Rising gas prices lead to sacrifices

Published:Friday, May 16, 2008

By Don Shilling

Residents try to cope as local gasoline prices reach another record high.

Soaring gas prices have area residents dropping activities they enjoy, such as taking children to the zoo, dining out and going fishing.

Debbie DeBruyn said she is spending so much on gas that she is taking her two daughters out to dinner once a week, instead of twice. And they are looking for someplace with a good special.

That doesn’t take away all the strain that gas prices are causing the 29-year-old Austintown woman.

“Sometimes I have to decide between a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk. I have to think whether I’m going to buy gas for the car or milk for the kids,” DeBruyn said.

AAA said Thursday that prices for regular gas in the Mahoning Valley reached a record high of $3.81 a gallon, up 72 cents from a year ago.

DeBruyn doesn’t expect it to get better any time soon. She predicted that gas prices will top $5 a gallon this summer, but she fears something worse later on.

“In 10 years, I think we may have another Depression. Prices are going up, and people can’t afford it,” she said.

Leslie Placer, 49, of Austintown, said she expects gas prices to rise about 50 cents a gallon this summer to about $4.25. Already her family has ruled out trips, such as going to the zoos in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, this summer.

“Right now, it’s out of the question,” she said.

Family fun this year appears like it will be cookouts, she said.

Placer said she also is buying less when she goes to the grocery store.

Faith Carter of Youngstown is trying to use the power of positive thinking on the global oil market.

“I don’t think prices are going up. I want them to go down, so I’m not even going to say they will go higher,” she said.

Today’s prices are bad enough, she said. She used to enjoy going home on breaks from the Infocision call center in Boardman when it was located on Southern Boulevard. She would see her children and make dinner. But now that the center has moved to Western Reserve Road, she doesn’t want to spend the money on gas to drive home.

James Johnson, 50, of Youngstown said he is sure gas prices are headed higher than $4 a gallon. He is doing less traveling, especially by cutting down on fishing trips.

The federal government is more conservative in its estimates than these local residents, however. The Energy Information Administration, which provides a forecast for prices each month, said last week that it expects prices for regular gasoline to average $3.66 a gallon from April through September. It expects the average price to be $3.44 next year.

Oil consumption in the U.S. is expected to be down this year, the agency said.

Area residents who were interviewed Thursday at gas stations in Austintown and Boardman said they are driving less, mostly by consolidating trips.

“I try to get as much done at once as I can,” said Joy Rowland, 39, of Austintown.