Published March 17,2005, in the Kirksville Daily Express

Story by Matthew Webber

KIRKSVILLE - As the price of crude oil rises to record levels and local gasoline prices hover near $2 per gallon, consumers are beginning to reconsider their driving habits.

But signs advertising $1.99 gasoline did not keep drivers away from the pumps Thursday morning.

One day after crude oil sold for a record high of $56 a barrel, Richard Davis of Davenport, Iowa, expressed shock that the cost to fill his tank at a Kirksville gas station was almost double the amount of gas he purchased.

But, pointing at the pump that displayed a $34.62 charge for 17 gallons of gas, he said there wasn't much he or other consumers could do short of driving less.

"I don't like the idea, but what can you do about it?" Davis asked. "You don't drive as much. I wouldn't come down here if it wasn't an emergency."

Davis said the high prices are particularly tough on people who are retired.

"When you're living on your pension, you don't have much," he said.

As the coach of a fifth-grade girls' basketball team, Edna Bunch of Kirksville drives hundreds of miles every weekend for tournaments, in addition to all the other driving she does for her family.

As the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline nationwide approaches an all-time high of $2.01, Bunch said she and other parents are paying $50-60 a week on gas.

"It's ridiculous," Bunch said. "We have tournaments the next three weeks, and we parents are the ones who buy gas."

As parents seeks ways to reduce their driving and save money, the rising gas prices have even started to affect their daughters' basketball schedules.

"We did less tournaments and games for the girls," Bunch said. "I do a lot less driving in general because of the gas prices."

Although it might seem surprising to see almost $2 gas prices in Kirksville, local drivers might be fortunate compared to those in other parts of the country.

"I've traveled all of Illinois in the last week, and this is the cheapest I've found it," said Michelle Yardeny of Denver, filling her tank this morning. "Most places are about $2.15, $2.20, a gallon."

Because Yardeny's job as a business manager requires her to travel, she cannot avoid driving hundreds of miles a week.

But, when she is not working, she is thinking about thriftier ways to travel.

"Family-wise, the gas prices definitely hinder things," Yardeny said. "It's cheaper to fly than it is to drive, depending on where you're going."