SIGHTINGS


 
Torrent Of Crop Circles
Coming Down In
USA & UK
From Joseph Trainor <Masinaigan@aol.com>
UFO ROUNDUP, Volume 3, Number 29
7-21-98

 
 
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.)


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