a put together puzzle that is unique in its rendering.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I saw a possum on the porch.

Discontinuation of posting of county records

I'm taking down the page for county records because it is a long and tedious process for me to reformat the files. It's easy and free for individuals to access the the information. Using a laptop or PC (mobile won’t let you go page to page), go to TexasFile > Register (no credit card needed) > County Records > Search Now> Fisher, and on the County Clerk page, put an asterisk (*) in Full Name 1 and Full Name 2, then hit Search. Records will come up with the most recent date first. They're usually about a month behind. For more current records, the Fisher County Clerk's Office is very accommodating, helpful and knowledgeable in researching.

I've got a proposition for you

I voted early. In our county, a person could vote in two locations February 18 through February 28, 8 AM to 5 PM. I simply don't understand all the caterwauling about long lines at the polls. There was plenty of time to get in there. Then, again, I don't think anyone around here was crying about it, I just saw it on the news.

As I was going about my serious business of voting for my candidate, I got to the end of the ballot, where the propositions were, and it seemed I had suddenly fell into a facebook rabbit hole. I would have said "What the hell?" out loud if I hadn't been the only person voting at that time, but I certainly thought it.

"Do I want them to stop doing WHAT to children? Is this even happening?" and "Well, people still pray wherever they want to, despite the law" were a couple of thoughts I had upon reading the propositions (here's the list). By the way, this was on the Republican ballot. I'm not true to any one party, I vote on whatever ballot has the people on it that I'm interested in having in office.

Usually, I research and look at sample ballots, but I was so single-minded in voting for one office only that I went in unprepared. The propositions seemed preposterous, and they diminished the gravitas of the voting process, for me.

Who comes up with these? I want to see the names of the people who are responsible for such nonsense. I want to know the process of how a proposition gets on a ballot, along with the research and reasoning for placing them before the public. I have a few of my own that would pertain to real life.

I propose, say, that it should be mandatory for all students to take a class on handling bank accounts and credit cards. Learn how to reconcile payments against the balance, and remember those auto-drafts! And, hey, that credit card money isn't free.

Also, let's do something about litter. It's not okay to throw your trash out the car window, or to dump a couch on the side of the road. Aesthetics matter, people!

Now I'm off to break my mind trying to figure out the proposition process and what motivates the people who have figured it out for themselves. There's always a new trick for an old dog to learn.

Drilling permits for February 2020

Seven permits were approved in February, one being an overlap from January. A couple of Peregrine permits are still in mapping status from last month. Click on the tab above to look at a list of permits, and follow up at the Railroad Commission website to see details and map locations.

Abilene Hemp Master Class overview

- Hemp class, Abilene -

Zachary Maxwell, president of Texas Hemp Growers and founder of digital newspaper Arlington Voice, presented Hemp Master Class at the SoDA building in Abilene yesterday, Saturday, February 29.

The room was packed; I would say over 200 people were there. I went to dispel the confusion I had in differentiating between hemp and pot. I've found a lot of people have hard opinions on the subject, but none seem to be the same. My takeaway was that hemp and marijuana (marihuana, in legislative literature) look the same, but have different THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the ingredient that makes you high) levels, although growers must constantly work to maintain the lower level in hemp.

I liked the information about licensing, fertilizing, plant sexing and what to expect all around in the crop. There was no mollycoddling about this being a fairytale industry, and I appreciated that knowledge.

I had some concerns about the legitimacy of one of the panel guests, who was presented as a geneticist, and the shortening of the title assistant commissioner for water and rural affairs to assistant commissioner of agriculture.

The various hemp groups and their affiliations are somewhat confusing. There's Texas Hemp Growers, Texas Hemp Growers Association and Texas Hemp Industries Association, all three with different websites. There are many groups that are very willing to unravel the mysteries of hemp for us! Closely watching the agencies that regulate hemp, such as the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), the TDA (Texas Department of Agriculture), the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the DSHS (Department of State Health Services), might help separate the hemp from the chaff.

Anyway, the meeting was clarifying and well rendered. It didn't hurt at all that it took place in the SoDA building on Third Street, an aesthetically pleasing venue.

Dan Hunter, the aforementioned Texas Department of Agriculture Assistant Commissioner for Water and Rural Affairs, fielded a question from the audience regarding the legalization of marijuana in Texas. He said he thought it would be a long way down the road, and taking a clue from the way Texas legislation has worked in the past, didn't see it happening unless it was legalized federally.

Jan 2020 records updated

January county records are up to date. When looking for a specific name, go to the toolbar at the top of the page, click on edit, then find in this page.

Drilling permits pick up in January

There were nearly three times as many permits for January as there were for December.

Checking the permit map on the Railroad Commission site is recommended for wells of interest, as the direction given is not always correct. One permit from last year gave directions as "x miles from the courthouse in Rotan". Unless something has drastically changed, the Fisher County Courthouse remains in Roby.

Click the permits tab above for a list of January permits.