Gas prices are Soaring towards $2 at stations throughout North Central Massachusetts.

www.sentinelandenterprise.com49921250232,00.htmlArticle Last Updated: Monday, March 17, 2003 - 10:37:55 AM EST By Megan Blaney

LEOMINSTER -- Henry Muldoon of Fitchburg remembers when a dollar would buy three gallons of gas.

But these days, Muldoon is spending more than $20 to fill his gas tank, and he is none too happy about it.

"These prices are horrendous," he said. "And I don't think they are justified."

Muldoon, a retired bookkeeper at the former Junkala Car Dealership, which has since been renamed Chapdelaine, described "a different age" where a thrifty shopper could find a better deal.

"During the Depression, the price per gallon dropped to 19 cents a gallon," he said, while filling up at the Country Farms station in Leominster, where unleaded gas prices start at $1.61.

Fitchburg resident William Velez said that only last month, he could fill up his Ford Windstar for about $20.

"Now it's at least five dollars more," he said.

Regular unleaded gas prices in Massachusetts are 54 cents higher on average than they were a year ago, rising from $1.139 to $1.679 per gallon, according to a March 10 survey by the American Automobile Association. The national average on March 10 was $1.68.

The increase in gas prices is due, in part, to the cost per barrel of crude oil, which topped $37 a this week, an increase of $7 from December 2002.

The cost of crude oil is affected by rising heat demands in the winter, the uncertain situation with Iraq and labor unrest in Venezuela, according to American Petroleum Institute analyst Ron Planting.

Gas prices are determined not only by the cost of oil, but by the cost of delivery, maintenance and taxes.

Federal and state taxes add up to 40 cents per gallon in Massachusetts.

The gas station is then allowed to set a price for gas which is gauged depending on the costs, and often on the competing filling stations in the area.

AAA spokesman John Paul said his agency keeps a watchful eye on dealers to prevent the possibility of price gouging, which would artificially inflate the prices.

"This type of increase has the potential for gouging," he said.

Manager Tina Lane of the Route 13 Leominster Hess station said she is "just trying to remain competitive."

She said she tries to keep the prices low "for her regular customers."

The Hess station is sandwiched between two filling stations that charge about 12 cents per gallon more than Hess.

Local gas station owners find themselves at a disadvantage in this economy and are forced to offer lower prices or incentives to draw in the customers.

Getty stations are offering a coupon for a free Whopper from Burger King with a fill-up, and several stations have days when premium gas is offered at a discount.

The Massachusetts average gas price falls in the middle of prices for the 50 states that range from $1.53 per gallon of "regular" unleaded gas in Georgia to $2.06 in California.

Harry Bronson, who works at the Pace Station at Kimball and Rollstone streets, said customers aren't filling up their tanks any more.