By staff reports, August 14, 2008

Last updated: Thursday, August 14, 2008 9:50 AM EDT

A price anomaly is affecting local fuel prices, resulting in much lower prices around the Carlisle Area.

The price of a gallon of unleaded 87-octane gasoline in western Cumberland County is 20 to 25 cents lower than prices for the same fuel grade in the Harrisburg Area.

Prices at filling stations around Carlisle ranged from $3.37 to $3.49 per gallon on Wednesday. In Harrisburg and further east in Hershey prices are about $3.60 a gallon.

According to AAA National Fuel Gauge Report, the area as a whole remains well below the national average of $3.78 but well above last year’s average price for this date: $2.77 per gallon.

J. Michael Love, is President and CEO of Energy Association of Pennsylvania, and a expert in the fields of energy commodities and conservation.

“First of all we should all congratulate ourselves,” Love said. “I saw the May statistics and we drove 9.2 billion miles less this May then we (Americans) did last May.”

Love noted that “we’re seeing some really volatile markets” and that is affecting the price of all fossil fuel products.

He speculated that the gas price may be lower in western Cumberland County because some filling stations may have used up supplies of gasoline and received shipments “reflecting the new price which is much, much lower.”

Along with the rest of this story from Sentinel Reporter Jeremy Grad, here is what else to look for intoday's print and online versions of The Sentinel:

Carlisle renovating Lamberton fields

Hard use with only minimal repairs left the soccer fields at Lamberton Middle School in serious need of renovation, according to Carlisle Area School District Athletic Director George Null.

For years, Null said, Carlisle YMCA used the fields in the spring and fall, which didn’t leave enough time for much more than bringing in topsoil to fill in low areas.

“In order to get any type of growth on the field, you need to have two to three growing seasons, minimum,” Null said. Now that the YMCA has its own complex with soccer fields, he said, the district decided it was time to do some major work and get the fields back where they need to be.

Thomas Longenecker, the district’s finance director, noted that most of the topsoil had eroded from the Lamberton fields, leaving ruts and exposed stones. The district has budgeted $30,000 to cover the cost of adding topsoil, removing stones and grading, Longenecker said.

So, Null said, the district brought in big equipment and dug up the turf at the school in the 700 block of South Hanover Street, leaving enough untouched for students to continue to go outside for recess and lessons. The result, he said, should be three full-size soccer fields, with one reserved for games and two for practices.

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Migration continues at Waggoner’s Gap

The Audubon Hawk Watch at Waggoner’s Gap continues to be one of the best places in the state to spot hawks and raptors.

Located in the Kittatinny Ridge (also called Blue and North Mountain), where Route 74 crosses between Cumberland and Perry counties, the site averages about 19,000 migrating raptors every year.

Last year, the count hit 26,126, which was the highest total in 20 years and second most in the 55 years of official season statistics at Waggoner’s Gap.

“This is the place to see numbers of birds,” said Don Orris, a six-year volunteer counter from New Bloomfield, noting that the site sees more golden eagles than anyone.

Observers keep tabs on everything from vultures, ospreys and bald eagles to northern harriers, peregrine falcons and a whole host of hawks, including the sharp-shinned, red-tailed, red-shouldered, broad-winged, rough-legged, Cooper’s and northern goshawk.

“Protocol is we watch nearly every bird,” Orris said, so they also keep tabs on monarch butterflies and hummingbirds migrating through the ridge.

Data collected during the season – Aug. 1 through Dec. 31 – is geared toward entry in The Hawk Migration Association of North America’s (HMANA) HawkCount Data System. It is also sent to Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where it is compiled with numbers from other hawk watch sites.

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CV releases draft of its strategic plan

Cumberland Valley has a new educational playbook it plans to run on for the next six years.

The district released a draft of its 2008-2014 strategic plan last week and expects to adopt the document Monday night before submitting it to the state for review at the end of September.

“This plan definitely addresses 21st century learning skills,” said Assistant Superintendent Mary Riley, noting the district’s primary focus of implementing technology in every single part of the curriculum through a 21st century skills strategy.

Part of that strategy includes the installation of touch-controlled screens, or SMART interactive whiteboards, in every district classroom, as well as looking at podcasting and other technology components to prepare students for their future.

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Morning Update

The Sentinel Morning Update runs every weekday by 8 a.m. to take a look at what we have planned for our newspaper and Web site. Feel free to offer any suggestions, questions or feedback to jpratt@cumberlink.com