Gas prices leave students' pocket book strained

Kimberly Doyle

     It looks like gas prices are still on the rise. Just in the past two months, prices have risen
over $3 per gallon and are not getting any cheaper.
     According to Dan Elliott, a store clerk at the Clear Creek 66 convenient store in Tahlequah, gas prices will be close to $3.60 per gallon by the end of March. With Spring Break just around the corner, gas prices might even be higher in bigger cities.
     Convenient stores rely on the gas company prices. Whatever the companies are charging for gas determines just how much the convenient stores will charge customers.
     “We get a truck that comes in with probably 8,500 gallons of gas about three days a week and that’s how we determine when we’re going to raise gas. It depends on how much that gas is going to cost to what we put out our on the sign,” said Elliot.
     Convenient stores have to keep up with their local competition as well. If one store is raising prices and people are still buying, other stores will raise prices too.
     “It also depends on what other stores are doing. We try to keep up with them,” said Elliott.
     Gas companies know that people have to go to work and school, so they will continue to raise the price of gas to whatever extent they want because they know the public relies on gas to get places. So be prepared for the sudden changes in prices. Elliott expects gas prices to be up to $4 per gallon by summer time, if not higher.