Motorists are facing pain at the gasoline pumps in region

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by Colin McEwen

Record-Courier reporter

As Portage County motorists continue to struggle with exorbitant prices at the pump, most of the gas stations in the county are still 10 cents lower than the state average of $3.39 per gallon.

As of March 15, most gas stations' prices hovered around $3.29 for regular gasoline. At noon March 14, the Sheetz station in Kent was packed with customers waiting to fill their tanks.

Sue Polomsky of Edinburg drives 17.5 miles to Kent each day for work. Using a higher grade gas for her 2004 Chevy Impala, she pays nearly $50 to fill her tank.

"It's awful," she said of the hike in gas prices. "I can't believe Congress has let prices get this high. What about the people who have decide between gas and food?"

Stow resident Dave Boros spends $320 per month to drive his two vehicles for work. He is upset that the prices haven't come down yet.

"It doesn't make sense," he said. "Gas doesn't need to be this high. It's too convenient, we go to war and gas prices go through the roof. But we've got no choice."

Moe Moyseenko of Twin Lakes said the gas prices influenced his last car purchase, opting for a fuel efficient Honda Accord. He and his wife also choose to shop closer to home to cut costs.

"I CAN'T believe nothing is being done," Moyseenko said, upset with oil companies. "It's like they're playing games with us. They know they can get away with it, so they do it."

The average price for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline in Ohio was $3.39 on March 14, compared to $2.48 a year ago and just shy of a record $3.40 last May.

Diesel prices in the county hovered around $4.09 per gallon, confusing motorists who cite that diesel fuel has always been less expensive than regular gasoline.

Ron Fedor, a Mantua resident, drives to different locations each day as a stone mason. His F-450 truck has a 38-gallon diesel tank, costing more than $150 to fill.

"Diesel fuel doesn't take as much to process," he said. "So I don't know why it's more expensive."

Joanna Herncane, a spokesman for AAA Ohio, said some drivers have simply absorbed the higher costs.

"Motorists have been dealing with high gas prices for so long now, they've really incorporated these high prices into their everyday routine," she said.

She said the question is whether that will change if gasoline reaches $3.75 or $4 per gallon.

"The outlook for motorists doesn't look good right now," she said.

E-mail:

cmcewen@recordpub.com

Telephone: 330-296-9657