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Adair Countians are becoming innovative in face of gas prices The ramble below, inspired by D.W. Swanner's SCC Carpooling idea, considers a few of the ways Adair Countians are coping with the high cost of fuel from increased motorcycle use, biking, vacationing in Columbia, air cars, electric cars and bikes, motorcycles, to cops in a Mule, remembering we have legs, and more. Your comments and ideas, especially way-out ones, are invited. -EW By Ed Waggener The high gas prices haven't been all bad. Particularly if you are one of the Gradyville oil shieks. It is comforting to the rest of us to know, that, collectively, their wealth is increasing faster than the aggregate price rise burden the rest of us are paying for gasoline. The high prices are helping keep Adair Countians home. Several restaurant owners have said they feel increases in their own trade has been because people can't afford driving off to Bowling Green for high dollar Friday and Saturday meals. It changed the way we trade. At impromptu yard sales over the July 4th weekend, operators were reporting record sales, and most cited the gas cost pinch as a reason. Adair Countians are finding innovative solutions to the high gas prices. Some are walking, some are biking, some are riding horses and using horsedrawn conveyances. One would wonder if styles, mounting blocks, and horse parking facilities would come back. We'd have to have the WPA-built, concrete base Merchant Street converted to grass truf to have Jocky Days there again, but maybe another venue would bring more horseback travel to town happen again. Renewed interest in Dyno-Rev engine The higher prices have helped review interest in the Karnes Dyno-Rev engine, and new research is going on in Green River Commerce Park on the Mark Karnes/Keith Livermore Venture. At the Karnes Dyno-Rev website, there's a video that's worth watching about the inventor. It's good theater as well as interesting for Adair Countians. Motorscooters, cops on Mules One Milltown area family bought a truck load of motorscooters. And, along the roadsides there are a lot more Kawasaki mules, Yamaha Vinos, and other low gas comsumption vehicles around. In fact, Lindsey Wilson College has used electric golf carts for intra-campus for years. The City of Jamestown Police have a Kawasaki mule as part of the their cop fleet. Bio-diesel on Burton Ridge A KY 206 inventor is making his own bio-diesel fuel, and may market it soon. Right now, he's making it for his own use. Going hybrid in Gradyville A Gradyville sculptor, David Waltz, has gone hybrid, with a 47 MPG Prius now in his driveway. And some of his friends are thinking at following suite. Getting high mileage on the cheap A photo Saturday showing Arthur R. Helm in his 42 mpg Mazda Miata is an example of how one man rides in style on 4 wheels, getting motorcycle gas mileage, at about 25% of the cost of many new two-wheelers. He stayed with tried and proven technology, got a car that is almost impossible to wear out, and one that is a head turner everywhere he goes. (Click here to see similar one for sale or Click hereTo see other gas savers in ColumbiaMagazine.com classifieds Neighborhood Electric Vehicles Some are watching the the development of electric cars, including readily available and competitively priced Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) which get 150 mpg equivalents and more, like the Zenn or the G.E.M./Global Electric Motorcars, highly glorified golf carts which can be driven on city streets and are American made in Fargo, NC, by a division of Chrysler. If you do most of your driving around town, the math already works for one of these. Charles Grimsley spotted the air-car Charles Grimsley said he saw an air-powered vehicle on a Tv show, and a followup google search confirmed that this concept, roughly based on the same compressed air energy storage of a nail gun, is already working. There's an article in Popular Mechanics which suggests the air car could be available in the U.S. in 2009-2010. It's entitled, Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-Mile RangeAs one might expect, the Indians are already taking advantage of the technology. Tata Motors, which introduced the $2,500 Tata Nano earlier this year, which bought the Jaguar brand from Ford Motor Company in 2008, is already planning to introduce an MDI-licensed air car there next year, according to this article, "World's First Air-Powered Car: Zero Emissions by Next Summer."Electrified bicycles are mainstream Bicycles are making a big comeback. Columbian Tom Waggener operates Main Street Bikes in Shelbyville, KY. He had really big May 2008 deliveries. The sales came from people powered two wheelers, mostly, but he's in line to get a Schwinn plug in, 60 mile range electric powered Schwinn later this year. The math works on this one, too. Bike racks at ACPL Bike racks which can handle 12 bicycles have been installed at the Adair County Public Library. They were a gift from the maintenance department at Lindsey Wilson College and were installed by the Adair County Road Department at the direction of County Judge Ann Melton. So far, they aren't getting much, if any, use, but we're hoping that will change. They are located beside Mitzi's clothing store entrance. Vacation a few blocks away A lot of us are finding travel close to home a good idea. One of the best vacations Linda and I ever had was two five blocks from home, with all the fun of a 5-year-olds "sweep-over." We were guests of cousins Bobby and Andi Chelf of Carmel, IN, at the Magnolia House at the corner of Jones and Merchant Streets. It cost almost no gas, the hospitality was fantastic, the food was great, the rooms were well appointed and huge, and the experience gave us a whole new perspective on just how great a place Columbia is to visit. Holmes Bend an option for those who want greater adventure than Columbia offers More venturesome souls can vacation at exotic Holmes Bend with the entire stay, including meals and picnic costs, less than gas in an SUV to Gatlinburg. There are cabins at the dock, and new ones are being built by Keith Metcalfe & Associates at intersection of Holmes Bend Road and Corbin's Bend Road, in the central business district of Jericho. We carpooled to college in the 70's, why not now? DW Swanner has come up with a super idea: A carpool chat list to arrange carpooling to Somerset Community College. Carpooling is not such a new idea. Many, if not most Adair Countians who have CU degrees made lifelong friends with carpools. Others remember the people who rode to Bowling Green with them to get Masters and rank advancements at WKU. Just a few years ago, teachers carpooled from Columbia to Shepherd Fay McKinley, the most respected finance manager in our family, remembers carpooling from the Tasty Freeze parking lot across from the Fairgrounds with fellow Shepherd teachers to save gas on the five mile round trip from Columbia to Christine/Purdy! Hey! We still have legs! Finally, there's walking. More and more Adair Countians are discovering their legs. The City of Columbia did have a very ambitious sidewalk program. Haven't heard much out of it lately, but the money is supposed to be in place to build sidewalks to school, and Mayor Bell promised Edwin Hadley that the City would pursue building a side walk from Miller Avenue to Franklin Nissan on Jamestown Street, but nothing has been said about it at the last few meetings. (There is one tonight, at 6:00pm, in case anyone wants to make a citizen comment on the sidewalk construction delay.) Send your ideas If you have ideas on coping/fighting high gas prices, send them. If you want to advertise for carpooling buddies, send a letter and we'll help publicize it. If you have ideas on doing more biking or walking, let us know. Use a Contact/Submit to write, or call (270) 250-2730. This story was posted on 2008-07-07 06:10:11
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic News:
Study buddies an added benefit of carpooling Huge Garage+Yard Sale announced They're selling so fast! We need Motorcycle, ATV listings Columbia Fire Dept responds to 2 fire alarms over weekend VBS at Union Chapel on Friday, July 11, 2008 Remembering working with Janice Corbin at Adair Memorial Agenda, Columbia City Council, Regular July 7, 2008 meeting Barnetts Creek UMC Church Directory is updated Many may qualify for 13-week extended unemployment benefits Obituary: Fannie Flowers, 71, member First Baptist Church View even more articles in topic News |
 
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