Jul 07, 2008 — The sagging national economy is proving especially painful for many families here in the North Country. According to statistics gathered by New York state, many counties in the region have seen the number of food stamp recipients grow by ten percent in the last year alone. High gas and fuel oil prices, combined with rising grocery and property tax bills, have pushed a lot of people to the edge. In just a moment we'll hear from a woman in the St. Lawrence Valley who's working extra hard to maintain her family's middle-class lifestyle. But first Brian Mann checked in with Al Beideck, an economist with New York's Department of Labor, based in Saranac Lake.