It's the 800-pound retail gorilla

Editor,

I read with much trepidation your article on the Wal-Mart proposed for south of town. I am a current out-of-state subscriber, and a native of Polson who hopes to retire to my hometown in a few years.

Surely it is obvious that any impact study paid for by Wal-Mart would be biased. They are the 800-pound gorilla of the retail world.

While I currently live on the East coast, I travel a lot, and everywhere I go, from Colorado to Tennessee to Western Pennsylvania and Abilene, Kan., a Super Wal-Mart store spells the demise of small businesses of all types … camera shops, tire stores, grocery stores, you name it. Small business cannot compete with this behemoth … a monster who regularly puts good sized companies out of business if they do not or cannot supply product at Wal-Mart's price.

Surely an impact study paid for by Lake County or the town of Polson itself would be well worth the cost. I for one would hate to see my hometown become a wasteland.

Thanks for your time.

Gretchen Gilbert

Carney's Point, N.J.