have power restored Friday; gas hard to find|[9/3/05]

Power continued to be restored throughout Vicksburg and Warren County Friday as more crews came in to help in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The city also lifted its boil water notice.

Don Arnold, district manager for Entergy, said 2,000 more customers had power by the end of the day Friday, lowering the outages to 9,000 in Warren County.

“We’ve restored all the main feeder circuits and will begin the slow process of looking at taps. It will really be slow, but it means we’re actually going house-to-house,” Arnold said. “We’ll start seeing those people who see lights across the street, but don’t have any power.”

He advised that customers whose meter bases have been pulled away from their homes will need to have electricians repair the damage, because those bases belong to the customer.

Lines at area gas stations decreased not because people weren’t eager to fuel up, but simply because very little gas was available in Vicksburg late Friday. LaDora Bass, a clerk at Chevron Interstate 28 on Halls Ferry Road, said Friday evening that the station didn’t have fuel all day. That didn’t keep people from calling or stopping by, though.

“We ran out yesterday – we haven’t had any all day,” she said. “I don’t know when the truck is coming. The phone is ringing off the hook.”

The lack of gas isn’t keeping people from hanging around the pumps, though. Many people have been claiming their spot and plan to wait until fuel is brought into the stations.

Robert Anderson of Bakersfield, Calif., who was driving to Meridian to meet his wife for a planned vacation, finally had to stop after driving 20 miles with his low-fuel light shining bright. When he arrived at the station, he quickly realized there was no gas. After an hour, he continued to wait.

“Hopefully my wife will be here soon – she’s bringing gas for us to get to Meridian,” he said.

Anderson said as he drove through Monroe, stations had plenty of gas and no lines.

“The west side of the Mississippi River has plenty of gas. As soon as you cross over there is no gas,” he said.

To ensure that emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, patrol cars and utility trucks have plenty of fuel, an emergency-vehicle-only station was set up at the Texaco on North Washington Street near the Port of Vicksburg Friday morning.

Reports are being made locally and throughout the state that clerks and customers are taking advantage of the situation financially by gouging.

Two instances were reported throughout the week to Vicksburg police, Capt. Mark Culbertson said. One report was from a customer who said a clerk at a motel room had gouged the prices.

It was reported to The Vicksburg Post that a gas station in Tallulah was not returning change to customers who paid for gas with more than the exact amount.

No arrests were made on any gouging reports.

Price gouging carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Customers may report gouging by calling the attorney general’s consumer protection division at 1-800-281-4418.

Culbertson said the police department has “more than adequate manpower” on the streets to deal with situations, including heavy gas lines.

“The chief has ordered no days off,” he said. “We want to make sure – especially with the refugees being in town – that someone is there to assist them.”

One worry for evacuees and residents alike has subsided. The boil-water notice for the City of Vicksburg was lifted Friday, but remains for Culkin and Eagle Lake divisions. People of the Yokena-Jeff Davis district are supplied with city water and no longer have to boil water.