Wednesday, October 4th, 2006

Gas price drop helps businesses

By Shelley Grieshop
Towing vehicles across the countryside is a big part of Julius Hierholzer's bread and butter, and the recent drop in gas prices have made him a happy man.
Hierholzer, owner of Hierholzer Garage and Towing in Burkettsville, has three tow trucks that travel about 6,000 miles each month burning a healthy share of diesel.
"This whole gas thing has just been tremendous. It's ridiculous," he says about the erratic rise and fall of prices.
Hierholzer said he's gone into as much "conservation mode" as he can the last year, but when customers call, he goes.
"It's our business; that's what we do," he said.
Hierholzer contracts with AAA for his towing service and gets a "slight" discount for fuel, but he still wonders why diesel remains near $2.50 per gallon.
"I know it's getting better, but I hope it gets even lower," he adds.
The price of crude oil dropped under $59 per barrel during stock market trading Tuesday but reversed its downward slide by mid-morning today by rising 34 cents despite U.S. fuel stockpiles and lower demand.
Oil prices have dropped about 25 percent since mid-July's peak of $78.40 per barrel and that is currently reflected in gasoline prices across the Grand Lake area. The average price per regular gasoline locally ranged between $2.01 and $2.15 early today.
National prices for regular gasoline remain at $2.29 per gallon with numbers as high as $2.68 on the Pacific coast. Last year at this time, prices at the pump locally and statewide were between $2.90 and $3.
The recent decrease in fuel costs also has Christina Roby, the director of the Auglaize Council on Aging in St. Marys, sighing with relief. Following three years of funding cuts combined with the high cost of gasoline, she finally has some breathing room to implement services cut in the past, she said.
"We've had to really coordinate our trips this last year," Roby said.
She explained that many times clients waited to schedule trips to doctor's offices, grocery stores and other destinations so the agency could transport several people at once instead of frequent trips of only one or two.
"Keeping our vehicles properly maintained also helped us get better gas mileage," she added.
Also adding to the lower gasoline prices is the decreasing threat of strong hurricanes that could disrupt supplies. Forecasters say the United States is nearing the end of the typical hurricane season.
Additional online stories on this date
Local politicians running for office in November all agreed that environmental issues associated with manure management and the loss of family farms are the main agricultural challenges in Mercer County for the next five years. [More]
Celina completed the home portion of its girls soccer season in style with a 3-0 win over Defiance at the Soccer Stadium to go to 11-2-1 on the season and 6-1 in the Western Buckeye League. Defiance drops to 3-4 in the WBL. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
MINSTER - Plans for the $1.6 million Hanover Street reconstruction project include a four-phase schedule to alleviate potential traffic problems.
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What began as a response to reports of shots fired at an East Livingston Street mobile home park resulted in the seizure of a handgun, suspected drugs and nearly $1,200 in cash Tuesday afternoon.
MINSTER - The reading of water and electric meters will be going high tech as a result of action taken by Minster village councilors Tuesday night.
MINSTER - Village officials continue to seek land for a major industrial park, although no acreage is available at the present time.
President Ric
$300,000 in funds dependent on survey response
ROCKFORD - Two village council members urged Rockford citizens to complete a survey that could help the village obtain a $300,000 grant, as only a handful have been collected so far.
Members say they are ready to start creating new business opportunities
ROCKFORD - The organization of The Rockford Area Development Corporation is almost complete and members say they are ready to begin creating new business opportunities.
CHICKASAW - Village council members began discussing a new water tower during their Tuesday night meeting.
The 1971 water tower has a 25,000 gallon capacity, said Jason Winner, project manager at Fanning/Howey Associates, Celina.
Compiled by Ryan Hines
The Celina volleyball team went on the road on Tuesday night and won an easy game over Lima Bath setting up the match of the season for the Bulldogs on Thursday night.
Compiled by Ryan Hines
and Gary R. Rasberry
The Celina girls golf team advanced to the district golf tournament by placing second at the sectional tournament held at Country Acres in Ottawa on Tuesday.
ST. MARYS - Prior to their league battle with the Lima Shawnee Indians last evening, St. Marys volleyball coach Tricia Naseman pointed out how important the game was to her team.