Al and Belinda Raymond of Kingman decided early last month to form a group to help truckers, the connective tissue of the state’s $11.5 billion forest products industry, keep skyrocketing diesel prices from driving them into bankruptcy.

Within two weeks their group, the Coalition to Lower Fuel Prices in Maine, was in Gov. John Baldacci’s office watching him sign a declaration of civil emergency that would unleash potentially millions of dollars of aid to help the trucking industry survive the winter.

It was a stunning political achievement for the coalition, but the group is not done yet. Diesel prices still hover at record levels – about $3.55 per gallon on Wednesday, according to mainegasprices.com – and the state’s efforts, which arose from several coalition ideas, are temporary fixes.

That’s why the coalition is planning a meeting for 9 a.m. Saturday, at Skowhegan Area High School in Skowhegan, and is broadening its reach to include anyone seriously affected by high gasoline, diesel and home heating oil prices.

“The loggers and the truckers are leading the push for help for Maine people, but the coalition is working for all Maine people,” Belinda Raymond said in a statement.

“The coalition’s mission statement is quite simple: to lower fuel prices in Maine by drawing attention to the serious consequences of high fuel prices and to galvanize all stakeholders to be proactive at short-term and long-term solutions,” she added.

John M. Kerry, director of the state Office of Energy Independence and Security, has been working with the coalition almost daily on its ideas to help independent truckers survive the winter since about 400 truckers and other logging industry workers gathered for the coalition’s first meeting in Lincoln on Nov. 17.

A meeting in Damariscotta, which drew about 75 truckers, followed on Dec. 1. Coalition and state efforts are ongoing, with group members meeting state officials in Bangor on Wednesday.

“We are still working on their original list of suggestions and trying to find more solutions,” Kerry said Wednesday.

The state will expedite weekly fuel tax reimbursements for logging truck operators and other off-road diesel users while working with gas station operators to find a way in the future to avoid charging the tax at the pump, Baldacci has said.

Also, Baldacci is petitioning President Bush to ease weight restrictions on Interstate 95 and Interstate 395 north of Augusta, allowing truckers to use those routes to cut down on miles traveled.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is participating in U.S. Senate subcommittee hearings examining whether speculation in energy markets has caused the recent spike in energy prices. Collins called on Congress to help curb speculation on futures markets that artificially inflate prices and for a national strategy to pursue the long-term goal of energy independence.

“Long before the first day of winter, the people of Maine have been coping with cold weather and feeling the strain of high prices for home heating oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and other products from refined oil,” Collins said. “Oil prices touch virtually every corner of the economy.”

Among the reasons for the quick response to the coalition: Truckers take wood products from the woods to the mill and then to market, and diesel is the most common fuel used to power forestry equipment. The small or independent truckers are the leading and most vulnerable edge of the larger trucking industry.

If it collapses, the state’s entire forest products industry is threatened.

And diesel prices have risen so rapidly – and to some degree, unpredictably – that no amount of planning or frugality could have cushioned against their increase. Diesel usually costs less than unleaded gasoline, and prices held below gasoline levels at $2.40 a gallon nationally in late January and at $2.62 per gallon a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Nick Sambides Jr. may be reached at nsambides@bangordailynews.net or 794-8215.

Fast facts

Who: The Coalition to Lower Fuel Prices in Maine; interested residents

What: A public meeting with federal and state representatives to discuss the impact of high gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil and other energy sources on residents and the state

Where: Skowhegan Area High School in Skowhegan

When: 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15

Why: High energy prices are having a devastating impact on residents and the state’s economy