By Renee Worthing
Register Reporter
   Nearly everyone at the gas pumps this week was able to sum up the rising prices with a few choice words: outrageous, ludicrous, ridiculous and insane.
   As gas prices rose steadily the past two weeks, drivers shook their heads in dismay as they lifted the gas nozzle off the pump.
   While many people adjusted their driving habits when gasoline prices rose to $2 per gallon, they were feeling more of a pinch when the prices jumped the $3 per gallon mark recently.
   At the Springvale Cumberland Farms, unleaded gasoline was $3.13 a gallon on Nov. 13.
   Newfield resident Roy Tobin said it costs between $45 and $50 to fill his Buick Rendezvous.
    “These prices hurt,” he said. “I shop for (gas) prices. And I don’t come to Sanford unless I have a bunch of things to do.”
   He said he tries to run all of his errands in Sanford after church.
   Tobin said he needs a heavy-duty car, especially in the winter, to get him up his driveway.
   “I can’t drive a light car,” he said.
   He gestured to the pump when it clicked off. His $44.48 bought him just over 14 gallons of gas.
   “Someone’s making money on this and it isn’t me. I’m a single guy, I can’t imagine what it must be like to have a family and pay these prices,” he said.
   At the Sanford Cumberland Farms, Michelle Ham of Limerick pulled up to the pumps in her Chevy Tahoe.
   “I don’t even remember the last time I filled my tank,” she said. “I think the prices were around $2.66 last time I filled it up.”
   She said she drives to work in Waterboro and drives her boyfriend to work, as well. She said she and her boyfriend often consolidate their trips to include as many errands as possible.
   “Sometimes we just hang around someplace for an hour-and-a-half waiting for the next appointment,” she said.
   While some drivers just pulled in when their gas gauge went down, others played the “gas price guessing game.”
   “It was $3.11 this morning,” Sanford resident Shay Lawrence said. “I thought I’d wait and hope it went down later.”
   For Lawrence, the gamble didn’t pay off. Instead, the gas prices rose two cents .
   She said she often drives to Somersworth for gas because it’s about 20 cents cheaper than prices in Sanford.
   She said the $40 worth of gas she put in her tank would last her about four days.
   “Maybe five if I don’t go far from home,” she said.
   But she won’t be able to stay close to home.
   “I have a 2-year-old daughter in dance class in Lebanon,” she said.
   Jennifer White of Sanford said she is frustrated by the rising gas and heating oil prices. She said she has three children and must now keep the house cooler than usual.
   “I tell them to put on a sweatshirt,” she said. “How is the average person going to get by? Food prices are going up and we’re not getting any more food for our dollar.”
   She said she just spent $500 to fill her heating oil tank.
   “Now I’m spending $40 for gas and it won’t even fill the tank,” she said.
   At the Irving Blue Canoe in Sanford where unleaded gas was priced at $3.16 a gallon, Derek Bolz put just a few dollars worth of super unleaded gas in his Passat.
   “This is insane,” he said. “I have to use super in this car.”
   Bolz who lives and works in Kittery said he spends about $150 a week in gas.
   “I have to come to Sanford every day because of my son,” he said.
   In order to afford gas, he said he and his girlfriend don’t go out to dinner or the movies anymore.
   Sanford resident Donna Bernier was putting gas in her Ford Focus at Cumberland Farms in Springvale where the price of gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.13.
   “I just moved in with a roommate and now we try to carpool,” she said.
   Bernier said she travels 32 miles per day, round trip, to her job in Kennebunk.
   Just as many other people said, she doesn’t drive around as much as she used to. Instead, she combines her errands into one trip.
   Monica Driscol’s job takes her back and forth between Sanford and South Portland.
   “I drive a lot. These prices are outrageous,” she said. “But, I just returned from St. Thomas and gas there is $4.30.”
   Ray Dinsmore of Limerick said he has cut back on entertainment, too.
   “It’s ridiculous,” Dinsmore said. “I drive to work in South Portland and spend between $100 and $125 a week in gas.”
   David Wright of Shapleigh said the gas prices are difficult to budget on his fixed income.
   “The gas prices are costing me a lot,” he said. “I put $20 in a week and I don’t go far. I usually just stay home and watch movies.”
   At the Big Apple, Sanford resident Charles Welch said the gas prices were hard on his wallet because he is on a fixed income.
   “I have to make $20 (for gas) last two weeks. It’s killing us,” he said. “I don’t go anywhere.”
   He said he often has to tell his 16-year-old daughter that he can’t drive her to a friend’s house.
   “Well, a gallon of gas is still cheaper than a gallon of milk,” he joked. “At least our cars don’t run on milk.”