So here’s another excellent post I missed, thanks to my email gaffe. Sorry, Allclick — and thanks for the submission. I really like how you went with better and worse.

Post by: Allclick
Town: Hurricane
Website: http://www.allclick.blogspot.com

About one year behind schedule, Putnam County finally entered the 21st century this April by opening its first Wal-mart. Yes, the mega-super-ultra-all-selling-all-knowing-hyper mart institution is now available for everyone who had to drive those 20 minutes to Nitro. Ever since construction began I thought to myself, Will this be better for the community or worse? Here were some of my thoughts/suspicions.

Better:

Well, a big honking superstore needs people to work there, right? So more jobs in the area. Wal-mart say they are giving a lot of money away to local charities and organizations. I don’t disbelieve them, I just can’t verify that. Other stores are moving in near Wal-mart. I look forward to trying the new Rocky Top Mountain Pizza.

I’ll have to spend less on gas to get to Wal-mart. The prices are usually cheaper than Kroger. Kroger is now a lot nicer to shop at, as everyone is at Wal-mart.

So, a lot of benefits on a personal level and a community level. But didn’t I just see a documentary about how Wal-mart moves into a community and then all the smaller stores just close and die? Hmm.

Worse:

Potentially some of the smaller stores in Hurricane could close. There are a couple of family-owned superstores that probably aren’t too happy about the competition. The roads have become a little more congested now at the interstate exit there.

Yes, a new Dollar Tree moved in alongside Wal-mart … but to make up for this, they closed the other one over in Teays Valley. Which was nicer.

It’s a Wal-mart. Which means to most shoppers that they should ignore any etiquette that they have learned throughout life and just treat the place like their own playground. The parking up there still kinda sucks. I have no idea how that happened.

It’s a tough call right now. I can only see the roads getting worse and the other stores struggling more as time goes on. For now I’m pleased to have a convenient, cheap shopping location. Whether I’ll be quite as content as I line up in traffic everyday at the interstate I can’t tell you.