The Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau has ended its nomination process for this year’s Service Excellence Program.

Paula Slomer, the bureau’s marketing and media manager, said the program received 42 nominees in this round. Slomer made the annoucement at the bureau’s general membership meeting Thursday at the Lyndora Hotel.

The Service Excellence Program sends secret shoppers to local businesses and nominates people who go beyond their job’s requirements.

A winner will be chosen out of Butler County’s 14 business categories and announced Nov. 16 at the bureau’s general membership meeting.

[naviga:h3]Gasoline prices fall as refineries bounce back[/naviga:h3]

CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline fell 7 cents nationally over the past two weeks, to $2.62.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the drop comes as flooded refineries continue to come back online after devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Lundberg says she expects prices will continue to fall in the next few weeks.

Gas in San Francisco was the highest in the contiguous United States at an average of $3.18 per gallon. The lowest was in St. Louis at $2.19 per gallon.

[naviga:h3]Retailer testing new home delivery service[/naviga:h3]

NEW YORK — Would you be OK with letting a stranger into your house for the sake of convenience?

Walmart is testing the idea with a new service that lets a delivery person walk into your home when you’re not there to drop off packages or put groceries in the fridge.

The retailer said it is trying out the service with a small group of tech-savvy Walmart.com shoppers in California’s Silicon Valley who have internet-connected locks. The delivery person is given a one-time code to open the door and customers get an alert on their smartphones when someone enters. If they have cameras set up in the home, customers can watch as orders are dropped off.