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Competition sparks Cortland gas war

Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple Lenny Reynolds of Warren fills his truck tank with discounted gasoline at Valley View Food Mart during a Monday morning gas war in Cortland.

CORTLAND — Lenny Reynolds speculated whether the gas war between local competing fuel stations would last as long as Monday’s solar eclipse.

In the hours leading up to the spectcle, Reynolds of Warren stopped by the newly opened Valley View Food Mart along state Route 46/5 in Cortland to fill his truck tank with gasoline that dipped as low as 99 cents per gallon for regular fuel.

At times, the price for a regular gallon of gasoline at Valley View and the nearby Speedway fell more than a dollar below average prices reported over the weekend and into Monday at fuel pumps across the Valley.

“The last few days, some of our competitors have been lowering prices to below cost,” Sarah Pena, Valley View’s operations manager, said. “So because of that, we started lowering our prices.

“We always try to be fair. This was never about trying to be a bully or anything. We’re not trying to be rude. But when they started lowering their prices, we were feeling like we were being pushed around. We might be a small family-owned business, but we’re still strong. We wanted to make a stand early to compete with them,” Pena said.

Valley View owner Ashraf Isaac opened the first location in Warren, near the company’s headquarters, about 15 years ago. The company has expanded to nine locations in several counties including Trumbull, Ashtabula, Columbiana and Cuyahoga.

“We’ve tried to stay competitive with whoever is in the area,” Pena said.

Local Speedway workers said they were not allowed to comment on the gas prices. Speedway’s corporate office in Enon, Clark County, did not immediately respond to Tribune Chronicle requests for comment.

Pena said the gas war that started over the weekend “with competitors going under $2 a gallon” ended Monday — but not before many motorists lined up to take advantage of the lower prices.

Elsewhere in the Warren-Youngstown area, the average cost of a regular gallon of gasoline Monday was $2.22, according to national auto club AAA. That compared with $2.24 the same day last week, $2.17 last month and $2.06 the same time last year.

Statewide, a gallon of regular gasoline cost $2.22 on average Monday. That’s down from $2.31 a week ago, comparable to $2.23 a month ago, but up from the $2.18 it cost this time last year.

Nationally, average gas prices Monday were $2.33 for a gallon of regular, versus $2.35 a week ago, $2.28 the prior month and $2.16 the same day last year.

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