Gas dips below $3 at some area stations

WKRN (Channel 2 News) While it isn't the norm and you won't find it everywhere, gas prices have hit the sub $3 mark at some Middle Tennessee stations. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas Monday morning was $3.38 a gallon, down from $3.43 a gallon Sunday. Jim Lott with AAA said, on average, gas is dropping five cents a gallon per day in Nashville. "The price of oil hit an all time high at $147 in July, but it was down to $81 a barrel [Monday] morning, so it's almost down 50%," he said. The average price for a gallon of unleaded in Tennessee is $3.20, two cents above the national average of $3.20 Lott said Nashville's prices pull up the state average. "I was talking to someone in Memphis and there are stations there with gas at $2.75 a gallon," he said. "If it goes below $3 a gallon, which it will, we'll be close to where we were a year ago [Monday]." Paul Kizer, owner of West Main Shell in Hendersonville, decided to drop his price below the $3 mark Monday morning for the first time in about a year. "It's been falling the last couple of weeks and I just thought [Monday] morning we're always higher than everyone else, I'm going to be the first under $3," he told News 2. Kizer said the price drop has brought in a number of customers and said shortly after he dropped the price, other stations nearby dropped their price to $3.05. One month ago the average price in Nashville was $3.76. A year ago it was $2.79 a gallon. Check the current averages, visit FuelGaugeReport.com.

Fuel shortage spurs turmoil at area pumps

Posted: Sep 19, 2008 01:02 PM CDT Updated: Sep 19, 2008 01:40 PM CDT WKRN News Channel 2 Gas has become harder and harder to find across the Mid-State, creating long lines and flaring tempers at several area stations. Most of the fuel in Middle Tennessee comes from a pipeline that starts in Houston. Mike Williams, executive director of the Tennessee Petroleum Council, said until refineries damaged in Hurricane Ike are up and running, drivers will continue to see problems at the pump. "We're in a very unusual circumstance right now where the refineries aren't operating at full capacity," he told News 2 earlier this week. "Tennessee depends mostly on a pipeline that comes from Houston to New Orleans to Atlanta to Chattanooga to Nashville and Knoxville. That's where most of our gasoline comes from." The pipeline is called the "Colonial Pipeline" and it distributes 95 million gallons of fuel every single day across the United States. "The pipeline has been running slowly because there's no fuel to put in the other end of it," said Williams. "You can't get some out of this end if you don't put some in the other end." In Williamson County, the three gas stations at the corner of Highway 96 and Royal Oaks Boulevard in Franklin had no gas Friday morning. In Brentwood, at the corner of Mallory Lane and Moore's Lane, stations had gas but also had long lines of frustrated drivers. State officials said the shortage can be blamed on "panic buying." Emily LeRoy, associate director of the Tennessee Oil Marketers Association, said some Nashville stations reported double their usual fuel sales volume for a week since Hurricane Ike came ashore in Texas. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy Heidt called the situation in Nashville a "temporary pinch point." He said while Knoxville had similar problems earlier in the week, the city was receiving adequate delivery and prices had dropped. Memphis and Chattanooga also reported no problems obtaining fuel, Heidt said. The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Nashville Friday was $4.08, down four cents from Thursday. The nation average Friday was $3.75 a gallon. Consumers can report suspected price gouging at www.tn.gov/consumer or by calling 615-741-4737 or 1-800-342-8385. Consumers need to provide the name of the gas station, address, the price and grade of gas.

Many Nashville-area stations run out of gas

By KATE HOWARD • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • September 15, 2008 Rapidly rising gasoline prices became a moot point at some Middle Tennessee markets this weekend as the stations ran out of gas. Nashville-area stations started feeling the effects of Hurricane Ike on Friday, the morning the storm bore down on Texas. Many stores in Williamson County have been out of gas since that night, and pumps across Nashville have been bagged to let consumers know they can't fill up there. "It seems to be pretty much countywide," said Williamson County Sheriff's Cpl. Mark Livengood. "Several (stations) are out of everything but premium, and several are just completely out." Livengood said the shortage hasn't led to any law enforcement problems, and officers haven't seen any increase in stranded motorists. But travelers are frustrated. "Friday and Saturday, we had people coming in and saying they couldn't find gas anywhere," said Ashley Felts, a cashier at the Mapco Express on Hillsboro Road in Franklin, which has been out of fuel since Friday. "They were using our phone book." Shortages have been reported across Nashville as well, including at stations in the West End area and in Donelson. Many are stores in the Mapco chain. A Mapco representative couldn't be reached Sunday night and other industry sources were not available to explain the reasons for the shortages. Metro boosts reserves Hurricane Ike battered the heart of the U.S. oil industry: Federal officials said a number of production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were destroyed, though it was too soon to know how seriously that would affect oil and gas prices. Pump prices jumped above $5 per gallon in some parts of the country Sunday as the hurricane, which caused less destruction than feared, left refineries and pipelines idled. Fuel reserves for Metro Nashville vehicles have been increased at the request of Mayor Karl Dean, to ensure that gas is available for the city's public safety officers, Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said. "If an officer has difficulty finding fuel at neighborhood gas stations, he or she can drive to a government pump," Aaron said. While Nashville Fire Department officials have noticed the bagged pumps, drivers have been diligent about topping off their trucks, said spokesman Ricky Taylor. "We're trying to stay on top of it, because we know it could get critical on us also," Taylor said. Far beyond areas struck directly by high winds and flooding, Ike left behind a bizarre pattern of prices at gas pumps, with disparities of more than $1 a gallon in some states, and even on some blocks. "We're on the other side of the looking glass," said Claire Raines, who lives near Knoxville. "I just passed three gas stations with prices that ran from about $3.50 to close to $5 within walking distance." Differences of more than $1 a gallon in the price of regular gas were reported in Smyrna and Nashville. Average prices exceeded $4 per gallon in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Hawaii and Alaska, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. States fed directly by refineries along the Gulf Coast were particularly hard hit and supply may be sporadic for the next few weeks with refineries shut down, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with the Oil Price Information Service. Whatever pain is being felt at U.S. gas pumps probably will be a very brief phenomenon, analysts said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Contact Kate Howard at 615-726-8968 or kahoward@tennessean.com.

Nonprofits struggle to make ends meet for others

Food banks and emergency services hit harder; other volunteer By ANGELA PATTERSON • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • July 2, 2008organizations hurt in other ways As gas and food prices rise, many households are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. So, some seek help from nonprofit services. But rising costs also affect these organizations, impacting the amount and depth of services they can provide. Nonprofits are finding more people requesting what they offer, yet have less money and resources with which to supply the need. "With the food pantry, we actually ran out of food from having to serve a surplus of clients from other food pantries due to a food donation shortage," said Jennifer Eldridge, the Salvation Army's marketing director.The Second Harvest Food Bank is feeling the same crunch."Second Harvest distributes over 2 million pounds of food per year through our Emergency Food Box Program. With food drives collecting only 700,000 pounds, Second Harvest has had to purchase 1.3 million pounds of food at a cost of $225,000," said program services manager Kelli Garrett. "When there is not enough food from food drives, or funds aren't available, then we have to reduce the amount of food that we distribute."Some nonprofits maintain that services will not be cut or lessened, but increasing costs may push others to close their doors. Need increases for Salvation Army, Second Harvest Record-level gas and food prices are bringing more people to the Salvation Army's doors. Eldridge said in April and May alone, the number of emergency assistance calls received increased from an average of 660 a month to 900 a month ending May 31. "Too many of our clients have to pay the higher prices of fuel, which means less money to spend on needed expenses such as food, utilities and clothing," Eldridge said."With a reduced amount of money for these items, the need for assistance has increased greatly, impacting the services we provide," she said. "The amplified volume of people needing some type of assistance has led to assisting all that apply as long as funds allow."The number of people that Second Harvest Food Bank has served over last year has increased by nearly 10 percent, said program services manager Kelli Garrett."More and more people are turning to the food bank to receive that assistance to get them by," Garrett said.Eldridge said for people on fixed incomes or government assistance, the rising costs create a vicious cycle."They only receive X amount of dollars and cannot afford the increases in fuel and food," Eldridge said. "Others are in search for second and even third jobs. Some of the jobs seekers are wary of working more for fear of losing the food stamps they so dearly depend on. The more income, the less stamps, but due to the increase, people are stuck in a bind with no means of escape." Fuel costs affect groups', volunteers' budgets Even nonprofits that don't deal in necessities have to rethink their operations."We haul a fleet of bicycles to various schools for on-bike education with fourth-graders, and since we haul them in a trailer, fuel cost is sure to affect our budget," said Shannon Hornsby, director of Walk/Bike Nashville. "Especially since this budget was based on fuel cost/federal reimbursement per mileage when the grants were written and the amount we have allocated for fuel is set. We'll likely have to make cuts to other areas of the budget to haul bicycles."Gas prices have left other nonprofits searching for volunteer manpower close to home. "The rising costs of food and gas are directly impacting Better Tomorrows' services," said interim director Ashley Holland, whose organization provides adult literacy and GED classes."We rely heavily on volunteers to help us provide one-on-one attention for our students. We've lost at least one literacy volunteer so far because she could no longer travel from Franklin due to gas prices. That number may continue to increase." Less funding could close Better Tomorrows But the real impact on nonprofits comes from a growing demand and a decreasing supply. When sponsors and donors cut back, these organizations consider doing so as well.Garrett said some of the people who used to donate to Second Harvest have found themselves needing the organization's services in recent months. For Holland, the drop-off in Better Tomorrows sponsorships affects staffing."We're now having trouble funding our budget because foundations, individuals, and other donors who are finding their resources stretched thin are unable to give as much as they have previously. That has not been a problem because our co-founders are passionate about Better Tomorrows' mission and have other resources, so they have been able and willing to work without pay. "Now, however, the two co-founders are leaving — one to focus on healing from cancer, another because of her husband's job transfer. So the nonprofit must hire two permanent full-time employees."Therefore, the economic impact on funding may adversely affect not only our ability to offer services, but our ability to stay open," Holland said.Entities such as the Salvation Army and Second Harvest haven't had to cut services. But if they don't receive more money to fund salaries, smaller organizations like Better Tomorrows may have no choice but to close."That's sad because it means that our students, who are directly affected by high food and gas prices, will also lose an opportunity to get the education they need to improve their situation. (Our own graduate and) literacy tutor Larry Holt said it well, "If we have a literacy problem in this city, then places like this don't need to be closing."It's just going to keep the welfare system overloaded. A lot of people in this community are dependent on this program."