By Staff
GOING DOWN n Gasoline prices in the Meridian area show an average 10-cent per gallon decline, as evidenced by the sign at a Dixie station on B Street.Photo by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star.
By Kelly Quackenbush/The Meridian Star
Jan. 11, 2001
Falling gasoline prices in the Meridian area seem to be having little impact so far on local business operations or tourism.
An informal survey by The Meridian Star showed average pump prices have fallen by about 10 cents per gallon, reflecting a national trend identified by the Washington, D.C.-based Energy Information Administration.
And, while lower gas prices usually mean happier consumers and lower costs of doing business for many companies, the local reductions do not seem to be making much of a difference.
Glen Deweese, CEO of Deweese Enterprises and owner of 72 Super Stop stores  most of which sell gasoline under the Conoco brand said Wednesday he is taking business "one day at a time."
He said his profits are actually off due to "price bouncing," which can cause erratic shifts in the cost he must pay for the gas.
Allison Beasley of the Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau said the reduced gasoline prices have not generated more tourism activity in the Meridian area.
Tourism is usually slow at this time of year due to the holidays, although Beasley said higher gas prices did not deter tourism, either.
Another local businessman agreed lower gas prices haven't helped his operations.
Louis Bailey, president of D &D Transport Inc., a company which hauls freight usually within a 75-mile radius of Meridian, said the drop was not enough to make much difference.
According to the Energy Information Administration the national average weekly price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $1.61 for this week. Last year the price this time of year was $1.45.
The average per gallon price at Mississippi pumps Wednesday was $1.31.
Kelly Quackenbush is a staff writer for The Meridian Star.