Thanks are in order to Joseph P. McMurry for bringing the Arkansas oil spill to our attention in his April 12 letter to the editor.

I have since read an article in a Pittsburgh newspaper giving more details. Exxon Mobil officials found two dead ducks and 10 oiled ones as a result of the unexpected spill from the pipeline that had not been examined for some time.

Since the spill, 12,000 barrels of oil and water have been recovered. Two dozen homes had to be evacuated.

Exxon Mobil already had been fined $26,200 for allowing more than five years to lapse before inspecting a stretch of pipe in Missouri.

An ounce of prevention is worth a gallon of gas.