COLUMBUS -- Filling stations in several spots of Ohio were selling gasoline for 89 cents a gallon or less over the weekend, and indications are the inexpensive prices may remain for a while.
"The word on the street is it'll probably last for some time," said Roger Dreyer, president of the Ohio Petroleum Marketers Association in suburban Dublin.
His group's 500 member companies own or supply gas to about half the state's 6,000 service stations.
Ken Mayland, chief economist of Cleveland-based KeyCorp, said prices are lower than before the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries' boycott of 1973.
"On an inflation-adjusted basis, these are the lowest prices of gasoline in a generation," he said.
Gas that cost 27 cents a gallon 30 years ago would be priced at $1.38 today if the price of gasoline increased at the same rate as inflation. But in the past 18 months, crude oil prices have dropped from $25 a barrel to $14.
Ohio isn't the only state to have taken advantage of the combination of ample supply and moderate demand that's led to the price drops. Indiana has higher state gasoline taxes than Ohio, but some areas there had gas going for as low as 83 cents a gallon.
Minishows planned for arts open house
Kingdom Arts Christian Creative and Performing Arts Academy will have an open house from noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
The free program will include miniclasses and performances in dance, art, instrumental music, vocal music and more. There will also be information on the new home school arts program. The academy is at 5836 Hamilton Ave. in College Hill.
For more information, call Minister Lyrica Smith at 681-2787.
Winchester man, 21, dies in 1-car crash
A 21-year-old Winchester, Ohio, man was killed early Sunday in a one-car crash on Ohio 137 in Adams County.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol identified the man as W. Clifford Beighle, who was pronounced dead at the crash scene.
He was driving west on Ohio 137 about 2:15 a.m., when his car went left of center, the highway patrol said. The car slid sideways and went off the right side of the road and struck an embankment.
Mr. Beighle, who was not wearing a seat belt, was partially ejected from the car.
Bacteria counts unsafe at Lake Erie beaches
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Bacteria at a few Lake Erie beaches have been at levels higher than deemed safe, but not bad enough to shut them down, the Blade reported Sunday.
The newspaper hired BioCheck, a microbiology laboratory, to test Maumee Bay State Park's inland pond beach and Lake Erie beach as well as Lake Erie at Crane Creek State Park and at East Harbor State Park in Ottawa County.
At least 12 times during the tests, run between July 27 and Sept. 4, bacteria levels went over what the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio Department of Health consider safe, the newspaper said.
During that time, one advisory was posted at Maumee Bay State Park, from July 24-31, when three of the high bacteria counts occurred. The bacteria level at the East Harbor State Park never exceeded standards.
"Swimmers literally don't know what they get into when they get into the water," said Amy Simpson, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Public Interest Research Group, a non-profit citizens watchdog organization. "Ohio is more stringent than many beaches in the country. The only problem is, the bacteria levels are not being reported in a timely fashion."
Health officials say that by the time they get test results and analyze them, which could take an entire day, levels could have gone back down, making an advisory unnecessary.
Officials are concerned about E. coli, a bacteria that in large numbers can cause vomiting and give swimmers cramps or diarrhea.
4-mile End of Sun Run to be Sunday morning
SHARONVILLE -- The Sharonville Recreation Department's annual End of the Sun Run, a 4-mile race, will be at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Sharonville Community Center at the corner of Creek Road and Thornview Drive. Cost is $8, and runners who preregister will receive a T-shirt The deadline is Friday.
Race day registration begins at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday and costs $10. Information: 563-9072.
Sandusky considers daytime student curfew
SANDUSKY, Ohio -- City officials are considering adoption of a daytime curfew that would make it a crime for students to spend time on the streets, in malls or at any other public place when they should be in class.
The curfew for ages 6-17 would give police more power to pick up students, including those who have been expelled, during school hours than they currently have under the state's truancy laws.
