Col#297- 9/18/26
FUEL FOR ANXIETY
By
Richard Davis
The Windham County Heat Fund is heading into an unprecedented year. Fuel prices are obscenely high and people are aware that prices will not go down anytime soon. We are all paying the price because of the actions of our deranged and unhinged president.
Sadly, we all feel helpless to do anything about the price of fuel. Truck drivers are giving up their jobs and farmers are struggling to get in their crops. Diesel is now over six dollars a gallon and, if that continues, the price of all commodities will continue to escalate.
I heard a recent story from a mid-west farmer who has to pay $1800 a day in diesel costs and he feels he is reaching the point where farming may become financially impossible to sustain.
Grocery prices are climbing and we have not seen a ceiling yet. It is no exaggeration to say that the average low and middle income families in this country are facing a winter of unaffordable heating fuel and unaffordable food prices. Any choice a family will have to make has the potential to be life-threatening.
I suspect there are many people who are struggling to pay over four dollars a gallon for gasoline. Anyone who has to travel a significant distance to work by car will find their paychecks dwindle significantly just because they have to travel enough to use four or five gallons a day to get to and from work.
On top of all these disastrous situations, a large number of people will lose Medicaid health insurance benefits in January. Not only will they lose access to medical care, but they will also be unable to afford medications that now only cost them two or three dollars.
I have been struggling to try to find something we can do to make things better for people and there are few, if any options. I hope the federal fuel assistance continues this year. That will provide a small bit of help. Our heat fund is now in a position of having to consider whether we should decrease individual allotments to 100 gallons instead of the usual 125.
Our payments to individuals for fuel have usually averaged about $500 over the past few years but that figure is over $700 now. We are already getting calls from people who are crying over the phone because they never asked for help before but now find themselves in an impossible situation.
Out of frustration, I have created a spreadsheet of fuel prices at the most used local fuel dealers. I did not include propane prices because they are calculated based on a number of factors such as tank size and fuel usage. Some dealers sell a blend of oil and an additive instead of kerosene and others sell only the additive and/or kerosene. I called dealers on either September 16 or 17 to get the current prices.
At $5.19 a gallon, Brattleboro-based Barrows and Fisher has the lowest price for home heating fuel. Their blend price is also $5.39 a gallon and a minimum delivery is 100 gallons. All local fuel dealers require a minimum delivery of 100 gallons for oil, blend or kerosene. The exception is Discount Oil whose minimum delivery is 150 gallons for oil and kerosene.
Suburban Oil charges $7.06 a gallon for oil. The average price of oil for the ten companies I contacted was $6.07. When considering a fuel dealer price may not be the only consideration.
Find out about the support services they offer and talk to people who have used different companies. We have posted a spreadsheet of fuel prices on our web site: www.wcheatfund.org.
The web site includes online and downloadable applications and ways to make donations. You can send a check to Windham County Heat Fund, 63 Cedar St, Brattleboro, VT 05301 or make a donation directly at Brattleboro Savings & Loan.
If you want a copy of the speadsheet email: wcheatfund@comcast.net
How about taking oil reserves in the U.S.A. under Eminent Domain, for the people?
I am so frustrated with the argument that is often given that we can not lower fuel and oil prices by drilling more.
Here’s one argument on the internet:
Drilling oil does not lower pump prices because oil is a global commodity tied to international supply chains and worldwide markets. Global supply disruptions, such as those in the Strait of Hormuz, and international conflicts, affect prices. Drilling more oil than usual could take months or years to extract. Refineries need specific crude types.
I am not convinced at all by the above arguments, except for an argument I’ve read that all the oil producing companies care about is getting the highest prices they can, and the hell with us, which is why they trade on the global market, and because of their corporate structures we can not force them to sell first in the U.S.A. (where they drilled their oil from).
So, how can we overcome the argument that we can’t tell the oil corporations what do to and where to sell and who to sell to?
So, I started looking at “Eminent Domain” arguments because Winter in Vermont is going to be incredibly difficult this year.
Leaves on some trees are already turning orange and red.
I have on two shirts, one on top the other, a sweater and a thick vest.
I will keep my inside house heat at 60, because there’s no way I can afford more. I am praying I can continue to keep it at that!
I’m a senior citizen, and I was raised by a mother who lived through the Great Depression. Her father died in a car accident when she was 11 years old. She often told us about how that Thanksgiving her mother cooked her pet Goose for dinner, and the kids all cried at the table. They had no choice but to eat it.
So, let’s look at Eminent Domain, could that possibly be a way to get more fuel assistance for Vermonters?
Can President Trump take fuel oil reserves in the United States under eminent domain if they are being pumped on federal property?
AI Overview
President Trump cannot unilaterally seize private or state-owned fuel oil reserves or land under eminent domain without specific statutory authority or congressional approval, though his administration has aggressively pushed for such actions through legislative amendments and emergency declarations.
GovInfo (.gov)
Eminent Domain and Federal Authority
Constitutional Limits: Under the Fifth Amendment, the federal government can use eminent domain to take private or state property, but it requires a designated “public use” and “just compensation”.
Unilateral Limits: The president cannot arbitrarily seize property or resources on a whim. The administration typically requires explicit authorization from Congress or statutory backing (such as through specific energy or defense authorizations) to acquire land and easements for energy projects.
Federal vs. State/Private Land: If oil is being pumped on federal property, the federal government already controls that public land, but acquiring adjacent state or private property—such as pipeline routes or local reserves requested by private operators requires formal congressional approval or specific legislative riders.
United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Requests LIHEAP Fuel Assistance Be Released Now!
https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/26.09.17-HHS-LIHEAP-CR-Release.pdf
September 17, 2026
The Honorable Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary
United States Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Secretary Kennedy,
…
Earlier this month, Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act
2027 into law.
This law provides continuing funding for essential programs like LIHEAP,
which has now been made available to the Department of Health and Human Services for distribution.
In light of the alarming rise in global oil prices prompted by this administration’s war in Iran,
I urge you to immediately release the LIHEAP funding provided under this law so that states like New York can prepare for the coming fall and winter months. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator