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No sense in turning away business

Editor, The Record:

Re: Wal-Mart an albatross around Mission's neck, Aug. 4 edition.

I am a retail clothing store manager located in Mission, and I would love to share my own opinion as well as the opinions of my customers with people who are against this development.

People leave here to shop elsewhere. It's a known fact amongst my friends, family and customers. They do not have the things in Mission that they want to purchase, so therefore drive to buy it 15 minutes away.

Why would you want people to continue to leave here to support the other districts and not our own? I have multiple customers who are stay-at-home moms who would love a part-time job in Mission that's close to home and not in a fast food restaurant, but no small businesses in Mission are hiring, and neither are the larger ones.

If they are, it's not adequate hours to be worthwhile, and most are run by the business owners themselves. I'm all for small business and I'm all for revitalizing the downtown core, but as a Mission resident for several years now, that area has nothing I need, want or can afford. It appeals to a small group of people with certain unique tastes and a fat wallet.

I'm not a huge Wal-mart fan per se, but it's a business that I know is not going to close three months later and become something else. It's a business I know that will supply full-time/part-time jobs to a community that needs them.

Why on Earth would you turn that away?

J. Elizabeth

Mission