By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

An official in the ethanol industry brushes aside suggestions the flood has caused gas prices to rise, because it shut down ethanol plants and disrupted rail shipments of ethanol.

CEO Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association acknowledges a decrease in ethanol production has played a role, but contends the oil industry is just looking for an excuse for a 60-cent rise at the pump since the beginning of the year.

“Not surprisingly, the oil industry is trying to hide its role in the gas price spike and they’re looking for scapegoats and so of course they’ve been trying to suggest that flooding in the Midwest is to blame, because it affected rail shipments of ethanol,” Cooper tells KFEQ Farm Director Melissa Gregory.

Cooper says ethanol makes up only 10% of the fuel supply. He says oil prices have gone up, which has caused gas prices to go up.

Some oil industry executives have claimed the flood shut down ethanol plants and disrupted rail shipments in the Midwest, drastically reducing ethanol supplies.

Cooper says that is true, but isn’t the reason prices at the pump have gone up.

“If you really want to know what’s driving gas prices, you really don’t need to look any further than what’s happening in the crude oil market and in the refining sector,” according to Cooper. “A barrel of oil today is about $20 more expensive than it was on January 1^st. So, we’ve seen about a 40% increase in the cost of a barrel of crude oil and that is by far the largest cost involved in making gasoline.”

Cooper says you simply cannot blame the flood for high gas prices.

“The disruptions in ethanol production and distribution because of the flooding have played a minor role in the higher gas prices, but if you really want to know what’s driving the majority of the increase, it’s what’s happening in the crude oil and refining sector,” Cooper says.

Cooper says the flood caused a temporary disruption in ethanol production, which he says has since been alleviated.

GENTRY COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 1:40p.m. Monday in Gentry County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Nissan passenger vehicle driven by Deanna L. Hurkman, 51, Albany, was parking in the Dollar General parking lot in Albany. She left the car in reverse as she attempted to exit the vehicle. The vehicle began to roll.

It rolled over Hurkman’s ankle and across U.S. 136 before a witness could enter the vehicle and bring it to a stop.

Grand River Ambulance transported Hurkman to NW Medical Center for treatment.

There will be two items regarding medical marijuana facilities up for a second reading at the St. Joseph City Council meeting Monday night.

City Manager Bruce Woody said the two items on the agenda received recommendation from the planning commission to proceed to the city council.

Woody said item five is general discussion on planning and zoning regulations regarding medical marijuana facilities.

“That’s manufacturing or dispensing or testing of medical marijuana,” Woody said. “That addresses what the zoning needs to be for those types of facilities, setback distances, those types of generic planning and zoning related things as they relate to this specific topic.”

Item three on the agenda addresses a specific location at 2300 Mitchell Avenue. Woody said the location is currently Zone C-1 and it is proposed to change to Zone M-1, which is a light manufacturing district as requested by the potential buyer of that building who wants to put a cultivation facility there.

“Technically, all that does is change the zoning from C-1 to M-1, which would allow any activity that would be allowed within M-1,” Woody said. “For them to put in a cultivation facility, not only do they need the zoning, but of course they would also need a license from the state to do so. Nobody in the state has received any licenses yet, that won’t happen until later this summer. That still may or may not happen, based on the license issuance separate from this zoning issue.”

Woody said the city council is trying to be proactive in addressing the issue of medical marijuana facilities.

“It was approved by voters across the state with a fairly high majority and it has been the majority of councils’ approach on this topic is to try to get ahead of the regulations that are coming out of the Department of Health and Senior Services who are setting the overall guidelines for the state, so as not to be a local impediment to whatever development that might occur from the passage of that earlier approval by the state,” Woody said.

Both items are up for second reading and will be voted on at the St. Joseph City Council meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 22.

(Missourinet) – Seventeen Missouri students, including one from St. Joseph, will spell all sorts of complicated words during next month’s 92nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Last year, Missouri had 15 spellers compete in the contest.

The competition is May 26 through the 31 in National Harbor, Maryland. It will include 565 spellers from all over the country.

This year’s kids are from all over the state, ages 11 to 14. One of the contestants, Alice Liu of St. Louis, will make her third consecutive appearance in the bee.

Meet Missouri’s spelling whiz kids

*Meghana Nakkanti of Rolla. She attends Nixa Junior High School.

*Rouida Siddiqui of Kansas City. She attends Lakeview Middle School.

*Natalie Burnett of St. Joseph. She attends Cathedral of St. Joseph School.

*Alice Liu of St. Louis. She attends Crestview Middle School.

*Hawa-Larai Harruna of Town and Country. She attends Mason Ridge Elementary School.

*Dhruva Lahoti of Creve Coeur. He attends Andrews Academy.

*Colette Giezentanner of St. Louis. She attends Robert H. Sperreng Middle School.

*Sophia Saleeby of St. Louis. She attends Ladue Middle School.

*Ryan Smith of St. Louis. He attends Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School.

*Joshua Roodhouse Hale of St. Peters. He attends DuBray Middle School.

*Ethan George of Ballwin. He attends Woerther Elementary School.

*Alecia McCulley of Florissant. She attends All Saints Academy – St. Norbert.

*Miles Sellami of Peculiar. He attends Raymore-Peculiar East Middle School.

*Neha Kodali of Columbia. She attends Columbia Independent School.

*Jethro Adriel Solidum of Nevada. He attends Truman Elementary School.

*Brayden Armes of Poplar Bluff. He attends St. Joseph Catholic School.

*Harini Gottumukkala of St. Peters. Fort Zumwalt South Middle School.