Gas rises by 14 cents in two weeks

Sunday, April 27, 2008
Trina Bell

Robert Dickie of Kennett, is just one of the millions to feel the pinch of rising gas prices as he fills up his car Friday afternoon. Gas prices rose to $3.45 Wednesday but most dropped back down to $3.35 by Friday. Staff photo by Trina Bell
[Click to enlarge]

April has been a tough month for many Americans as the price of oil continued to climb to a record high for two straight weeks.

With nearly a $ .14 increase in just two weeks, local residents are becoming concerned, believing that they may soon have to choose whether to eat or pay a bill.

Area residents like Robert Dickie of Kennett believe the worst is yet to come. "It's pitiful that gas prices are this high," Dickie said, "but I've heard it's going to hit $4 a gallon before too long."

Dickie said the economy as a whole has put people in a predicament. "We're not only seeing an increase in prices at the pump but we are seeing prices go up at the supermarket as well," he said, "with milk, eggs and everything else going up along with it."

The price of crude oil hit a record high as well, therefore, some are asking that President Bush temporarily suspend oil deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Officials like House speaker Nancy Pelosi called on President Bush to suspend deliveries to the reserve, only to have her plea shot down, according to Washington reporter Richard Cowan.

Reports indicate that the nearly 701 million barrels of crude oil stored in underground salt caverns in Louisiana and Texas are meant as a supply buffer in case of major supply disruptions like the 2005 hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast oil patch, which was created by Congress in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo.

Although prices aren't expected to decrease any time soon, some officials are working for the consumer. Senator John McCain proposed suspending the federal gas tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year as a measure of relief during the height of the summer driving season.

The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel. Though this may sound like a great idea, some economists say that suspending the tax will only drive prices up due to a possible increase in consumption.

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on dddnews.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

I've got a solution here, Maybe, if the Kennett City Council will take note of it. Why don't you allow those Mopeds in Kennett, Mo. With gas hitting record highs, we citizens can do our part with cutting back on the use of gas by using a fuel efficient mode of transportation.

Here is what I think can be done here. When a moped is registered with the city, give them a city tag, have the moped governed to where it won't go over 30mph. Now, if the citizen, has a tag and the governor has been removed, then they lose their moped and their right to ride it for so long. Yes, it means that we have to have some type of inspection station or do spot checks on the street, by qualified techs, to inspect the moped. We citizens can go "Green" here with this Moped helping to stretch our dollars and the ability to get around, here in Kennett.

I also suggest, for those, that can't afford one, that Public transportation be arranged here for the older people to go shopping. Have stops at different places for people to get off, to do their shopping. I thought it was a good idea to get that railroad spur line to Hayti, a few years ago, so that a passenger train could have serviced both cities to bring in and transport out shoppers to both cities. The Europeans have had us beat for years on railroads. I was stationed in Germany in 1975-76 and the gas there then was over $4 a gallon...they used electric trains there to go from city to city. It was very nice and very economical for the citizens to get around and was clean too. We need to catch up here. CITIZENS OF KENNETT, LET US GO GREEN!

-- Posted by wbelisle on Mon, Apr 28, 2008, at 4:00 AM

I am all for going GREEN... and there are so many ways this can be done. I like your suggestions wbelisle!!! Keep those thoughts coming :)

P.S. The other day I sported a t-shirt to work that read: Green is the new Black. My boss asked me what it meant and after explaining I thought to myself, this shirt could be a great platform for promoting earth-friendly behaviors. I have a speech prepared for the next time I wear my shirt! haha. I also bought another one that says: The Hippies Were Right. (Love the Earth)

I love the clothes that are made of GREEN materials. There are also many household products out now that are eco-friendly.

-- Posted by deannacoronado on Wed, Apr 30, 2008, at 9:15 PM