ferriday &8212; With the promise of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter opening in Vidalia, shoppers and officials in Ferriday and Natchez are wondering what it means for them.

There is no shortage of opinion.

&8220;I think it&8217;s great,&8221; Amanda McGarry said. &8220;It means people in Vidalia won&8217;t have to come over here and get groceries.&8221;

Other shoppers in the Natchez store expressed similar feelings that the new store would, if anything, help relieve some congestion at their store.

The problem is, that congestion generates tax revenues for Natchez and Adams County, revenues officials want to keep right where they are.

&8220;It will definitely have an effect on our sales tax revenues, no question about it,&8221; Natchez City Clerk Donnie Holloway said. &8220;How much, I really don&8217;t know.&8221;

But Natchez will still have a Wal-Mart, whereas the new store appears to forecast the closing of the Ferriday location.

Ferriday Mayor Gene Allen said he has not heard anything definite either and wasn&8217;t worried about it.

&8220;I talked with a manager last week and he said their position has not changed: their intent is to build a new store in Vidalia. They didn&8217;t tell me one way or another about Ferriday,&8221; he said.

Kimberly Randall, Wal-Mart&8217;s Louisiana manager, did not respond to a request for comment made through the company&8217;s headquarters.

Even though nothing is official, there&8217;s not much optimism in the parking lot that the store will remain open.

&8220;It makes me unhappy to think of this store closing,&8221; Marjorie Vogt said. &8220;I&8217;ve lived in Ferriday 58 years and I like to shop and keep my money in Ferriday.&8221;

Other shoppers from Clayton, Jonesville and beyond come to Ferriday to shop at Wal-Mart and the Ferriday Market.

The most important factor to them?

Location.

&8220;If they close this location, I&8217;d have to change, go someplace closer,&8221; Vera Frankin said.

Franklin lives between Clayton and Sicily Island and is part of a large group that said the convenience of the location was their primary reason for shopping.

And if those people stop coming to Ferriday to shop, Alderman Johnnie Brown knows that will have an effect on the city&8217;s economy, but that they have to move forward.

&8220;It&8217;s going to hurt us because we&8217;re going to lose our tax base,&8221; he said. &8220;We have to go out and be aggressive and pursue another business to come in here.&8221;

If the Ferriday store were to close, don&8217;t think that spells the end for the Ferriday Market situated right next door.

In fact, Supermarket Operations Inc., the company that owns The Markets in Natchez, Vidalia and Ferriday as well as the Piggly Wiggly, is in the interesting position of preparing for a new competitor in one market while it wonders how to survive without that same competitor in another.

Barry Loy, director of retail operations for the company, said it is nothing new.

&8220;We&8217;ve faced them everywhere we go,&8221; Loy said. &8220;You can&8217;t run from them and you have to learn to do things they can&8217;t do.&8221;

If the Ferriday Wal-Mart were to close, Loy said The Market would remain open and explore ways to better serve the customers, throwing out the possibility of adding more merchandise.

Any way you look at it, the possibility of the store&8217;s closing is daunting.

&8220;It&8217;s very important to Ferriday, but you can&8217;t worry about things you can&8217;t control. If we could stop them from moving, we would,&8221; Allen said.