By The Sentinel, September 30, 2004

Last updated: Friday, October 1, 2004 9:32 AM EDT

"You can fill up at the same place your car does."

That's what a college student told an Associated Press reporter about the bus he and a dozen fellow students from Middlebury College are taking on a 15,000-mile cross-country trip. It's modified to run on vegetable oil, and it leaves behind an odor familiar to anyone who has walked past a fast-food restaurant.

The modifications are not exactly a state secret. The bus has a diesel engine, which is why they call the concept "biodiesel."

The students' expedition is actually a two-vehicle affair. A mostly stock 1998 Volkswagen Jetta with a diesel engine accompanies the bus on the trip. It's been fitted with a heated fuel tank and an industrial-strength fuel filter - the better to run on used vegetable oil, making those fast-food joints double as fuel stops.

The AP notes that some gasoline stations already offer a pump for refined vegetable oil, and that singers Willie Nelson and Neil Young already run their tour buses on biodiesel.

It's almost too good to be true.

The Department of Energy notes some downsides:

Biodiesel is more susceptible to what gas-vehicle owners call fuel line freeze-up, since the fuel forms wax crystals at low temperatures.

Nitrogen oxide emissions are a little higher, although the DOE notes that can be adjusted when formulating the fuel.

And fuel economy gives up about 2.2 percent to regular diesel.

But the disadvantages are mild, considering the possible benefits, from generally higher fuel mileage across the board to reducing the nation's dependence on foreign-sourced petroleum.

Yes, the DOE has been on the biodiesel case for about a decade now. There are incentive programs in place for biodiesel refiners and for fleet vehicle buyers who put alternative-fuel cars and trucks into service.

But this has all been under the radar - and that's why the Middlebury College students are taking their fall semester to spread the good word. If you smell french fries in an unlikely place, that may just be their bus approaching.Mary K. Miller, 51, of 89 N. High St., Newville, died Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2004, in her home.

Born Nov. 27, 1952, in Alamogordo, N.M., she was a daughter of Blanche (Millhouse) Reath of Newville and the late George D. Reath, who died July 9, 1998.

Ms. Miller was a 1970 graduate of Big Spring High School in Newville. She was a licensed practical nurse and employed as a manager for Highmark Blue Shield in Camp Hill.

She was a member of the Hamilton-Myers VFW Post 6070's Ladies Auxiliary and Failor-Wagner American Legion Post 421, both in Newville.

Ms. Miller is survived by her mother; a son, Christopher A. Miller of Newville; two daughters, Georgeann L. Miller and Kimberly R. Miller, both of Newville; a stepson, Matthew A. Miller of Newville; two brothers, George R. Reath of Rockford, Mich., and John D. Reath of Gardners; a sister, Faye R. Elhajj of Shippensburg; two step-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Ronald E. Reath, who died Nov. 12, 1995.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Green Spring First Church of God, 1140 Green Spring Road, Newville, with Pastor Philip Steele officiating. Burial will be in Parklawns Memorial Gardens, Greene Township, Franklin County.

Friends may call from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday in the church.

Fogelsanger-Bricker Funeral Home, Shippensburg, is in charge of the arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 452 E. King St., Chambersburg, PA 17201 or to the VNA Hospice, 3315 Derry St., Harrisburg, PA 17111.