Posted: 9/6/05
Gas prices have some upset, concerned
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
ìItís doggone hard.î
That simple sentence by Ozzie Twite of Caledonia summed up public sentiment quite well on the skyrocketing price of gasoline.
It was $2.99 per gallon on September 2. It went as high as $3.09 before going down to $2.69 Sunday.
Twite made his comments while filling his car at Kwik Trip in Caledonia on August 31. ìI think itís hard on the Social Security check,î he said. Like many senior citizens, Twite is on a fixed income and has to deal with rising medication and food expenses. ìThen with the prices here . . .î he said.
Twite isnít driving as much these days, stating something that Terica Buckhanan said at the opposite pump. ìI try not to do too much driving because of it,î the Caledonia woman said.
ìI can remember back when my dad used to get five gallons [of gas] for a dollar,î Twite said.
ìItís not only me,î he added. ìItís other people too that need to do driving.î
Over at Kraus Oil it was the same story. Ron Petersen was topping off his GMC Sierra with diesel fuel at $2.51 per gallon. That was 12 cents a gallon cheaper than in his hometown of Rushford. ìItís $100 to fill this up,î he said.
Petersen said he and his wife used to eat out twice a week. ìNow weíre eating out once a month,î he said. ìWeíre cutting back on our driving. Thinking twice on whether we need to go.î
Petersen feels that the U.S. government should loosen its controls on building refineries.
Marilyn Kennedy took Petersenís money at the cash register inside The Country Store. People arenít so much complaining as stating the grim fact, Kennedy said. ìWe have to pay it, we have to pay it,î is what she is hearing.
ìThey all say the same thing,î Kennedy said.
Truckers are complaining, she added. ìEverything will have to go up because of the price of fuel we get it in,î Kennedy said.
She hopes the price doesnít keep going up, but she is afraid that it will. ìThey said weíll hit the $3 mark.î
A person who works in La Crosse and makes a low wage wonít have much money left now, especially if he or she has to pay child care, Kennedy feels. ìThey donít make much money when theyíre done,î she said.
Businesses hurting too
Several business owners contacted for this article complained about the high fuel prices too.
Joe Rud, who owns a fleet of 12 over-the-road trucks in Caledonia said, ìItís taken a drastic amount out of our profits.î
Itís been a gradual process over the past two years, Rud said. Trucking companies can add a surcharge when delivering products, but the ìbroker loadsî that they pick up on their return trips have gone up about 15 percent over the last two years, Rud estimated. ìThat translates to about a 10 percent loss,î he said.
ìWeíve been paying over $3 a gallon on the West Coast for a few months now,î Rud said of national prices. Prices in the lower Atlantic region are about $2.50 a gallon, he said.
John and Paul Schmitz said their school bus company has been hit hard. They have about 40 busses that serve school districts in Caledonia, Spring Grove, and Mabel.
ìItís going to be at least a dollar a gallon more than last year,î John Schmitz said. Translate that to the 4,000 gallons of fuel the company uses each month in Caledonia, and another 1,000 each in Mabel and Spring Grove, and the the extra expense comes to $6,000 a month,
Schmitz Bus Company has a five year contract with ISD #299 ending with the 2009-2010 school year. However, the contract can be reviewed for fuel costs at the end of two years which will be at the end of the 2005-2006. Routes are fixed, so there is no way to cut any corners, John said.
ìYou just hope that fuel will go back down,î Paul said.
ìThis year, gas and fuel, we have no idea itís going to stop at $3 [a gallon],î he added.
Paul said he had talked to the driver of a tanker in Iowa that August 31 morning who had paid $3 a gallon to fill up his fuel truck. That will equate to $3.13 at the pump, Paul estimated.
Caledonia school superintendent Mike Moriarty said the district is doing what it can to help Schmitz Bus Company. For example, they using three busses instead of four to shuttle students from the elementary to the high school at the end of the day.
ìAs a district I donít know where we would get additional dollars either,î Moriarty said. ìI understand it does put the bus company in a bind.î
Paul Schmitz said he is hoping the State of Minnesota will come up with some extra fuel funds for schools.
ìI wouldnít hold my breath,î John replied to that notion.
Contractors canít pass on costs
Gary Becker, owner of Caledonia Ready Mix, said it costs more now to haul concrete out and get raw materials in.
ìIt hurts on the selling end and it hurts on the producing end,î Becker said. The consumer has less money available so it hurts that way too, he added.
Contractors often canít adjust to the higher gas prices because most of their work is done on quotes. Becker noted. Prices will probably go up come spring if things donít change, he said, although the competitive nature of his work tends to keep prices in line. ìYou have to hang in there with them,î he said.
Itís a serious situation, Becker said. ìItís hurting everybody. Nobody was really prepared for it, I donít think.î
Pete Johnson, Houston County Auditor, said the higher gas prices will affect the sheriff and highway departments the most.
Budgets will have to be set by September 15, and the higher prices will have to be incorporated into the budgets of those departments.
Farm impact big
Jerry Tessmer, the University of Minnesota Extension Service ag tech advisor in Houston
County, said good drying weather for corn that will help keep fuel costs down. Farmers are hoping for a September like last year so they wonít have to spend money on the drying fuel of propane, Tessmer said.
ìYou hate to leave corn in the field too long because you have the danger of an early snow storm and they end up losing a lot,î Tessmer said.
But thereís no way of getting around the fuel costs for things like chopping corn, he said. ìItís going to put a stress on them, thatís for sure. Some of that big equipment uses a lot of fuel, thereís just no two ways about it.î
Farmers may take some long term measures to keep fuel costs down like doing more reduced tillage, which would reduce tractor usage in the fields. They can also contract ahead for drying fuels, but it may be too late for that, Tessmer said. The trouble is that people donít know where the price increase will stop, he said, echoing a thought that seems to be on everyoneís mind.
Caledonia Argus
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