Cost of fuel hitting the home front

The average price for a gallon of gasoline as of today is $3.84. Diesel? Around $4.12. As of now, there doesn't seem to be any relief in sight, especially for a significant chunk of folks who commute to points out of the county each day. And the impact of higher prices are beginning to hit pretty hard as indicated by some local residents:

Lori Brawley:

"Putting gas in 3 vehicles is about to break us. Spent a total of 810.00 on gas in the month of Feb."

Amber Coleman:

"I am looking for a job closer to town cause driving to Belton to work is costing about hundred a week- any pharmacy need a good tech around town?"

Kenny Lawrence:

"Staying home!"

Sarah Ayers:
"Only go somewhere when it is a absolute must. Wished I would have not sold my Festiva. Ugly car although 40 mpg does make that car look better better every day...At least now it does that I don't own it anymore...LOL!"

Mary Tyner:

"I was spending my whole paycheck on gas when I was driving to school 5 days a week which ended today. I gave up internet and never had tv to pay for gas and only went to the laundry mat once every two weeks all because of outrageous gas prices."

Daniel Hatten:

"My diesel looks great, sittin out by the barn."

Is it a supply and demand problem? Yes and no- it depends on where you are. While demand in the USA is about a million barrels of oil per day less than it was in 2005, it's up significantly in China and India. Global oil consumption is expected to increase by 800,000 barrels a day to 89.9 million barrels a day by 2012 - and Asia is consuming 700,000 barrels worth of that increase. As Chinese and Indian consumers start buying and driving cars in large numbers, their share of global crude demand will only increase, and the oil industry will be hard-pressed to keep up. Note the tables are turning as the USA slips away from being the biggest petroleum user in the world.

Besides the above listed issues, the possibility of a war between Iran and Israel has also driven up price based on speculation as well. And the longer this drags on, the longer prices are certain to stay up.

On that note there's another potential problem- a change in the currency used to buy oil. Right now it's all done in American dollars, which gives us an advantage. However, there is a big push to change that, to possibly Euros, and that alone could put us at a huge disadvantage considering that the Euro is stronger than the Dollar. While this remains to be seen, there is a big push to ditch the dollar as other countries use more oil and have a bigger influence in the marketplace.

Is the price going to come down any time soon? Possibly not. Even if we (the U.S.) started drilling now it won't be soon enough for relief this Summer, but would certainly help on down the road. The situation with Iran and Israel could go on for quite a while too. Tapping our reserves is very temporary solution, as it would only last a few months based on our current level of consumption.

For now the best answer lies right where we thought it should be- in common sense. Cut back and do what it takes until the situation gets better.

Butler Police Department weekly report

03/12/2012
Dispatched to the 600 block of Meadow Ln on credit card theft
Responded to the 500 block of W Pine on a fire assist
911 hang up in the 200 block of W Atkinson
100 block of W Ft Scott on a possible fight

Minor injuries reported after car strikes tree

23 year old Luke O'Banion of Adrian escaped serious injury yesterday afternoon after his vehicle left the roadway near the intersection of county roads 6001 and 1002. According to the report, O'Banion was driving a 2003 Chevrolet southbound on county road 6001around 2:20 p.m. when it travelled off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree.

The driver was wearing a seat belt and was transported to Bates County Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The vehicle sustained moderate damage and was towed from the scene.

And let there be light(s)....

It appears that power has been restored after an outage that affected what appeared to be most of northwestern Bates County this afternoon. While the exact cause of the outage is unknown, crews were seen working at various locations along west 18 highway and near Drexel.

At this time it is being reported that power is back on in all locations that were affected earlier.

Rich Hill Alumni News

Plans are coming together for another big Rich Hill Alumni celebration in 2012

The planning committee for the annual Rich Hill Alumni Banquet met on February 8th and March 15th.
They are very pleased to have three new members on the committee and they would like to invite any other alumni of RHHS to come and join then and help plan this great evening.

A great deal of discussion was put forth on the price of the banquet tickets. But they finally decided that they would keep the price at $10.00 per person the same as last year. Alumni dues remain at $5.00 per graduate. Menu will remain about the same too.

The Rich Hill Alumni theme for this year will be “Forever Friends”. Randy Bell has graciously consented to be of Master of Ceremonies. The committee appreciates his willingness to do this as he always does such a good job.

Recipient this year of the teachers hall of fame plaque will be Marie Flexsenhar. Everyone will be voting for one of the following three: Dorothy Swope, Zelma Copeland or Roy Glenn. Everyone will also write down a name to be added to next year’s ballot.

The next meeting Rich Hill Alumni meeting will be on April 18th at the Double Branch Church office at 7:00 p.m. This year’s Rich Hill Alumni banquet will be May 26th at 6:30 p.m. at the Rich Hill High School Auditorium.

-our thanks to Beverly Sullins and FM 92 the Bullet

Obituary - Ladeana Ghan

Funeral services for Ladeana Ghan will be 11 a.m. Thursday, March 22, 2012 at Myrtle Tree Fellowship Assembly of God Church in Rich Hill, Missouri under the direction of the Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) in Butler, Missouri. Visitation, 10-11 a.m., Thursday at Myrtle Tree Church. Burial, Greenlawn Cemetery, Rich Hill, Missouri. Contributions to Jesse's Hearing Aid Fund.

Ladeana May Ghan, age 62 of Rich Hill, Missouri died Sunday, March 18, 2012 at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. She was born December 23, 1949 to Vernon Leroy and Leoma Ladean Wilson Kiger in Rich Hill.

Ladeana is survived by three sons, Jack Stout and wife Michelle of Rich Hill, Missouri, Johnny Stout and wife Roberta of Pleasant Hill, Missouri and Jesse Stout of Rich Hill, Missouri; one brother, Vernon “Butch” Kiger and wife Dorothy of Shell Knob, Missouri; two sisters, Phyllis Stout of Appleton City, Missouri and Kathy Dawes of Stockton, Missouri; and seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Mike in 1988; two brothers, Danny Kiger and Jimmy Hill; and a brother-in-law, L.D. Stout.

Obituary - Sylvia Williamson

Funeral services for Sylvia Williamson will be 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at Schowengerdt Funeral Chapel (660-679-6555) in Butler, Missouri with Larry Martin and David Strauch officiating. Visitation will be Tuesday evening from 5-7 p.m. at Schowengerdt Chapel. Burial in Harmony Cemetery, Ohio, Missouri. Contributions to Medicalodge Nursing Center in memory of Sylvia Williamson.

Sylvia Hester Williamson, age 79 of Rich Hill, Missouri died Saturday, March 17, 2012 at Medicalodge Nursing Center in Butler. She was born October 28, 1932 to Sylvester Ernest and Martha Ellen Harmon Bean in Johnson City, Missouri.

Sylvia is survived by five sons, Dennis Williamson, James Williamson and companion Linda Newkirk, John Williamson and Norman Williamson all of Rockville, Missouri and Mike Williamson and wife Debbie of Appleton City, Missouri; two daughters, Cheryl Farrell of Rich Hill, Missouri and Cindy Sargent and husband Daryl of Clinton, Missouri; two brothers, Charlie Bean and wife Linda and Phillip Bean and wife Coleen all of Appleton City, Missouri; four sisters, Cora Mae Miller and husband Bill of Chillhowee, Missouri, Annabelle Bean and Judy Clifton, both of Gladstone, Missouri and Norma Kloer and husband Ron of Scammon, Kansas; and 15 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; 5 stepgrandchildren and 9 step great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Harvery in 2003; one son, Bill Williamson; four brothers, Claude, Virgilm, Howard and Ernest; three sisters, Lena, Gladys and Opal; and two grandchildren

Accidental storm siren trip prompts swift action

Earlier today the storm siren at 2nd and W. Lexington streets in Adrian sounded, but it was an accident. This is the second time the unit has sounded for no apparent reason, and that was reason enough for city officials and Fire Chief Gary Dizney to take further steps to insure it won't happen again."We've been working on the problem since it happened the first time, but now we've made sure it won't accidentally trip again" said Dizney. 

The network of storm sirens in Adrian are normally activated by way of a radio signal that is broadcast throughout town- the sirens 'hear' the encoded message and turn on or off as required. The sirens may also be activated manually at each location.

Within 15 minutes of the accidental sounding today, the unit was shut down and Butler dispatch notified of the trip.

To remedy the problem until necessary repairs are made, the unit has been taken off line, meaning that it temporarily cannot be activated by radio. In the event of an actual storm or tornado situation, it will be manually turned on by fire personnel.

 "This is a bad time of the year for this to happen" said Chief Dizney "We will continue to operate the unit manually until  a trained repairman can get it fixed. This will definitely insure there will be no more false alarms". He went on to say that in the event of an actual storm warning, not only will the sirens sound throughout town, but EMA and fire department personnel will drive emergency vehicles on every street to warn residents as well.

Repairs will be made soon and Chief Dizney apologized for any confusion or inconvenience today's incident may have caused.