As a consumer and visitor to Portsmouth recently, I was shocked and dismayed at the over-inflated gas prices at the pumps throughout southern Ohio, especially in light of the fact the economy seems impoverished and the unemployment rate seems extremely high based on what dozens of people told me.

Where are the local and state government officials who are supposed to be looking out for the common people? After all, it still is a government of the people and for the people the last time I read the U.S. Constitution.

I felt like maybe some foreign country was controlling southern Ohio with such inflated gas prices. Much like a foreign government that allows its businesses to gouge consumers and further depress their economy and destroy the morale of the people by setting prices most people cannot afford to pay, but must, so they can commute to work and spend quality time with family.

It seems like maybe a few people are controlling the gas supply and maybe have a monopoly on the gas supply.

This is personal for me because my mother lives on Social Security and struggles daily to make ends meet, like many others I am sure. Having to deal with astronomical gas prices in an already repressed and stalled economy is both a heavy financial and psychological burden on most citizens.

I waited until I got back into Kentucky to buy gas because of the great reduced price variance.

I am suspicious that likely not enough people are stepping up to confront this issue so things can get better for good people living in a bad economical situation.

Please let me know what I can do to help.

Dennis E. Gyor

Knoxville, Tenn.

Kentucky resident recognizes efforts to return artifact to state

I would like to express my thanks to Rep. Tanya Pullin for her interest and continuing efforts to obtain the return of the “Indian Rock” artifact back to the state of Kentucky.

Rep. Pullin has taken the time to listen to the concerns of the people that she has been elected to represent and passed those concerns on to other state officials regarding this matter.

I also would like to thank Greenup County Attorney Michael Wilson and Greenup County Commonwealth's Attorney Clifford Duvall for their ongoing efforts in the investigation of the removal of this artifact.

The citizens of Kentucky seek only to protect their history in its natural environment and to prevent the possible theft of other artifacts in the future.

Those individuals responsible for the theft of this artifact should be held accountable for their actions. As David Pollack, site protection program manager with the Kentucky Heritage Council, was quoted as saying: “They (the divers) definitely committed a crime and they need to be prosecuted. The site's protected. It's state property and it's protected under the state Antiquities Act.”

Joseph Stockham

South Shore, Ky.