Some app-based delivery drivers are rethinking if it’s worth continuing in that line of work as gas prices hit record highs.

Joseph Klappenger has been making ends meet for five years delivering food for five different app companies and several different rideshare companies.

“I was using this to pay for certain necessities like insurance and, you know, gas money, smaller bills that I had. But now I just don’t do it anymore because it’s not profitable for me at all,” he explained.

Gas prices have gone up so much in two weeks Klappenger says it’s not even worth getting out of the driveway.

“The Honda would take me exactly $25 to fill up to go 400 miles. Now, it only gets me about half a tank,” he said.

Klappenger said if prices don’t go down in two months, he will give up driving for those app-based companies. He says food deliveries and rideshare is a luxury for many, and with costs going up, many are taking the bus or cutting back on extra expenses.

Greg Webber delivers pizzas for Poppy’s Pizza.

“I pay my own gas out of my own pocket,” he said.

Webber has noticed some of their regular customers are being more generous with tips to offset costs.

“It’s work. You have to have gas up. If you don’t have gas, you can’t work,” he said.

While some app delivery companies raise prices to offset the costs, some drivers say those companies also take a larger percentage, still leaving them short.

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Service was restored Thursday to 88% of customers in Seguin and McQueeney that were affected by a natural gas outage, CenterPoint Energy officials said.

Utility officials said as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, 3,914 customers had their service restored.

More than 4,300 CenterPoint Energy customers at one point were without natural gas following an outage Tuesday that the utility blamed on damage to another company’s pipeline that serves the towns.

Technicians will continue to work extended hours to restore service to remaining customers.

CenterPoint Energy officials said the relighting process requires employees to have access at homes and businesses in order to light pilots and check to make sure it is safe to resume service.

If an adult over age 18 is not at the service address when a technician arrives, the company will leave a door hanger with instructions. All CenterPoint Energy technicians and contractors wear badges and will show them to customers upon request before entering a home or business.

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The defending Class 3A champs are back.

In their fourth straight UIL State tournament appearance, the Cole boys basketball team jumped out to a 16-0 lead and held on to top Hitchcock 53-49 in the Class 3A semifinals, earning the Cougars a spot in Saturday’s championship game.

The Cougars started the game scorching hot from distance. Senior guard Silas Livingston opened the game with a pair of three-pointers and scored the game’s first eight points. Fellow senior Trey Blackmore then tallied a four-point play and scored the next eight, capping a stunning 16-0 run. Blackmore added a three in the final minute of the frame to give Cole a 19-5 lead after one quarter of play.

Senior Dre Ray set the tone in the second quarter, scoring Cole’s next six points, as the Cougars mounted a 25-11 advantage. One final Livingston three put the Cole in the driver’s seat at halftime, 28-13. The third quarter proved to be a different story. Hitchcock chipped away at the Cougars’ lead, and pulled back within single-digits on a layup by Lloyd Jones III with 2:53 left in the frame. After a Cole timeout, Ray answered with an emphatic one-handed slam that got the San Antonio faithful on their feet.

WATCH: Dre Ray (@Dreray23) takes flight for a monster dunk in @RGC_BBasketball‘s 53-49 victory over Hitchcock, as the Cougars return to the #UILState Class 3A title game! More highlights and reaction coming up on @ksatnews at 6! #KSATsports @InstantReplaySA @KSATbgc #txhshoops pic.twitter.com/inn1tRgOVL

— Andrew Cely (@ACelySports) March 10, 2022

That started a running theme for the Cougars, who seemingly had an answer for every rally the Bulldogs put together. Blackmore and Livingston each completed clutch three-point plays, and Blackmore helped seal the game at the line with five free throws in the final 16 seconds of regulation, as the Cougars hung on to win. Blackmore finished with a game-high 23 points. Ray added 13 and Livingston tallied 11.

Cole next takes on Dallas Madison in the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Trojans defeated Wichita Falls City View 69-62 in the first semifinal. The Cougars previously faced Madison in Duncanville at Texas Hoop Fest on Nov. 26 and lost 60-49.

The nonprofit Ukrainian San Antonio was so successful in its first collection of baby formula and diapers for the people of Ukraine last week that it couldn’t fit everything collected in its first truck. It will be loading those items and medical supplies donated on Thursday into another truck to continue aiding during the Russian invasion.

The group will be at the Hilton Garden Inn at the Rim in the 5700 block of Rim Pass, accepting donations until 8 p.m., before the truckload of supplies is driven to Chicago for a flight to Poland and then driven into Ukraine by a Ukrainian relief agency.

The Ukrainian San Antonio website has a detailed list of the medical supplies that are most needed as well as how and where they can be purchased.

Olena Garcia, the nonprofit’s chair, said Ukrainian San Antonio plans to return every Thursday for other collection drives. She said the response so far is further proof of America’s support of Ukraine.

“People are on your side, and people see the truth,” Garcia said.

Many of those who were volunteering have family and friends in Ukraine.

“I just couldn’t imagine if I couldn’t do anything to help them,” said Sasha Rebchunovska, a Ukrainian-American. “I feel like this is just my little part in it that I’m contributing.”

Rebchunovska was one of the nursing students at the University of Incarnate Word who volunteered to help.

Their effort was organized by Irene Gilliland, UIW nurse emerita, whose parents were from Ukraine.

Gilliland said her parents survived the Nazi takeover of Ukraine, and her mother would recall the tyranny of another Russian leader, Joseph Stalin, the former dictator of the USSR.

But now, with Vladimir Putin as the Russian president, Gilliland said, “My parents are gone, and I think it’s probably better that way because they would be really mortified.”

With gas prices at an all-time record high in combination with the highest inflation in 40 years, people are looking for ways to stretch their dollars.

And while drivers probably won’t be able to find cheap gas right now, there are ways to shop around for the best prices available.

Gas buddy has a list of gas stations with the 10 lowest prices per gallon. Some of the locations show prices that are about 25 cents below the current city average.

You can also look at a map of gas prices across the city.

The data supplied by Gas Buddy is crowdsourced, meaning it is supplied by users, so its accuracy may not be guaranteed up to the minute, especially with gas prices changing so frequently.

KSAT Consumer Reporter Marilyn Moritz recently talked with some car experts to find out how drivers can stretch their gallon and dollar.

Here’s what she found out:

Proper maintenance such as clean air filters and regular oil changes can optimize fuel economy.Get out the tire gauge. Tires that do not have enough air pressure create drag and waste fuel.Use a gas app such as GasBuddy, Waze, GasGuru or AAA to help you locate the lowest prices near you. Some stations offer cash discounts or loyalty programs.Automotive experts say unless your car requires premium-grade fuel, go for the regular.How you drive matters. High speeds, sudden braking and jack-rabbit starts are gas-guzzling habits.

You can also consider cashback apps like GetUpside or Receipt Hog that will pay you cash back on purchases including gas.

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A man died after a travel trailer caught on fire in southern Bexar County Wednesday night, officials confirmed in a news release.

Bexar County Fire Dispatch received a call about the trailer in the 23200 block of U.S. Highway 281 South around 11 p.m.

“The original 9-1-1 caller said that his brother lived in the travel trailer, and he was unable to get ahold of him,” according to the news release.

When first responders arrived, they reported that the trailer already collapsed due to the flames.

Firefighters faced a few challenges while putting the fire out, including inoperable vehicles that impeded their approach, according to the news release.

Once the fire was contained, firefighters recovered a body inside the collapsed trailer. The body was taken by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, who are working to identify the man.

Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire and the investigation is ongoing as of Thursday.

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Low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines is preparing to lift off with nonstop service from San Antonio to two major cities: Atlanta and Philadelphia. The resurrected route to Atlanta, scheduled to take off May 26, will operate each Thursday and Friday. The returning route to Philadelphia, set to start June 15, will operate each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Frontier previously offered nonstop service from San Antonio to the two cities but subsequently dropped both routes. “This gives…

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