-
- During the past month, an incredible
number of crop circles have appeared in the USA and the United Kingdom.
On Friday, June 19, 1998, a crop circle measuring 180 feet (55 meters)
in diameter appeared in a wheat field in Eltopia, Washington (population
200), a small town about 225 miles (360 kilometers) east of Seattle. According
to cerealogist Ilyes, the circle was discovered by farmer Craig Schaefer,
who discovered it "in a field of Steven's wheat--a 'beaded' variety
of winter wheat" which Schaefer planted in October 1997. Ilyes reported
"an interesting color variation within the circle, as half of the
circle was still green, half about golden ripe." The farmer reportedly
told her "that his eye was caught by the circles in the crop, by the
precise, well-defined circumference of the circle, and the way the wheat
seemed deliberately organized." (Many thanks to Ilyes for this news
story.) Also in June, a crop circle shaped like a dumbbell was reported
in Waverly, Nebraska (population 1,869), a town on Highway 6 approximately
11 miles (18 kilometers) northeast of Lincoln, the state capital. Waverly
was the site of a crop circle in 1997. On Friday, July 10, 1998, a giant
swastika was found in a cornfield in Washington Township, New Jersey (population
8,000), located 5 miles (8 kilometers) southeast of Princeton. According
to the New York Post, "The swastika is about 100 yards by 100 yards
and visible from the air." Washington Township mayor Glen Beebe "said
the symbol appeared to have been cut in the field about three weeks ago,
judging from the height of corn regrowth." "The Mercer County
prosecutor is investigating the incident as a hate crime. Beebe quoted
police as saying they had no suspects." "Jewish leaders expressed
horror yesterday (June 12, 1998) at (the) football-field sized swastika...
'I'm horrified by this. I can't believe someone in our community could
do this,' Yvette Kovsky, president of the 650-family Congregation Beth
Chaim in (nearby) West Windsor, said." (See the New York Post for
July 13, 1998, "Jews appalled by giant swastika in N.J. cornfield.")
-
- Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, a record
number of crop circles have appeared this summer, with 30 of them in Avebury
alone. Prominent Avebury crop circles include those at Beckhampton, Bishops
Cannings, Avebury Trusloe and West Kennet. According to cerealogist Paul
Vigay, crop circles have appeared elsewhere in the UK, in Dorset, Wiltshire,
Hampshire, North Somerset, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, and at Shepton
Mallet near Glastonbury. On Thursday, July 9, 1998, at 7 a.m., a crop circle
appeared in Alton Barnes, Wiltshire, UK. According to cerealogist Colin
Andrews, the formation was "a Kock Fractal 'Snowflake' pattern, like
two others seen nearby during 1997. This one has over 140 small circles
surrounding the snowflake and is 300 feet across." The "snowflake"
appeared in East Field in Alton Barnes, at the foot of a prehistoric burial
tumulus known locally as Adam's Grave. (Many thanks to Colin Andrews and
Eroll Bruce-Knapp for this news story.)
-
- On Monday, July 9, 1998, farmer Brian
Roble was running a combine machine through an 18-acre wheat field in Latty,
Ohio (population 200), a small town on Route 613 near the Indiana state
line when he sighted a crop circle. Roble "said, 'I had seen it from
a distance and hadn't known what it was. When I got closer, I could see
it was a crop circle. My eight-year-old daughter has been looking for
crop circles since she and her mom went to see the one at Arend's (in 1996--J.T.).
I never thought I'd find one.'"
-
- Roble telephoned the field's owner, Georgia
Price, and "she said her family had farmed that field for 45 years
and it had never before produced such a crop." "Sheriff Dave
Harrow said his office received a report of crop vandalism at 6:14 p.m.
on July 6. He denied the existence of a crop circle in the county, although
he said the vandalism was circular in shape. He said his office has no
suspects and because the landowner did not want to press charges, the case
is closed."
-
- "Roble said the sheriff came out
July 6, compared the formation with those in a book, declared it a hoax
and recommended they plow the compression under." On Sunday, July
12, 1998, cerealogists Roger Sugden and Jeffrey Wilson investigated the
scene. The men "took measurements, drew a field diagram, checked
electromagnetic readings and collected wheat and soil samples." (See
the Ohio newspaper Paulding County Progress for July 15, 1998, "Crop
circle is discovered in county." Many thanks to Kenneth Young of
Tri-States Advocates for Scientific Knowledge, T.A.S.K., for forwarding
the newspaper article.)
|
Sightings HomePage