Outages fuel frustration

The special meeting of Newton City Council on Thursday was called for a decision on a bid for the replacement of a culvert. But the hot topic was the same as all over western North Carolina — gas.

Council member Roy Johnson said he had traveled to Mountain View from his home in Newton Thursday morning before finding a station with gas. He had to wait in a long line, he said, but he got the fuel he needed to get around for his job as a pharmaceutical salesman and back to Newton for the midday council meeting. He reported similar scenes as he traveled across the county — either red or yellow plastic bags on the pump handles at the stations or long lines spilling out onto the streets and forcing local law enforcement officers to respond for traffic control.

"As I drove around the county today — Claremont, Conover and other places — police were out directing traffic at the stations that had gas," Johnson said. For example, he said a station near the Boxcar Grille in Claremont had traffic coming from its parking lot and down the street to Interstate 40.

Hickory police responded to at least two areas — a station on N.C. 127 and another on Startown Road — to clear the roads of waiting vehicles.

Amit Patel, owner of the Raceway Station on Lenoir-Rhyne Boulevard, looked out the windows of his business at an empty parking lot Thursday afternoon.

"Business is dead," he said. "Nothing."

Patel said he had called the company's distributor in Charlotte to get information about deliveries.

"I've called a couple of times, but they don't know when they'll get a delivery to us," Patel said. "Not today, possibly tomorrow."

Across town at the Servco station on N.C. 127, Manager Kenny Patel gave a similar story.

"We call our company to order gas and they tell us they're taking orders, but they don't know when they'll send it out," he said.

Kenny Patel said his station ran out of gasoline around 4 p.m. Wednesday, and the affect on his business is damaging. He estimates 50 percent of his business is in the sale of gas.

Gov. Mike Easley announced Wednesday that some of the major oil companies agreed to send "hundreds of thousands" of gallons of gasoline to areas hit hard by the shortage, including western North Carolina. The shipments are expected to be available within the next two days.

"I am grateful to the oil companies for trying to get gas to our people. They do not have to make these changes in their delivery routine and I have no power to make them," Easley said. "They have agreed to do this voluntarily."

The North Carolina League of Municipalities released information about the shortage Thursday.

According to that organization, the shortage is due to oil refineries being shut down or still not
functioning at full capacity after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

"North Carolina receives about 60 percent of its gasoline supply from the Colonial Pipeline, which originates in Houston. Obviously, the hurricane affected the refineries in this area," the press release reads. "Five are still not in operation and once back in production, it takes from seven to 10 days for the product to reach the state."

According to the press release, when a shortage occurs, independently owned stations, which make up the majority of such businesses in western North Carolina, are affected first.

The shortage is having unexpected repercussions: community colleges, including Catawba Valley Community College, are canceling classes. CVCC will not hold classes today and Saturday due to a low attendance rate the last few days.

"After talking to local oil distributors and area law enforcement, we believe it's in the community's best interests to reduce gas consumption," said college President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw. "With 6,000- plus students coming to campus daily, it can have a serious impact on gas supply."

Only essential staff" — maintenance workers and staff at the Child Development Center — are expected to report to work today and Saturday. The Higher Education Center will be open today unless a faculty member has canceled a class. That information will be available on the college's Web site at www.cvcc.edu.

The college plans to return to its regular schedule Monday.

Other closings or reschedulings attributed to the gas shortage are:

• Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton and McDowell Tech in Marion canceled classes for the rest of the week.

• A Service of Welcome for the new bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, Bishop Larry Goodpaster, set for Sunday has been postponed to Sunday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

• The Girl Scout Council of the Catawba Valley Area Inc. office on Fourth Street, SW, in Hickory, also is closed for operations today. However, all training sessions and events will be held as scheduled. The Council Shop will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for its promotional Back-2-Troop Sale.

• The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model event Over the Mountain 150, scheduled for Saturday at Hickory Motor Speedway, has been postponed. The date for the race has yet to be decided.