Following The Fractured Future Of The Wink Sink

Just two months ago I went on a private tour of the 2nd Wink Sink Hole. I received a call from my private tour guide informing me that some new developments have developed. If you remember correctly, we followed the fractures away from the sink which was about eight tenths of a mile. These were just buckles in the road at that time, but today these buckles have turned into cracks that continue to widen and spread.



These new cracks on County Road 201 has all of Austin in an uproar. Well, maybe not all of Austin, but a few concerned parties are wanting the city commissioner to make the call...to keep the road open or to close it.
I would think the call would be easy to make, but again my ignorance is limitless and I was told that closing the road would be a HUGE inconvenience for Apache and other oil & gas companies that got to get to well sites and check pipe lines.

I also mentioned a sub power station that had been relocated when the second Wink Sink appeared. There are TONS of fractures just behind the the sub station. Why don't we see any cracks within the fence? I did see fresh sand and gravel smoothed out, seems that Texas-New Mexico Power has just been filling in the cracks instead of seriously considering relocating again.




Look in the picture. See that HUGE fracture? That's 20 yards behind the power station, which means this is what's under the power station.

Dolchstoss -- The Legendary Stab In The Back

An outsider posing as a friend walks among you and he is a treacherous enemy indeed. He is the assimilated Industry man, able to betray the people of Fort Worth, because he pretends to be their faithful friend. One that will provide and take care of every need.

The outsider is not just one man he is every industry man that claims what he produces is of no harm to you. He conceals the truth in order to spread his lies and bury deceit far beneath you. That deceit, festers and takes root, it disseminates rapidly invading every orifice.

Those of you who took the time caught a glimpse of the outsiders, sitting there comfortable with his familiars Mayor Moncrief and the Fort Worth City Council and his most loyal familiar of all the TCEQ. This time the outsiders could be named, Walter Duease, point man for XTO and Ed Ireland of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council (BSEEC).

The industry has robbed all of Fort Worth and pressed it beneath its domination. While you, battered and beaten, do nothing, but lie idle accepting your fate. When that seed of the ill begotten union comes to fruition you'll see that it's rotten and poisonous that it doesn't contain life, but death.

Fort Worth doesn't need a hero, they'll only be betrayed and stabbed in the back. Fort Worth, you've been given the power to choose the government under which you live. I triple dog dare you to participate in the free elections and vote. Or are you just going to allow Industry's lackeys, Mayor Moncrief and the Fort Worth City Council to stab you and your children in the back?

Cowboy Tim And The Industry Produced Salt Lakes Of Wink Texas

I grew up in Mississippi along the Gulf of Mexico, I'm a far way from home. I'm used to when crossing a bridge, that that bridge would convey you across some type of water, not dry land, which seems to be the case out here in West Texas. Why would it be that in West Texas, Wink specifically, there would be bridges conveying people across dry dusty desert land?


Here's the answer. Way back when, before there were drilling regulations, the oil and gas industry would just let all that industry produced water flow free instead of putting it into disposal tanks. The water was very salty, referred to as brine. And way back then, people out here referred to the monument draw as the Salt Lakes. They'd even swim in them! Not sure if that was such a good idea.

While I was taking some pictures, Cowboy Tim stopped by to ask what I was up to. I had never met Cowboy Tim before and for some reason he knew exactly what I did for a living. Yep, a teacher...I asked him how he knew of such a thing about somebody he'd never met before and he replied it was because I was nice and what else would a woman do out here in these parts? Isn't Cowboy Tim sweet?

Cowboy Tim invited me to come watch him in action at the Roark Ranch. He's sort of a new fangled cowboy, he doesn't ride a horse when he herds cattle, he rides a four wheeler. Maybe, Cowboy Tim can learn a few things about what women can do out in these here parts. I'm thinking I'm going to take Cowboy Tim up on his offer for a visit real soon. I'm looking for a new job, I'm wondering if Cowboy Tim needs a new ranch hand?

I've Been Workin On The Pipe Line

Continuing on my journey to work, I've been coming across some pretty interesting sights, maybe not as Orwellian as Durango's but none the less noteworthy. The only reason I was remotely interested in this new pipeline was because of a road sign that stated pipeline crossing.



What exactly is a pipeline crossing? And if the pipeline is crossing the road, how do I cross the pipeline? Surely, they can't run the pipeline up above the road they'd have to run it under the road.





That's when my ignorance took over. I was thinking they would have to close my road to work so that they could dig up the road and put this pipeline in. I was all a fretting that possibility, because a detour to work would add something like 27 miles, one way!





Not wanting my curiosity to get the better of me I stopped one day to ask questions and to take some pictures. I was told that no, they wouldn't have to close the road to lay the pipe, that they have a special boring tool that will create a tunnel under the road for the pipe.




Then I started thinking about those residents on Carter Ave. If you look at my pictures what do you not see? Yep, no houses, no people, no trees...then that got me to pondering how this pipeline that crosses my way to work doesn't interfere with anybody or anything. Now that's a pipeline I can be happy with!

Photo by Durango.

A Lively Discussion On Prop 8

Here's what I posted on my wall at Facebook.com. "The Proposition 8 campaign intends to call a handful of expert witnesses who also will testify about the history of marriage and who will contend that "traditional" marriage benefits children."

And then I posted this:

That is SOOO laughable!!! ALL my gay friends are products of "traditional" marriage...hmmm...makes one wonder

Then these are the comments that followed:

"Traditional marriages produce Neanderthal gun toting macho red necks. What does that prove? Traditional marriages also produced the majority of people in prison. Most people with mental and physical defects come from traditional marriages. Hitler came from a traditional marriage.And how on earth does what two people down the block affect some other married couple? Are they suddenly going to exclaim "Oh yes! I want to be gay too!" Not bloody likely. The good charitable and forgiving couple will spread rumors, innuendos and hatred about their neighbours and attempt to control and direct their behaviour.While heterosexual myself I have worked with and been friends with both gays and lesbians, some of the brightest, most engaging people I have known and I wouldn't trade them for a minute for the many dull, narrow minded red necks I have also known and worked with."

Can you tell where Mr. Paddle hails from? Oh, look, he's made friends with a red neck. This should be interesting.

"Mr.Paddle, being one of those gun toting, snuff dippin', god fearin', macho neanderthal red necks, I beg to differ. A few of us knuckle draggers are fairly level headed and open to opposeing views. I also had freinds that were gay\lesbians, in fact, a few family members swing that way. Although what I think of there private lives should be of no consequence, but by the same token, I shouldnt have to be beat 'bout the head shoulders in order to make me believe its right.With all due respect."

I figured at this point that I should intervene and bring the discussion to an end, you know, have the two fellows shake hands and pretend to be friends.

"It's quite interesting to observe two ends of the spectrum debating quite nicely, sharing lovely opinions and enlightening the other... Tis a truly amazing time we live in, would you agree?"

Mr. Paddle responding to Mr. Red Neck:
"I never mentioned right or wrong. It's none of my or anyone else's business how others conduct their lives. Life, Liberty and the Persuit of Happiness, as I recall. Who gave the Christian church ownership of the institution of marriage? They don't own it and shouldn't be able to control it either. Separation of Church and State."

Well, I'm truly shocked. I was completely ignored. I mean it was my wall after all...and the comments continued on and on and on...

Browning's Mystery Pits

Like I've said before, my drive to work is normally uneventful. I can usually identify what it is that I see, like cows, coyotes and trucks. Recently though, a couple of mystery pits have popped up and I have no idea what they are for.






A blogger friend of mine told me that in his area they truck in a lot of sand for drilling purposes. Then I was thinking, that maybe that could be it, we dug up sand out here and trucked it there, except that the sand piles are still standing out here after months of being dug up.





Another blogger friend of mine told me that the pits could be where somebody is going to bury something, maybe like toxic waste. I've been keeping my eye out for that and so far, the pit remains unfilled.







Then I was thinking that maybe they are big caliche pits. We do have an enormous amount of caliche in this area, and that could be a possibility that someone is mining caliche.








It seems that Browning owns these pits or the land that these pits sit on or the mineral rights under the land that these pits reside on. Could someone tell me what these pits are for, please?

Gathering Line

Gathering Line - a special pipeline that transports gas from the field to the main pipeline.

The Gathering Line is a round-up of oil & gas drilling news brought to you by National Alliance for Drilling Reform (NA4DR), a broad alliance of grassroots activists from states across the nation that are affected with drilling development.

Express Energy Uses Mafia Like Tactics On A Fellow BloggerNEW Information On Express Energy! Express Energy Being Sued For MULTIPLE Employment ViolationsRead it at Cheap
Tricks and Costly Truths.

Take a photo-tour of some of the wells in our backyard in Upstate NY at Marcellus Effect

The Texas Department of State Health Services is looking into a possible cancer cluster in Flower Mound. 5 children and 2 adults have been diagnosed with Leukemia. All live near gas drilling activity. Read about it at www.stopthedrilling.blogspot.com

How does Texas compare with other states? A statistical analysis with graphs reveals the truth at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

How do yoga, the Bible, and hydrofracking relate to each other? Peacegirl sees a connection. If it were an answer by Karnak the Magnificent (you would have to be a certain age to know about Karnak!), it would be amusing, but it's not. Yoga, the Bible, and Hydrofracking brings up the issue of doing harm. Is hydrofracking harmless? No. Another question: Who will listen? There are many people who are telling their stories about how gas drilling has adversely affected their lives. Is anyone listening? From Peacegirl at Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends.

From atop the Marcellus Shale, Splashdown reports that a recent PA Supreme Court ruling states local municipalities can regulate where gas wells are located through zoning ordinances, pre-empting PA's Oil and Gas Act. Read how Greenfield Twp. stopped Exco Resources from drilling a misplaced well, despite their DEP permit.

You Don't Put A Toilet In A Kitchen

Reminds me of an old Roger Miller song, "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd." Miller suggests some pretty crazy things that you just can't do. Like you can't put a water waste injection well next to a pristine clean reservoir!

Jim Legieri, general manager of the Bartonville Water Supply Corp, gets it:

"You don't put a toilet in a kitchen, which is what they want to do."

The injection well would suck up 25,000 barrels of waste water per day, that's a lot of possible contamination. Why can't we take a moment and realize that if contamination occurs, how are we going to get the water uncontaminated? Why risk an entire county's drinking supply to find out?

Clane LaCrosse, president of Bosque Disposal Systems, doesn't understand why we should be concerned. Hey, Clane, can you tell us how to rollerskate in a buffalo herd?

Alicia Diehl, team leader of the Texas Commission on Environment Water Quality, doesn't understand why we should be concerned. She says there's NO EVIDENCE of contamination. I guess that sort of thing only raises concerns in New York.

Hopefully the Railroad Commission will be concerned.

My Sights I'm Seeing On The Road To Work

Very rarely am I surprised at what I see on my way to work. Once there was a cow standing in the middle of the road. I called my mommy so she could call the local law enforcement so they could call the rancher and put Betsy up. I don't really know if the name of the big brown cow was Betsy, but I'd like to think it was.



I was driving along as usual except I was going a bit slower due to the ice and snow on the road and I suppose that's how I come to notice the guard rail. Usually a guard rail protects you from going into the water or to keep you from going off a high embankment. If you knew my area of West Texas you'd laugh a bit at the thought of both suggestions!



Not to let my curiosity get the better of me I pulled over to see exactly what is was that this particular guard rail was protecting. It was a big hole! Now, you can't immediately assume that it's another sink hole and I'll tell you why. A while back I posted about running the dogs at the caliche pit out by the airport. It's a possibility that this hole is an old caliche pit, but it seems way wrong for someone to purposely put it this close to the highway. Also, back in the good old days before tanks, the oil industry stored oil in earth tanks and also transported oil in canals and not pipe.

Express Energy Sued For Multiple Violations

Could it be that Express Energy is no stranger to a courtroom? Could it also be true that Express Energy is not only appearing in court for bankruptcy proceedings, but also for MULTIPLE violations of employment discrimination, personal injury negligence, breach of contract and well...you name it, they've done it! (look on page 253)

It's a good thing that Express Energy didn't inflict any personal injury on our very own Eyes on Texas... Durango, but looking at the most recent court filings...I wouldn't put it past them.

There are multiple cases filed with the EEOC for all kinds of employment violations including, but not limited to:

Sexual discrimination, retaliation, age discrimination, racial discrimination, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Then there are several health and safety suits filed by the Department of Labor. Under these are the personal injury suits filed against Express Energy.

One court case in particular caught my eye: Defamation and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress Case No. CV-09-04-338

Jeffery A Bell and Wanda E Bell vs. Dickey Pate, Jr.; Dicky
Pate Jr.; Dickey L. Pate; CD Consulting & Operating
Company; Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc.; Gary Cherry; Premiere,
Inc.; Express Energy Services Operating LP DBA Express Energy Services; Mike Byrd; Randy Davis; Richard J
Wiggins; Kendall Bennett; KRB Consulting, LLC; Michael
Barton; Champion Exploration Corp DBA Champion
Exploration; Quicksilver Energy Company DBA Quicksilver;
Quicksilver Resources, Inc. DBA Quicksilver; Quicksilver
Gas Services, LP DBA Quicksilver; Quicksilver Gas
Services, GP LLC DBA Quicksilver; Quicksilver Gas
Services Operating , LLC DBA Quicksilver; Quicksilver Gas
Services Operating GP, LLC DBA Quicksilver; Quicksilver
Service Company, Inc. DBA Quicksilver; Denbury
Resources, Inc; Denbury Onshore, LLC; Denbury Holdings,
Inc.; Chesapeake Energy Corporation; Chesapeake Operating Inc

As hard as I looked I couldn't find anything out about this one. Maybe a person in Wise County can go and check this out.