Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1918-03-21
Facts Concerning the Gas Wells.

-
IM N. j., majority stockholder i,
@ the Morgan County Heat, Fuel &
S Light Company, a representa- Y,
"a OF the Courier was able to pe
S some first hand information II
~ regard to the plugging of the
gas wells on Elk Fork, from
4 which this town formerly got its
i supply of nataral gas, and the
. consequent stopping of tl'a gas
Il supply last December Va n we
It were in the grip of one of the
It coldest spells OF weather We have
r ever known.
, Mr.. Brown said that upon his
arrival at West Liberty, a few
days ago, and being told that
! Caskey Well No. 2, had been
? plugged, he was skeptical and
) could not believe it. But that on
Wednesday, March I3, he, in
company with DR.. S. R. Collier,
minority stakeholder in the afore-
mentioned company, went over
to the wells to make an exami-
nation. That they let down a
measuring line into we'll No. q
and found it filled up a distance
OF about 35 feet from the bottom,
but that he still secuted the idea
of its having been plugged, and
thought that the obstruction was
due to natural causes, presum-
ably a cave-in of the walls of the /
well. They then let down form
consisting of a quantity of soft
soap in the end of a metallic tube,
by means of which an impression
of the obstacle could be obtained.
Upon examination of the form
after it had been Withdrawn,
they found ar imprint which
looked like it might have been
made by the end of piece of
pipe, or tubing, only slightly
smaller than the casing of the
we'll at the bottom. A second
form was prepared and lowered
ante theswelL and when it was.
Withdrawn they found particles
of sand, bits of rock and small
pieces of iron adhering to it.
Upon further examination of the
premises they found where an
old iron cable, which was lying
near, had been torn to pieces and
a quantity of it removed, which
explains where the pieces of iron
withdrawn from the well came
from.
An examination and measure
ment of Well No. l disclosed that
it also had been filled up 80 feet |
or more, and the impressions OBJ {
tanned showed that the material
had been put into the we'll from
the top and that the obstruction +
was not due to natural causes. II
Mr.. Brown regrets this occur 1
renee very much, not alone be- S
cause of the monetary loss but !,
because of the fact that the peo- =
pie of West Liberty, who were D
dependent upon the wells for
their fuel supply, were caused L
great inconvenience and no little '
by reason of the stop =
page of the gas. He has been 4
active in the development of the K
natural resources of Morgan |.
county-has not only spent con- v
siderable sums OF money here =
but has succeeded in in
other capital in this
section. and after such treatment
he naturally feels discouraged. n
When asked if he had any clew to b
the identity of the person or per-
sons, who plugged the wells, Mr..
Brown said he didn't care to
make a statement on that point, q
further than to say that he hoped !
the guilty persons would eventu- =
ally be brought to justice. Mr.. l
Brown further said that an effort y
would be made to remove the OBJ y
from and to reclaim at &
least one of the wells, but that {
in his opinion well No. l could 6
never be reclaimed.
The plugging of these wells r
and the consequent putting out !,
of commission for the time heinq 1
the Morgan County Heat, Fuel &
Light Company hits DR.. Collier o
particularly hard. He has devot, il
ed twenty years to the develop. t
ment of this county and has spent p