Fuel

View all of the photos for purchase! HALFWAY -- Brandon Gooden and Ryan Downes formed a formidable 1-2 punch for Halfway on Monday night. Gooden homered, doubled, singled and drove in six runs, while Downes homered, tripled, singled and drove in four in Halfway's 19-9 victory over South Mountain in the Maryland District 1 11-12 Little League Tournament losers' bracket semifinal at Nicholas James Adenhart Field. Halfway will travel to Valley tonight at 6 for the losers' bracket final.

Dear Tom and Ray: My husband and I have been married for two months. Recently I found out that his 1997 Dodge Dakota has been having a problem. He says, "You just have to burp it sometimes. " What does that actually mean? He reports that his fuel pump gets "bubbles" in it, so he bangs on the fuel tank until the fuel can run again. Last Saturday when we were running errands, it happened twice. It was very embarrassing. He was initially using a long-handled wood splitting maul, but I told him it was not a good idea, so he upgraded to a rubber mallet.

Consumers are reeling from a sudden dramatic increase late last week in the cost of fuel including kerosene, which increased by as much as 70 cents a gallon at some convenience stores. "People are shocked. I've been here 30 years and that's the highest I've seen it," said Donna French of French's Service and Kwick Stop, along W.Va. 9 near Hedgesville, W.Va. French said her fuel supplier informed her about five days ago that the cost of her kerosene would be going from 99 cents a gallon to $1.19 a gallon.

Tractor-trailer leaks fuel By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI kimy@herald-mail.com photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer A tractor-trailer rig hauling ice cream leaked diesel fuel for two to three miles from Hagerstown into Halfway after hitting a metal construction plate Monday afternoon. Hagerstown Battalion Chief Ron Horn said the driver hit a metal plate on Wilson Boulevard at Guilford Avenue at 3 p.m. The impact ripped a hole in a side fuel tank under the driver's seat, he said.

Allegheny Power customers in Maryland may see a slight decrease in their bills next month, under a rate reduction request before the Public Service Commission. The company has asked the PSC to decrease its fuel rate from 1.195 cents per kilowatt hour to 1.118 cents per kilowatt hour. If approved, the average customer using 1,000 kilowatts of electricity would see a 75-cent reduction in their monthly bill effective Dec. 7. The fuel rate is a small line item on Maryland customers' bills that reflects the cost of fuel used to generate electricity.

WASHINGTON COUNTY As gas prices climb, local governments are feeling the sting at the pump as much as, if not more than, private residents. Washington County, the City of Hagerstown and the board of education all anticipate higher fuel costs this year than last. The city expects to spend about $92,000 more on gasoline than it budgeted for fiscal year 2008, and county departments are being asked to reduce mileage whenever possible. The board of education increased its motor vehicle fuel budget to $633,339 this year after spending $571,032 in fiscal year 2007, but officials said they also are affected by the rising cost of heating fuel.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG - As Fulton Farm Manager Matt Steiman turns on an irrigation pump fueled with biodiesel, the faint scent of greasy french fries wafts from the machinery. Steiman is experimenting with alternative fuel sources, including biodiesel, which is created by a chemical reaction among methanol, lye and leftover vegetable oil from the Wilson College dining hall. "We're excited about the possibility of generating our own renewable fuel produced from a waste product produced here," Steiman said.

Editor's note: This is the first article in a two-part series about one teen's struggle to go fossil free for a week. What would life be like without fossil fuels? Pretty hard to imagine, in a civilization where nearly everything we do involves petroleum, natural gas or coal. When we use electrical appliances, we're using fossil fuels - the production of electricity uses coal. When we drive in cars, we're burning gasoline, a refined version of petroleum. When companies make things - furniture, silverware, pasta, soap or this newspaper - fossil fuels help them.

Tri-State area residents lulled by mild winters and last year's low fuel prices may find heating their homes over the coming winter will take a bigger bite out of their wallets, according to representatives of some local fuel companies. Oil, propane and kerosene will cost between 10 percent and 30 percent more this winter than last year, companies predicted. "The cost is definitely going to be higher," said J. William Walter, operations manager of HJ Tanner Inc. in Chambersburg, Pa. "We never know what it's going to be until we pick it up at the terminal.

Home fuel prices on rise By ANDREW SCHOTZ / Staff Writer Home heating oil prices will increase by about 30 percent this winter, according to federal energy projections released Wednesday. continued Oil will likely cost, on average, $1.31 per gallon, or about 30 cents more than during the same period last year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Consumers also can expect to pay 25 percent to 30 percent more for natural gas. "Higher crude oil prices push the prices of all (petroleum)