Reader comments included. Why I am not sure!

$5,000 reward offered in vandalism: CJOnline Page Not Found

Signs, roads and private property targeted with
By Phil Anderson
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. CDT
Coinciding with the end of the school year again this May, graffiti is popping up in an area served by Washburn Rural High School in southwest Shawnee County, authorities said Wednesday.

Damage is resulting from people “tagging” road signs, markers, private property and streets with “‘09” in spray paint in the area, said Sgt. Danny Lotridge, of the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office.

Last year, Mission Township spent about $20,000 repairing similar damage, he said.

This year, a $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of anyone involved in the vandalism. The person offering the reward wishes to remain anonymous, Lotridge said.

The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office is teaming up with Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437 to identify people responsible for the vandalism.

The vandals are believed to be students at Washburn Rural High School, Lotridge said.

Washburn Rural High School principal Ed Raines is seeking groups of students and teachers to volunteer to help clean up the graffiti, which started appearing the last few weeks of school.

Already, more than 15 groups representing hundreds of students and teachers have stepped up to help on two planned work days, said Martin Weishaar, communications coordinator for USD 437.

Raines issued the request to students because he doesn’t want the actions of a few to define Washburn Rural High School, regardless of whether the people responsible for the vandalism are associated with the school, Weishaar said.

At 8:30 a.m. on the next two Saturdays, students will gather at the school’s parking lot, 5900 S.W. 61st, then go into the community to work.

Residents are encouraged to call the school at (785) 339-4100 with information on areas where clean-up is needed.

Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to call sheriff’s Det. Jim Mummey at (785) 368-2212.

Phil Anderson can be reached

at (785) 295-1195

or phil.anderson@cjonline.com.

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Reader Comments
-1 Rating Posted by: NM2Be at May 21, 2008 at 03:25:57 PM
what a joke. of course it's wr students, the tagging is centered all around the school and neighborhoods by the school and many signs say wr sr women/men 09. there are still tags on signs and roads from 06 that have yet to be cleaned up. i think the whole wr high school should have to have toothbruses and soap out and scrub it all down. maybe if they're all punished the tagging will stop or the tagger will fess up. how juvenile.

Posted by: NM2Be at May 21, 2008 at 03:26:28 PM
toothbrushes*

-2 Rating Posted by: butthead at May 21, 2008 at 03:31:09 PM
If it was spelled wrong, look no further than WR.

Posted by: KLorenz at May 21, 2008 at 04:01:31 PM
Heh..for $5K I would think parents would be clamoring to turn their own kids in.

Posted by: pitafersure at May 21, 2008 at 04:19:13 PM
WR Senior class... I accept cash.

-2 Rating Posted by: bluesguy at May 21, 2008 at 04:42:53 PM
How about Washburn Rural school district institutes a policy where WRHS seniors can not graduate until that have done 20 hours of community service per year. Their community service would be cleaning last year's graffiti.

I would think that once you have to spend 20 hours cleaning up after someone else's tagging that you might be a bit discouraged from doing it yourself. I also think offering a high $ reward is a great idea. Maybe some of the kids will turn each other in.

Finally if the city wants to get serious about tagging then we need to institute some tough requirements about the sale of spray paint & magic markers. Maricopa County, which has Phoenix in it, enacted tough laws to make it very hard for anyone under 18 yrs old to get a hold of spray paint or broad tipped markers. Check out http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/archive/...e/nl-sp-98.pdf


-1 Rating Posted by: djritmo at May 21, 2008 at 04:45:09 PM
They are approaching the reward all wrong. How about free gas for a year?!

This type of tagging has been going on for decades and not only in the WR district but in the other rural districts as well. So why all of a sudden is this an issue now? I guess better late than never. It's probably becuase budgets are getting tighter.

Good idea to have the WR kids get out there with toothbrushes and soap. But I am sure somebody will get their attorney on it and block that kind of idea.



+ 1 Rating Posted by: djritmo at May 21, 2008 at 04:46:47 PM
Also, I suppose the gang tagging on the east side is not as much a serious issue as senior class tagging on the west side. I don't see anyone offering any rewards to go after the punks that spray paint the east side.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: pitafersure at May 21, 2008 at 04:47:11 PM
Not that we have gangs in topeka, but what about the tagging in other parts of the community. Thoughts on offering a reward for that?

-1 Rating Posted by: NM2Be at May 21, 2008 at 04:52:21 PM
i'm just glad wr is almost out for the school year. anyoned tried to get down s. wanamaker or 61st street when the school year is in session? what a freakin' mess.

Posted by: spiritwind at May 21, 2008 at 05:11:59 PM
Tagging is just another way kids begin to show their lack of respect for property and other people. And in this town they still haven't learned respect at 40 just as the ***** that lives next door to me.

Posted by: mlurp at May 21, 2008 at 07:08:53 PM
It also shows that many are doing community service type work to help clean it all up. My thanks to all involved.
Nice to know they believe in the community.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Another Fire Department near shut down. Our city council needs to budget properly. Some reader comments included.

TFD’s engine company No. 3 unstaffed today: CJOnline - TFDs engine company No. 3 unstaffed today

The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 7:36 a.m. CDT
The Topeka Fire Department’s engine company No. 3, which serves downtown and East Topeka out of the station at 318 S.E. Jefferson, was shut down today after firefighters had to be pulled from Engine 3 to fill manpower shortages at other Topeka fire stations.

The engine company operates on a day-to-day basis. A truck company still runs out of the S.E. Jefferson station.

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Reader Comments
+ 1 Rating Posted by: Macguyver at May 21, 2008 at 09:05:02 AM
Guess this is news again today.

Posted by: TBuckl9501 at May 21, 2008 at 09:06:48 AM
Great news, it good to see the City Fire Chief making sure his money goes far and his crews a safe. Your doing the right thing Chief, keep up the good work sir.

Posted by: TBuckl9501 at May 21, 2008 at 09:07:34 AM
Great news, it good to see the City Fire Chief making sure his money goes far and his crews are safe. Your doing the right thing Chief, keep up the good work sir.

Posted by: ttownhustler at May 21, 2008 at 09:13:14 AM
Bring it on big bobby. Stop holding out. Get your self out of bed, stretch the fingers and get after it. I am sure you haven't worn out all of your TFD insight already.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: wakarusan at May 21, 2008 at 09:34:46 AM
Big News!!! What is the CJ's reason for writing this crap every other day?

+ 1 Rating Posted by: oldcop at May 21, 2008 at 10:27:18 AM
The Phelps Klan lost two court cases this week. Nothing can upset me now. I'm taking the rest of the week off, editorially speaking. (Not really, but I feel pretty good right now).

Posted by: bob421 at May 21, 2008 at 11:13:25 AM
Isn't that great, Oldcop. I feel good too. Ttown, I'm still here, it's just this has been printed so much that there is really nothing else to say. The Chief is doing what he has to do, because of the Fab Five and their stupid spending..........

Posted by: martyoz at May 21, 2008 at 12:13:00 PM
I'm not sure why this continues to be newsworthy. I guess the anti-chief group might get some mileage out of it? Who knows.

Posted by: husky1 at May 21, 2008 at 02:02:31 PM
I bet it wont be staffed over memorial day weekend

+ 1 Rating Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 21, 2008 at 02:39:23 PM
martyoz-
It's probably the chief that's calling the paper.

Why don't they just staff it on odd number days, then everyone will know when not to have a fire in the area.

Posted by: rguest1 at May 21, 2008 at 02:46:41 PM
Who really gives a darn?

+ 1 Rating Posted by: angierose1977 at May 21, 2008 at 03:14:17 PM
Am I the only one who finds it disturbing that we have unmanned fire stations? Every one of you would consider it newsworthy if it was your house on fire, or you had a medical emergency and your local fire station was unmanned that particular day! The city council is putting peoples property, and worse their lives, at risk all the while spending money to bring in outside firms to give them ideas on how to improve our river front area!? Why not spend that money on our safety?!

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

The reader comments say much about this and other actions of the city council.

Council negates copter deal: CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Council negates copter deal

By Tim Hrenchir
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Eleven months after first approving the lease-purchase of a police helicopter, the Topeka City Council took final action Tuesday evening to shoot down the transaction.

Council members voted 7-0-2 to approve a resolution terminating the city's agreement to buy a Robinson R44 helicopter from Littleton, Colo.-based Municipal Services Group Inc.

Tuesday's vote came after the council on May 6 initially took up a proposal to kill the lease-purchase that drew opposition from Councilman Bill Haynes, who said the measure's wording gave the appearance the council struck down the deal when in fact it was state law that did it. Councilmen Haynes and Richard Harmon, who are lawyers, subsequently worked with interim city attorney Braxton Copley to amend the wording in a manner that was satisfactory to all three.

Council members Tuesday evening voted 7-1-1, with Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz dissenting and Councilman John Alcala abstaining, to amend the resolution to include the new wording.

Then they voted 7-0-2 to pass it, with Alcala and Ortiz abstaining. Alcala told the council he abstained because he still contends the city lacked the authority to approve the lease-purchase agreement.

The council initially approved the helicopter purchase in June, but Mayor Bill Bunten vetoed it and the council failed to override.

The council then voted 5-3 on Dec. 4 to approve a veto-proof "communication" authorizing a lease-purchase of the helicopter for about $820,000. Police Chief Ron Miller told council members the R44 would be used in concert with a Robinson R44 the police department acquired in January 2007, while the city planned to sell a 15-year-old Schweizer helicopter police used as a backup.

Earlier this year, Copley suggested the council reauthorize its purchases of the helicopter and an enterprise resource planning software system because the documents involved failed to meet requirements of state law. The council voted April 1 to reauthorize both purchases, but Bunten vetoed the moves three days later.

On April 15, the council overrode Bunten's veto of the purchase of the ERP system but sustained his veto of the helicopter purchase. At that time, Copley suggested the council consider approving a resolution that would effectively void that helicopter purchase, as it did Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Robinson R44 the city acquired in January 2007 crashed last month on the Washburn University campus, with Miller saying it appeared to be a total loss. Miller subsequently grounded the police helicopter unit until the city carries out a complete evaluation of its helicopter program, which is under way.

The council Tuesday also:

• Voted 9-0 to establish a redevelopment project plan for the Eastgate Redevelopment District at the northeast and southeast corners of S.E. 15th and Adams.

• Voted 6-2-1, with Deborah Swank and Jeff Preisner dissenting and Brett Blackburn abstaining, to defer action for one week on a proposal to amend the city's contract regarding College Hill redevelopment. The measure would change the development schedule and arranged for developers to reimburse the city $100,000 to help make up for less-than-anticipated tax revenues the city received after the project failed to finish on schedule.

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.

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Reader Comments
+ 2 Rating Posted by: phanophish at May 21, 2008 at 07:36:19 AM
So where the heck does that leave the city? Do we get any monies paid returned? Or did the city council's ignorance and hubris cause us to loose the deposit? A bit more info would be nice here CJ.

+ 1 Rating Posted by: bobgick at May 21, 2008 at 08:03:52 AM
So, how much was the deposit??

Posted by: emayormy at May 21, 2008 at 09:44:31 AM
I woulbe interested in hearing from some of our city leaders replying to these articles...

Myron http://www.myownfath2.com

Posted by: Hot_Toe_Picker at May 21, 2008 at 10:26:45 AM
So is the helicopter deal finally dead? It sounds like it is, but who knows with our backroom-dealing City Council.

Posted by: frederick at May 21, 2008 at 03:14:45 PM
I was hopeful and satisfied that we had finally elected a good slate of new city councilmen during the last election. They all seemed to be qualified, competent and well intentioned. So why are they not getting anything done? and how many more legal entanglements are they going to produce?
I feel sorry for the poor attorney that has to baby sit every action taken by this council to monitor its legality.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Reader comments say a lot on this issue. To me we have many more people who could use the space and time. But th elaw is the law. I only hope he gets what some real baddies get home detention.

Guilty plea given in pot case: CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Guilty plea given in pot case

The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2008
A 50-year-old Valley Falls man caught with 20 pounds of marijuana and dozens of live plants in 2007 faces up to five years in federal prison when sentenced in August.

Michael J. Leslie pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday to two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Leslie admitted investigators found 37 live plants, as well as processed marijuana, during a search in November 2007, a U.S. attorney's office news release stated. The search warrant also resulted in the seizure of 20 grow lights, 30 bags of Miracle Grow, a carbon dioxide generator, dehumidifiers, 39 pairs of scissors, and other tools for growing and processing marijuana.

According to Leslie's plea, detectives learned of drug-trafficking activities during spring 2007, a U.S. attorney spokesman said. That investigation resulted in drug-trafficking charges against at least two Topeka men.

Leslie faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. Sentencing is set for Aug. 26.

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Reader Comments
+ 3 Rating Posted by: sz34b at May 21, 2008 at 09:29:09 AM
Rediculous! Legalize already!!

Posted by: robinhood at May 21, 2008 at 11:53:17 AM
He'll be having the stems and seeds blues for awhile.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: TopekaIsBoring at May 21, 2008 at 03:04:12 PM
Why waste tax money and prison space on a man who wasn't hurting anybody else? If Kansas would legalize marijuana they would be able to tax what Mr. Leslie was growing and selling.

Posted by: OtherSignGuy at May 21, 2008 at 04:55:18 PM
Stems and Seeds Blues? How does that go? was'nt that a Bo Diddly hit in the 50's?

-1 Rating Posted by: spiritwind at May 21, 2008 at 06:50:44 PM
It does not matter if we want it legalized. It is against the law. In a civilized world, do you get to choose what laws you want to keep. If you are going to break the law, you will get caught, and you will go to prison. How many young underage kids got a hold of pot. How many kids parent bought pot instead of food, clothing and decent shelter. How many kids sat in ****ty diapers cause the parents are too stoned to take care of their kids. And if your going to tell me you can be just as good as a parent stoned as sober, then you just prove my point. We can barely control kids getting cigarettes and booze, do you think we can do better with pot. And look it up, read what pot does to your body, your brain, your hormones. I just can not wrap my head around the desire for some to get hi. What is wrong with your brain, oh yeah too much pot.

Posted by: Hot_Toe_Picker at May 21, 2008 at 07:12:54 PM
Pot isn't anywhere near as bad as you think that it is, spirtwind. You could substitute heroin or alcohol into what you said and you'd be correct, but you're way off base on the subject of marijuana. The vast majority of pot smokers are responsible people who go to work every day and do everything else right, but they happen to enjoy a substance that happens to be illegal to a ridiculous degree. Anyone who is honest about the subject of marijuana will tell you that it's not very harmful to use. It's true that inhaling ANY kind of smoke isn't good for you, but you don't need much pot smoke to get high. The only damaging side-effects of smoking pot are the legal consequences if you get arrested with it.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

There is a lot of other good news in Topeka, if one wants to use the CJ on line in my siggy. or the site in the report then select home.
But we do have some very stupid crimals...

Three arrested after man attacked in his home: CJOnline - Three arrested after man attacked in his home

By Barbara Hollingsworth
The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, May 23, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. CDT
A man was attacked at his residence in the 900 block of S.W. Polk Wednesday night by people who then stole from him.

The man was at his residence at about 8 p.m. when people he knew beat him, held him against his will and took things from him, said Topeka police Maj. John Sidwell. The man, who had injuries not considered life-threatening, was transported by ambulance to Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center.

The man’s property was later recovered, and three Topeka men were taken to Shawnee County Jail on Thursday morning in connection with the case: Andrew Lee Conklin III, 20; Alexander Joseph-Sean Heidenreich, 27; and Ethen Joseph Thornton, 18. They were booked into jail in connection with aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, aggravated burglary, theft and aggravated battery. Jail records indicate that Heidenreich also lives in the 900 block of S.W. Polk.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Sevral reader comments included.

Governor signs final budget bill of session: CJOnline Page Not Found

The Associated Press
Published Friday, May 23, 2008 at 7:43 a.m. CDT
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has finished her bill-signing duties for the year, approving most of the final budget bill that legislators sent her.

Altogether, the governor signed 183 bills and vetoed seven others, including three allowing two coal-fired power plants in western Kansas. She let one become law without her signature, allowing Kansans to own machine guns, other fully automatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns and silencers.

The bill she signed Thursday amounts to $33 million and brings total spending to $13.6 billion for the budget year starting July 1. Overall spending would increase $391 million, or about 3 percent, during that time.

The governor kept the $750,000 for road improvements outside the soon-to-be closed Parsons Army Ammunition Plant.

It was that project, dubbed “the road to nowhere” by its critics that created the biggest controversy in passing the budget bill. Parsons officials want to turn the plant into an industrial park and view the project as vital.

The plant is in the district of Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dwayne Umbarger. Critics derided it as a pet project for the Thayer Republican.

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Reader Comments
Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 23, 2008 at 09:56:38 AM
This is sad. "Not properly restrained" makes it sound like an effort was made, so don't kick somebody when their down. What good does it do to blame when there is a tragedy? I'm sick of it.

+ 2 Rating Posted by: T-TownTracker at May 23, 2008 at 09:57:10 AM
^Dummy posted the message on the wrong article.


Posted by: bigjohnpowercat at May 23, 2008 at 11:31:55 AM
Now that's funny!

Posted by: truthfinder at May 23, 2008 at 12:34:59 PM
LOL!

Posted by: mlurp at May 23, 2008 at 06:05:54 PM
Seeem to me the Republicans have most of the pet projects.

If I am wrong please point it out to me, Thanks.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Well with this topic many have opinions which I enclude.

How exactly are gas prices set? CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - How exactly are gas prices set?

Cost of crude, taxes, local competition among reasons
By JOHN PORRETTO and JOHN WILEN
The Associated Press
Published Saturday, May 24, 2008
Consider the game of chicken that plays out every day across Pennsylvania State Highway 441. In Marietta, where the road hugs the Susquehanna River, a Rutter's Farm Store gas station stands on one side, a Sheetz gas station on the other.

Kelly Bosley, who manages Rutter's, doesn't even have to look across the highway to know when Sheetz changes its price for a gallon of gas. When Sheetz raises prices, her own pumps are busy. When Sheetz lowers prices, she hasn't a car in sight.

She calls Rutter's headquarters to report the competition's new price and wait for instructions.

"I call a lot of times and say, 'They went down, hurry up! Hurry up! Call me! Call me!' Or it could be where theirs goes up, and I'll say, 'Take your time! You know, I like being busy.' But I have no control over that."

You think you feel helpless at the pump?

Bosley makes a living selling gas — and even she has little control over what it costs.

So how exactly are gas prices set? What determines the hair-pulling figure you see displayed in large electronic or plastic numbers?

It all starts with oil.

The biggest factor in the skyrocketing price of gasoline is the historic ascent of crude oil, which has surged from $45 per barrel in 2004 to more than $135 this past week.

In the first quarter of this year, based on a retail price of gas that now seems like a steal — $3.11 a gallon — crude oil accounted for all but about a dollar, or 70 percent, of the cost, according to the federal government.

The rest is a complex mix of factors, from the cost of turning oil into gas to taxes to marketing costs to, sometimes, nothing more than the competitive whims of your local gas station owner.

Not that understanding the breakdown makes it any less cringe-inducing to fill 'er up.

————————————

The knee-jerk villains in all of this are the oil companies, fat with multibillion-dollar profits, frequent targets of populist anger. But wait: The oil companies don't set the price of oil or the cost of a gallon of gas.

Prices are a function of the open market, the result of futures contracts being traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, or Nymex, and other exchanges.

Buying the current July crude oil futures contract means you are buying oil that will be delivered by the end of July. But most who trade futures have no intention of ever accepting the underlying oil: Like stock investors who frequently buy and sell their holdings, they are simply betting that prices will rise or fall.

Of late, on the Nymex, oil futures have been rising.

Why? Blame the falling dollar. Oil is priced in U.S. dollars, and the weaker the dollar gets, the more attractive dollar-denominated oil contracts are to foreign investors — or any investor looking for a safe haven in the turbulent stock market.

The rush of buyers keeps pushing oil futures to a series of new records, and the rest of the energy complex, including gasoline futures, has followed. That pushes up the price of gas that goes into your tank.

There is some evidence Americans are buying less gas as the price marches higher, and common sense suggests they would cut back even more if gas rose to $4.50 or $5 a gallon.

Lower demand should mean lower prices — but it takes time for that to happen, given the enormous scale of refining operations that produce gasoline.

"Once demand begins to slow, that needs to translate into inventories, then you get some price weakening," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. "But it takes a while."

Oil and gasoline prices often move in the same direction, but they aren't linked directly. While oil prices have more than doubled in the past year, gasoline is only up about 19 percent during the same time.

Oil prices often fluctuate with production decisions from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about 40 percent of the world's crude, or when conflict in the Middle East or Nigeria threatens supplies.

And the rise has only grown more dramatic. Oil sprinted higher this past week, rising more than $4 a barrel on Wednesday alone and past $135 on Thursday.

————————————

As for gasoline prices: They are closely tied to demand from U.S. drivers and how efficiently refineries are operating. Falling production or inventories often send prices skyrocketing.

Those prices can vary greatly depending on the region.

The Gulf Coast is the source of about half the gasoline produced in the United States, and areas farthest from there tend to have higher prices because of the cost of shipping gas via pipeline and tanker truck all over the country.

Add higher taxes in such places as California and New York that push the price higher.

Oil companies insist their earnings, measured against revenue, are in line with other industries. On top of that, rising oil prices have sharply cut profit margins for refining, and that hits the major oil companies — which both pump oil and refine it for use as gasoline.

A giant like Exxon Mobil can handle the blow. Its refining and marketing profits for the first quarter were down 39 percent from a year ago, but Exxon still banked a nearly $11 billion profit because of the hefty prices earned on crude it pumped out of the ground.

In any case, huge profits at big oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron aren't because of high prices at the pump. Their massive profits are tied to their exploration and production arms, which are benefiting from record crude prices.

Higher crude costs also have squeezed profits at the refining arms of companies like ConocoPhillips, which don't produce enough crude themselves to refine at full capacity without buying more oil from other producers.

Other costs are a factor — though they have remained relatively stable.

For example, federal and state taxes added 40 cents to a gallon of gas in the first three months of this year, roughly the same amount as they added four years ago.

————————————

What happens when gasoline from refineries makes its way to your neighborhood gas station?

Major oil companies own fewer than 5 percent of gas stations. Most are owned by small retailers — and many of them say they are struggling these days to turn a profit on gas. That is because wholesale gasoline prices have risen sharply in recent months — again, blame it on crude — but station owners have been unable to raise pump prices fast enough to keep pace.

And you can't keep jacking up the price when drivers are buying less.

Gas station owners face a balancing act: They must try to maintain a price that allows them to afford the next shipment of gasoline but not give the competition an edge.

Stations pay tens of thousands of dollars for each gas shipment before they see a cent in the register. Eventually, many make only a few cents on a gallon of gasoline, a margin that can disappear altogether when credit card fees are added in.

In the Philadelphia suburb of Havertown, Pa., earlier in the week, Sunoco station operator Steve Kehler received a load of gasoline — 9,000 gallons — which, at a wholesale price of $3.729 a gallon, cost him 4 cents more than the previous load.

That left him in a sticky situation: Should he raise prices right away to recoup some of his higher gasoline expenses, or should he hold off for a couple of days in hopes his competitors also will have to raise their prices?

The $33,600 Kehler must pay for his overnight gasoline delivery won't be debited from his bank account for a few days. That gives him a little breathing room, time to hold prices steady. Hiking prices too quickly will hurt sales.

"I'll probably change it tomorrow night, at closing," Kehler said. "I'll go up 4 cents."

That will put Kehler at a gross margin of about 20 cents a gallon. After paying credit card fees, labor and rent, Kehler will be lucky to break even on his gasoline sales. Many times, he loses money on gas, relying entirely upon his car repair business for income.

Most gasoline retailers long ago got past any illusion they can make money by selling gas. They rely on gas sales to drive traffic to their shops, where they hope auto repairs or food and drink sales will help them turn a profit.

Thank goodness for beef jerky and sodas.

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Reader Comments
+ 4 Rating Posted by: avguy1 at May 24, 2008 at 07:41:15 AM
This article mentions cost of gas being higher further away from the refinery. Why then is the cost of gas across from the refinery the same as it is 800 miles away?

+ 4 Rating Posted by: ASBESTOS at May 24, 2008 at 08:44:19 AM
A very fluff and infantile artilcle from the "Associated Press" that show a lack of journalistic capability so ever present in the media. There is no research, the reporters simply parroted the "talking points" of the oil industry.

IF these businesses "make no money selling gasoline" then why the hell do they continue to sell it? The excuse tha they "Sell the gas" so they can make profit on Jerky, won't simply wash.

And refining, these companies make a lot in the refining, and refining controls the price. Like later this summer, the refineries are going to "switch" to making heating oils and fuels for heating. Like those of us that have worked around refineries and have a modicom of chemistry knowledge are supposed to believe that they "shut off the gas" refining, to "turn on the fuel refining". Hell they are diffferent fractionations in the oil production.

What is affecting the oil prices the most are the "Speculators", everything else is pretty much static with the exception of China and India increase in oil demand.

The United States can get out of this mess. Implement a sound (non-partisian) long term energy policy, that means nuke plants, and the much on the left championed wind and solar. But there is also a need to drill more of our domestic reserves like in the Gulf and in ANWR. China and other countries are already drilling in the gulf of Mexico, why the hell is the United States not? Our President goes begging the House of Saud in Saudia Arabia for more oil, when we have a lot here? New Refineries need to be built. Kansas is a great spot, right in the middle, just like a couple of Coal Power plants, and a couple of Nuke plants in Kansas, and Kansas would be the center literally of the Universe in energy.

SO the Lefties have to allow drilling and developing our reserves, back off the Coal Fired power and Nuke power plant oppositions. That is simply a political position, plain as dayu, and it is not very good for our citizens or our country.

ON the Right, we cannot continue to subsidize oil companies and have virtually no regulation on the "oil speculation market". Yes they are making money and record profits, but the effect is not good for our citizens and our country.

SO the left and the right are both to balme with their rigid positions and "litmus tests", and the AMerican CItizens are left in the middle sucking on it.

That is EXACTLY why the "BRANDS of the Democratic and Republican Parties are so damaged.

We Know you have no courage, leadership or ethics, and you lie for fundraising, and are simply not concerned about the citizens. We are on to you politicians.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: Hot_Toe_Picker at May 24, 2008 at 09:52:20 AM
I'm glad that I'm not the only person upset by this article full of lies and half-truths.

+ 3 Rating Posted by: REDBALL1030 at May 24, 2008 at 10:30:30 AM
I have to agree with ASBESTOS regarding this "fluff" article by AP. This country needs to get on the bandwagon with nuclear energy. France generates 80% of their power with nuclear energy and have found a way to recycle most of the nuclear waste. President Bush going over and begging the House of Saud for more production is a joke. Why would they increase production when they can get more per barrel with less production?
Also, there can't be any logic to this "switching to a summer blend" because the price never goes down when they supposedly switch back. America needs to get an energy policy but are any of the candidates talking about this? Hillary is "agnostic" on nuclear energy.

Posted by: mrbob at May 24, 2008 at 11:17:17 AM
Even if refinery profits are down from last year, I am sure that they are still doing quite well by most standards:

Coffeyville Refinery - is owned by CVR Energy which is a unit of Goldman Sachs (by no coincidence is the world's largest investment bank) - CVR plans to go public on the NYSE this year.

El Dorado Refinery - owned by Frontier Oil - recorded record profits for the company during 3rd qtr 2007

McPherson Refinery - agricultural fuel coop (on the surface, no complaints)

It doesn't matter where we drill in the US (honestly our reserves are miniscule compared to what is still underground in the middle east), or if we use coal or nuclear. I don't think that using these energy sources will make our fuel cheaper. We will subsidize the companies building these facilities, pay for the fuel and then pay later for the environmental issues.

Regarding nuclear, just go to Wikipedia and read about Yucca Mountain, obviously we are not looking at recycling everything nuclear.

Basically, big business and people with money and influence will always have the goal of having the citizens in the middle sucking on it. That's how they make their money.


+ 1 Rating Posted by: ASBESTOS at May 24, 2008 at 11:47:53 AM
So your answer Mrbob is ***** about oil companies and bag on US reserve development which is actually QUITE LARGE, not in line with the minimization you just posted, ie you are totally misinformed. Using other energy sources and looking for alternative LIQUID FUELS will benefit Kansas, as the Kansas economy is literally "fuled" by liquid fuel.

Regarding your post, it is only complaining, an no solutions.

The solutions are obviously:

NUKE and Coal power generation
no more NG, LNG, or LPG for power generation
WInd and solar tax credits for all thsoe that want to put them on their property
more refineries with the capability of biofuel production form CELULOSE, NOT CORN. Our corn crop had 24% put forward to ethanol production, and only reduced our oil consumption 1%, and the unintended consequences of food shortages, is not a good thing at all, we should be using cellulose and not food for energy.

We have to drill, plain and simple.
We have to produce liquid fuels from coal.
we have to make an infrastructure based on fuel and propellant diversity. We can no longer have a monolithic liquid fuel source, ie petroleum based.

But we still have to drill in the interim.

So, mrbob, there are the solutins.

-3 Rating Posted by: topeka78 at May 24, 2008 at 12:35:04 PM
It's easy to pick the idiots out of a crowd. They are the ones crying. "tax the evil oil companies."

How in the name of Pete is taxing the very industry we need to get our oil and gas, going to acomplish anything?

If you want to place blame, look at the liberal left that won't let oil companies drill off the coasts and Alaska. The supply we need is there. But no, we have to beg for oil from the Arabs. Thanks Mr. Kennedy, Ms.Pelosi and our special friend, the ***** from MESSachusetts Mr. Barney Frank.

Posted by: mrbob at May 24, 2008 at 12:49:33 PM
asbestos,

Don’t take it personal. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating facts and I do agree with you on some of your points.

However, it is a fact that our oil reserves are small compared to the Middle East.

Even Canada's oil reserves dwarf our own. The size of their reserves is over 8 times as large as ours. Our reserves are estimated to last us just twelve years based on current production rates. Canada's estimate is 182 years.

This is why, yes, we have to continue drilling… for now, but yes, we should be looking for alternative sources.

You can’t convince me that coal plants are a good thing for the long haul. They are cleaner than they used to be but that doesn’t mean that they are really clean. In many ways they are similar to the nuclear, they do some clean up but in the end, what’s left over basically ends up being dumped in a big hole (like they want to do with Yucca Mountain).

I think the wind and solar power options are great although I know they must be supplemented with other energy sources.

Big oil is making record profits. I just don’t see a big incentive (yet) for them to move away from fossil fuels. It doesn’t help that everyone at the top of the political ladder have income deep in the oil industry. The automobile industry is starting to feel the pain.

I agree with your view on what our infrastructure should be. I just don’t see who drives it forward so the plan gets executed. What do you

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”

Three killed in Kansas storms: CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Three killed in Kansas storms


Lightning cited in incident at Pomona
From Staff and Wire Reports
Published Sunday, May 25, 2008
Turbulent weather was blamed for the deaths of three people in Kansas, including a 20-year-old man who apparently was killed by lightning early Saturday at Pomona State Park, about 35 miles south of Topeka.

In south-central Kansas, two people were found dead in their car Saturday morning after a tornado blew it off the road into a field the night before.

CHARLIE RIEDEL / The Associated Press
An old barn stands in a wheat field as a severe thunderstorm passes in the distance near Ogallah. Severe thunderstorms Thursday, Friday and Saturday caused turbulent weather across much of the state.
Gary S. Whitlow, 33, and Kimberly S. Whitlow, 29, both of Rocky Ford, Colo., were pronounced dead at the scene after authorities found their car in a wheat field 150 yards north of US-54 highway, about 13 miles east of Pratt.

The Pratt County Sheriff's Office said the car, barely visible from the road, was destroyed by a tornado that also swept a semi truck off the highway and knocked down power poles and lines across the road.

The apparent lightning strike at Pomona State Park also injured three people, the Osage County Sheriff's Department said. The three were transported by ambulance to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Neither their names nor conditions were known.

The Pomona State Park fatality victim, whose identity hasn't been released, was camping with friends and was thought to have been struck by lightning between 1 and 4 a.m. as thunderstorms rolled through the area, a sheriff's deputy said. He was discovered by another person at the park.

The sheriff's department and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks are investigating the death.

The twister in the Pratt area was one of at least 17 across central and western Kansas on Friday that injured at least six people and damaged or destroyed dozens of homes.

The tornadoes began forming around 4:30 p.m. and didn't subside until after midnight, spanning at least nine counties, said Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the Kansas Adjutant General's Department.

Capital-Journal staff writer Kevin Elliott contributed to this report.

__________________
Yea can't keep the words of your great leader.

Prophet Muhammad - “Do you love your creator? Love your fellow-beings first.”