Gas under $3 a gallon?
No way!
With the national average at $3.43, where can you get it for $2.99?
Article Photos
TRAFFIC IS
congested at the intersection of Aetna and Broadway streets in Martins Ferry as motorists flock to the Starfire
gas station for gasoline priced
at $2.99 a gallon. Traffic has been so bad that the Martins Ferry police have been called in on a daily basis for
the last week to help alleviate the congestion.
T-L Photos/KIM NORTH
At the Starfire station on the corner of Aetna and Broadway streets in Martins Ferry, at least that was the case Tuesday and this morning.
Yes, "gas wars" have officially hit Eastern Ohio.
"It's been crazy around here. A nut house," Starfire manager Crystal Mitchell said during a wild morning as she placed stickers on several pumps with the word "out" on them. "I've been in this business for 11 years, and I've never seen it like this."
Business has been so good that her station ran out of regular gasoline around 11:30 a.m., but Mitchell said another delivery was expected sometime early Tuesday afternoon. It showed up shortly before 1 p.m.
The "gas wars" actually started a week ago Monday between the Starfire and Sunoco, formerly the Sun Shop, stations.
"We were at $3.43 last Monday afternoon, and we're down to $2.99 now. The price has dropped 44 cents in eight days.
"The people like it," she added.
When asked how low she could set her price, Mitchell replied, "I don't know. I'm just doing what corporate tells me."
The station is owned by the Hartley Co., which is headquartered in Cambridge.
While at the station, this writer saw one vehicle with West Virginia plates that had at least 10 gas cans of all shapes and sizes in the back.
"It's been like this from morning to night," Mitchell allowed.
Across the street at the recently opened 'new' Sunoco station, signs on the pumps late Tuesday morning indicated that the station had no gas to offer. From a report, the station ran out of gas sometime Monday after trying to keep up with Starfire, and it hadn't received another shipment Monday.
Later in the day, a tanker was sighted at the Sunoco. It then headed to the Starfire station.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of Arby's, the Exxon, formerly BP, had a few cars at its pumps. The price there, late Tuesday afternoon, was $3.27.
North can be reached at knorth@timesleaderonline.com
