Chesterfield County's department heads met last Friday to prepare for the possibility of a gas shortage, but availability of fuel never became a crisis issue for the county.

"At the very end of the week, we had trouble getting a tanker," Interim County Administrator Ronald Thurman said, but the county did receive the supply of gas.

The county buys fuel from the lowest bidder of several different supply companies. "Our suppliers don't foresee any supply problems," Thurman said.

In the meeting last week, which included the Sheriff's Department, the public works department, animal control and emergency management, county officials did discuss ways fuel could be conserved, from carpooling to increasing the interval between road scrapings.

Right now, the county's fuel tanks are full and won't have to be refilled for two to three weeks, Thurman said.

"The supply of fuel is coming back. The problem is the cost of fuel," Thurman said.

Director of emergency operations Richard Carnes said emergency personnel will still answer all calls. "Nobody is going to have to suffer. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure the citizens of our county are covered," he said.

Keeping the town of Cheraw supplied with fuel is Jackson Oil Company's number one priority, said owner Charles Jackson. "We will run out of product ourselves before we let (the town) run out," he said.

Mike Hudson, director of FirstHealth in Chesterfield County, and other emergency personnel also checked their fuel supplies and discussed with the county a possible shortage over the Labor Day weekend when it was predicted the supply would be scarce. While the fuel shortage threat has subsided, Hudson said, "If 911 is called, we're going to be on the way."

For more information on this story, please read the Sept. 8, 2005 edition of the Cheraw Chronicle/Chesterfield Advertiser.