Gas costs, weather to slam travelers

More South Carolinians are expected to travel during the upcoming holiday weekend than in 2009, but they'll face rising gas prices and the possibility of congested roads and inclement weather.

"It's a Scrooge Christmas gift," Crosby said. "It could make for a tough traveling experience this Christmas season."

Holiday travel is up 3 percent from last year, according to AAA of the Carolinas. And those on the road might become a little frustrated, said Tom Crosby, a spokesman for AAA of the Carolinas.

And while Crosby's group projects a record 1.2 million South Carolinians will drive at least 50 miles during the next 11 days, there will be more than plenty of room at almost every Myrtle Beach inn. Occupancy rates for the Grand Strand are expected to hover around 15 percent this weekend, according to Taylor Damonte, director of the Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism. That's down from 17 percent for the same weekend in 2009, according to Damonte, who uses current occupancy rates at vacation rentals to make such predictions.

"Just because people are traveling doesn't mean they're going to vacation destinations," Damonte said. "They're likely going home this weekend or to see family. There's something about being home for Christmas."

Those going home for Christmas better put a little extra cash in their wallets for gas, though. Prices are creeping toward $3 a gallon along the Grand Strand. The statewide average of $2.85 per gallon is 40 cents per gallon more than one year ago and 20 cents per gallon more than one month ago. Prices of gas in Myrtle Beach were averaging about $2.80 a gallon Thursday.

Prices aren't expected to drop anytime soon, Crosby said. They could jump more in the coming days, he said, as inclement weather in Europe and increased travel in the United States could significantly ramp up demand. And a record number of driving travelers, coupled with stormy weather, could create travel concerns, Crosby said.

A fierce snowstorm is expected to strike the Northeast and could even leave the ground white in South Carolina on Christmas and Dec. 26. Extra drivers could clog up interstates and other thoroughfares that already see heavy traffic, according to AAA of the Carolinas.

But for many travelers along the Grand Strand, gas prices and weather concerns didn't matter.

"I come every year to see my daughter and her family here," said Ohio resident Anne Cooper while shopping at Coastal Grand mall.

"Gas was a little bit more, but it's Christmas and I'll see my family one way or the other."

Cooper's sentiments were echoed by Helen Evans, a Virginian who dined at Zaxby's in Myrtle Beach with her parents Thursday.

Evans traveled to Horry County late Tuesday and will leave Sunday.

"If gas was $20 a gallon, I'd probably still come," she said. "It's just money, and Christmas is Christmas. I'd spend it some other way anyhow."

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Murrells Inlet shelter clinic cuts costs for vet care

MURRELLS INLET -- Following a trail of blue, orange and white balloons tied to trees on a dirt road in Murrells Inlet, dozens of people came to Coastal Animal Rescue on Thursday to celebrate the opening of its veterinary clinic.

They said the clinic, which opened Sept. 27, is something for both the community and the organization to celebrate.

"There were rumors in the spring about a clinic and then in September it opened," said volunteer Karen Nierengarten. "Today, there is just so much excitement."

The shelter at Coastal Animal Rescue in Murrells Inlet has about 450 cats in a no-cage 2,000 square-foot building awaiting adoption for a fee of $75. Funds from their new Coastal Animal Rescue Veterinary Clinic will help support the shelter. The clinic celebrated the opening of its new, affordable clinic in Murrells Inlet Thursday. They claim to be the only no-cage, no-kill, 100 % volunteer cat and dog sanctuary in South Carolina. Since its founding 5 years ago, say they have saved over 1,000 cats and 50 dogs. Photo by Steve Jessmore sjessmore@thesunnews.com

Nierengarten said the clinic came about because there was an "overwhelming need to make [veterinary care] affordable for people."

The organization's goals include finding homes for rescued cats and dogs, preventing pet overpopulation and educating people about responsible pet ownership.

The clinic offers low-cost animal care, with basic exams starting at $32 and neutering or spaying costing $115 at the most.

Nierengarten said the organization tries to teach people how to care for their animals, but "when you make it affordable, people are more likely to actually do it."

But the clinic doesn't just benefit the community.

It promotes Coastal Animal Rescue's mission, draws people to its off-the-beaten-track location and helps the rescue stay solvent.

Shelter director Sue Wurm said before the clinic opened, sick animals had to be taken to nearby veterinarians, and rarely at discounted prices.

"Now we just take it to Dr. Mok and it's done," she said. "It's wonderful."

Meisen Mok is the clinic veterinarian and the rescue's first paid employee. He moved from Loveland, Colo., to work at the clinic.

Mok walked around Thursday's lunchtime event with a name-tag that simply said "Doc," answering questions and talking to people about their pets.

He said he is glad to work where the focus is on animals rather than profits.

"Veterinaries can be very profit-based," he said, "but pet care is generally based on disposable income."

Mok said he has seen a general national trend of animal care costs increasing, and "there's just so much that people can afford."

And when people don't feel like they can afford a shot or a check-up for their pet "they're probably going to drop that level of care," especially in this economy, he said.

Mok was laid off from his previous job at a clinic in Colorado because of the recession.

But in the around six weeks the vet clinic has been open, he said, it has been "very, very busy."

Two other employees have been hired for the clinic since Mok arrived.

"It seems like it just sort of took off," he said.

That's good news for the organization, Nierengarten said.

Animal welfare programs for the Murrells Inlet organization are funded through private donations and, while Nierengarten said the public provides "great support," at fundraisers, "we never have enough money."

But now "any profit we make [at the clinic] after the salaries and benefits can go back to the care of the animals" in the rescue, she said.

Showing a profit would provide a much-needed cushion for the organization in case donations drop off.

Just this past week, another area animal shelter, the Grand Strand Humane Society in Myrtle Beach, had to implement an animal drop-off fee and ask the city for its quarterly funding check to keep the shelter going.

The new clinic is "win-win" Mok said.

"It gives the public another option and is great for the shelter," he said.

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