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July 14, 2008

Drivers making sacrifices to save

By LUCAS BLAISE

PLATTSBURGH -- Twelve months ago gas was $1.20 cheaper, but it still hurt.

"I can remember when it was $1.09 (a gallon)," said Peru resident Nanci Williamborst.

As local stations post prices at an average $4.33 per gallon, residents still hark back to the "glory days" when gas was a cheaper commodity.

"We used to go for Sunday drives," said Lynda Hackett of Plattsburgh. "Not anymore."

Instead of traveling to Chazy Lake to take in the sites, she confines her travels back and forth to Plattsburgh for work and shopping.

"I don't go anywhere as much as I used to," she said.

Meanwhile, most residents still have to do the necessary trek back and forth to work like Williamborst.

She lives in Peru but works in Elizabethtown.

"I used to spend $75 a week (in gas), now it's $150," she said.

"With only $100 (pay) a week," joked her friend and co-worker Barbara Mitchell of Lewis.

"Well, that, or somebody has to get out and push," Williamsborst replied.

That's a far cry from long-gone single-digit fill-ups.

"I used to fill my car up with $3," Hackett said. "Now, you're lucky to even find gas around $3."

Gas prices haven't seen a price tag under $3.99 since the onset of spring in the region. And since the Press-Republican's last survey in June, prices have increased 3.34 percent, an average of 14 cents per gallon.

Last July the average price was $3.15. The North Country now rates 37.46 percent higher and, according to AAA, is 24 cents above the national average.

Higher prices are causing residents to search for more ways to save.

Hackett recently went to Vermont, where gas was $3.97 a gallon.

"Wow! Look at that," she reacted. "That's cheap!"

Saturday, she represented Charter Communications at the Mayor's Cup. While some people were interested in signing up for cable TV, she did note that some were playing a balancing act.

"Food or cable. Cable is a luxury, so everybody has a choice to make," she said. "People have to have (gas). It's not a luxury."

Meanwhile, she's trying to save, too, condensing her shopping route into a single trip.

"And I'm just like UPS; make all right turns," she joked. "I hear it saves them a lot of money."

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