September 22nd was the official first day of Fall.  But, you don't need a calendar to tell you that.  Just look at the signs around you.  The air is a little crisper, crops are starting to dry, the leaves are turning color and people are settling into their school routines.  Another sign of Fall is the roadside pumpkin stands.    One such business is located just west of Sutton along Highway 6 called "The Country Pumpkin" .    The colors, sizes and shapes of the squash, gourds and pumpkins are a sight to see!

  Oil's fall from record may not deflate groceries

  By ELLEN SIMON

  AP Business Writer

   Q: How will recent declines in the price of oil affect how much
I pay for everyday products?
  

   A: Inflation is running at its fastest pace in 17 years in large
part due to soaring energy prices. But don't expect broad prices to
fall in tandem with oil now that it's retreating. In fact, recent
price hikes for everything from salad dressing to trash bags to cat
litter could stick.
     That's because oil's increase has been so dramatic that many
prices _ including gas _ haven't kept pace. Even some companies
that have raised prices in the last year still have lower profit
margins.
     Take General Mills Inc., which makes Chex, Cheerios and
Pillsbury. The company said in its annual report that despite price
increases for baked goods and the food it sells to cafeterias and
restaurants, its profit margin declined by almost half a percent.
If fuel prices drop, that might do nothing more than restore its
old profit margin.
     The same is true for gasoline refiners. While oil prices doubled
in the last year, gasoline prices increased only about 38 percent.
     The relationship between oil and gasoline ``has grown so out of
whack'' that many refiners could be facing negative margins by
year-end, wrote Julian Murdoch, a senior reporter for Hard Assets
Investor commodities Web site.
     Low gasoline production could also keep prices high. As
consumers have cut back on their driving, refiners have produced
less gasoline, keeping supplies low _ and prices high.
     That could be why, despite a 20 percent drop in oil prices from
their record highs of $147.27 a barrel in July, gasoline prices
have dropped only about 11 percent off their own records, falling
from $4.11 a gallon to a more recent average of $3.65.
     Away from gas stations, the stickiness of prices depends on how
hard it was to raise them in the first place.
     Industries where competition is intense and the product is
essentially the same, like airlines, can react quickly to both
higher and lower costs.
     In other businesses, the lead time to create a product is much
greater. Higher prices for corn and grain have meant higher feed
costs for pork producers, causing them to lose money and leading
them to slaughter hogs at a record rate this year. A smaller
breeding herd means fewer pigs will come to market next year.
     ``We expect fresh pork prices and live hog values will increase
gradually over time as supplies tighten,'' Smithfield Foods Inc.
said in its annual report.
     The poultry industry, faced with similar pressures, has been
slaughtering chickens at a record rate. So even if feed prices fall
20 percent tomorrow, pork and chicken prices won't drop in
lockstep.
     In other aisles of the grocery store, higher prices are often
sticky _ once they move in one direction, they tend to stay there.
     Clorox Co. said in its fourth-quarter report that it raised
prices this month for Clorox liquid bleach by 10 percent, the first
increase in more than two years. It also took its first price
increase in two years for cat litter and Tilex cleaner, and the
first increase in a year for Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing.
Don't expect those hard-won price increases to be reversed.
     The same goes for invisible price increases such as when
packages shrink while the price stays the same, pushing up how much
you pay for each ounce. Producing smaller packages and retooling a
factory takes time; once packages shrink, they tend to stay that
way.
     At Wal-Mart Stores Inc., house brand Special Kitty cat food,
which used to come in 8 pound and 20 pound bags has shrunk to 7
pound and 18 pound bags. Purina Dog Chow bags that used to weigh 50
pounds now weigh 44.1 pounds. Formerly 21 pound bags of Arm &
Hammer Kitty Litter are now 20 pounds.

Cozad's annual fall festival, known as Hay Days, was held over the weekend. The Cozad Jaycees do an incredible job of organizing and coordinating activities with other groups throughout the two-day event. Among the traditions is the Hay Days parade on Saturday morning and the DC Lynch Carnival in the downtown area.