Never in his wildest imagination did Hank Voelker of Marietta think he would be happy to see the price of a gallon of gas dip close to $3.
It happened late this week.
"I'm seeing gas anywhere from $3.29 to $3.15 as I drive north in Washington County," said Voelker, owner of a local design, paint and window treatment business. "It will certainly make a difference to me."
After all, remember just a few short months ago - in the height of vacation season - fuel briefly topped $4 a gallon in the region before settling in at the high $3 range.
"Some of my products that I use in my business come by shippers and I am assuming they will drop the surcharges if gas goes below $3," Voelker said.
On the road north Friday, he noticed a lot more campers and motor homes headed south on Interstate 77. He works out of town much of the time and has tried to consolidate trips to save gas.
"I'm curious to see if SUV and truck sales begin to increase a bit as gas prices drop," Voelker said.
Brian Newbacher, director of public affairs with AAA East Central at Cleveland, said consumers will likely see gasoline prices drop even more as Thanksgiving approaches, with a price under $3 a gallon in some locations.
It already happened in Williamstown Friday - $2.99 - he said. It was $2.98 a gallon in Parkersburg.
"Your area average (price) is $3.218," Newbacher said.
But in the current topsy turvy economic spin, gas prices are not the major worry of most Americans these days.
"People are worried about the whole economy," Newbacher said.
As the stock market tanked this week, gas prices also took a nosedive of more than a quarter a gallon in south-central Ohio, according to AAA Fuel Gauge reports.
Lower prices are expected ahead due to the recent sharp sell-off in the price of oil to near $90 a barrel.
Voelker said he would much rather pay higher gas prices and see a strong stock market.
"Anything can happen," he said.
When gasoline prices started to slide, Will Buchanan, manager of Domino's Pizza in Marietta, noticed his shop phone ringing more often.
"It had been pretty stagnant there for a while, especially when gas was $4 a gallon during the summer," Buchanan said. "Lately sales and deliveries have increased."
He figures it might be because as gasoline prices drop, people have more disposable income in their pockets and thoughts turn to... pizza.
"Once the price was $4, it was very noticeable," he said of sales.
It was about that time (mid-summer) that the corporate office of Domino's finally decided to add a 50-cent surcharge to the pizza delivery.
"They waited until the last minute, I don't think they wanted to do it, but finally did," Buchanan said. "I expect if the gas continues to drop and stays low, they may take it off, but prices will have to stabilize first."
