Convoy Rolls In Charleston

By CASEY JUNKINS With AP Dispatches
DALLAS PIKE — During his 30 years in the American trucking industry, Oklahoma resident Doug Chambers has seen the ups and downs of the diesel fuel market — and he does his best to avoid buying the fuel in West Virginia because of high state taxes.

Diesel prices averaged $4.14 per gallon in West Virginia on Friday, up $1.21 from a year ago, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. But the cost was even higher at TravelCenters of America in Dallas Pike, as Chambers was forking over $4.25 per gallon.

‘‘I am just going to buy enough here to go another 50 or so miles. Then, I’ll fill it up once I get deeper into Pennsylvania,’’ he said.

Chambers said he has recently been paying an average of nearly $950 to fill up his tank.

‘‘And I only get about 6 miles to the gallon of fuel,’’ he said.

While dozens of Mountain State truckers fed up with high fuel costs converged on the state Capitol in a Friday morning protest, they drove away in anger three hours later, their frustrations left unabated by officials.

Those are frustrations Chambers understands.

‘‘I don’t buy fuel in West Virginia if I don’t have to because the taxes are too high here. If you ask me, West Virginia is killing itself in this,’’ he said.

While acknowledging the continuing escalation of fuel prices throughout the nation, Chambers said the federal government needs to take action.

‘‘Every time somebody talks about drilling for more oil, the tree huggers set up the roadblocks. We have to find a way to get more fuel in the market,’’ he said.

Jobie Gause of Baltimore also stopped at Dallas Pike on Friday. Gause said he feels sorry for people working at low-wage jobs.

‘‘It isn’t even worth it for a lot of people I meet to keep their part-time jobs anymore because they have to pay so much just to get back and forth from work,’’ he said.

Gause said he is hearing rumors that truckers may act to shut down portions of Interstate 95 around the East Coast metropolises of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

‘‘Now that would be a major protest,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, more than 60 rigs rumbled off Interstate 64/77 Friday morning and pulled up to the seat of state government, where truckers demanded relief. Trailer-less tractors, coal trucks, lumber haulers and tow trucks were among the vehicles that rolled in single-file from a gathering point about 70 miles north.

The convoy of mostly independent operators included Donald Cottrill of Dad’s Trucking. Cottrill has seen his weekly fuel bill climb to $2,500 from $500 nine years ago. He linked the costs to the rising prices of lumber and other goods he hauls on his flatbed to businesses across the state.

‘‘It’s just time for us to make a stand,’’ said Cottrill, 37. ‘‘This ain’t just for us. We’re trying to do this for everybody.’’

Gov. Joe Manchin was away from the Capitol Friday. His legislative director, Jim Pitrolo, told a crowd of truckers and their supporters in the Rotunda that Manchin is urging federal action.

‘‘The state has no control of pricing of fuel,’’ Pitrolo said. ‘‘(Manchin) is committed to working with the federal government and the president to get them to stabilize and lower fuel prices.’’

Such remarks did little to soothe. When state Attorney General Darrell McGraw addressed the protesters and then fielded questions, several said they face being forced to idle or even sell their rigs. A show of hands suggested most lack health coverage, with a number indicating they shed that benefit to cut costs.

Manchin later said he spoke to protest leaders by phone.

‘‘I will ask President Bush to release some of the strategic petroleum reserve to help stabilize the current cost of fuel. But we also need to understand that this would be a short-term bandage,’’ the governor said in a statement. ‘‘The key is that we’ve got to get the federal government to understand the urgency of this issue.’’

Amid talk of returning next week in larger numbers, some protesters called for a statewide hauling shutdown. Others spoke of rallying West Virginians to spearhead a national push to tackle the problem.

Several faulted the governor for his absence. More than a few vowed to take the issue with them into the voting booth, during the state’s May 13 primary and in November.

A Democrat, Manchin is up for re-election this year along with nearly all other statewide officers and most of the Legislature.

AAA’s report averaged regular unleaded gas prices in the state at $3.38, up 64 cents from a year ago. Friday’s in-state prices for both gas and diesel remain within two cents of their recorded highs, reached last month, AAA said.

State taxes account for 32.2 cents in those prices. The year began with a dozen states sporting higher gas taxes than West Virginia, while 10 had higher taxes on diesel, according to January figures from the American Petroleum Institute. Federal taxes add another 18.4 cents per-gallon to the price of gas and 24.4 cents for diesel.

But West Virginia’s fuel taxes also provide 61 percent of the state’s revenues for its main road fund, which relies on federal dollars as well. The state expects these taxes to bring in $405.8 million by the time the budget year ends June 30. Collections were $547,000 below projections as of last month.

‘‘It’s sort of a Catch-22. Money that comes off the gas tax, comes out of the road fund,’’ said Pitrolo, noting chronic complaints of inadequate funding in the state’s road budget.

Though the Legislature passed several tax cuts and phase-outs during its recent session, none of the 2,134 bills introduced appear to have targeted taxes on vehicle fuels. William Doak noted that the session’s successful bills included a $5,000 salary hike for lawmakers.

‘‘We pay their wages, and they vote themselves a raise,’’ said Doak, 54. ‘‘Everybody seems to warrant raises and stuff, but we don’t seem to be getting anything.’’