VIDALIA &8212; All the signs were positive for Torri Webber when she decided earlier this year to open The Picket Fence. The choice of name turned out to be fortuitous, too.

In March, she committed to opening a children&8217;s store with a learning center. Too late for the spring and summer children&8217;s clothing market, she went to Dallas in April.

She and her sister were looking around when a man approached and offered to help them. &8220;He could tell we didn&8217;t know what we were doing,&8221; Webber said.

As they talked about what Webber needed &8212; everything &8212; the man said he had someone for her to meet.

&8220;He introduced me to a lady across the room who was closing a children&8217;s shop after more than 23 years in Tyler, Texas,&8221; Webber said.

They made a deal to meet at her store on the way home from market. &8220;She said I could buy whatever I wanted at market value.&8221;

When Webber walked into the Tyler store, she caught her breath. &8220;Guess what her fixtures were? Picket fences. And I had already named my store The Picket Fence.&8221;

The Tyler store was packed with beautiful items, and Webber was thrilled to get so complete an inventory, including plenty of clothes for spring and summer.

&8220;I put a tag on things I wanted and went back two months later to pick up everything.&8221;

Webber said she always has wanted to own a business. As part owner of the building on Carter Street where she opened The Picket Fence, she had thought of many possibilities, including an antiques shop with a tearoom.

The tearoom and other ideas met with dull reaction from her husband, Trey, and from her friends. The children&8217;s store with learning center was a different story.

This time, when the space became available, she took it.

&8220;I know children. I&8217;ve taught school for 21 years,&8221; she said. &8220;My son, Kyle, is a senior. He&8217;s 17, and we have Sophie, a 3-year-old. She&8217;s kind of rekindled the joy of children in me again.&8221;

Once construction started, things moved fast toward completion for the June opening. She designed the learning center, which resembles a spacious classroom that can accommodate about 14 children at a time.

&8220;We&8217;re going to use the ACES program. That stands for Accelerated Creative Enrichment Skills,&8221; she said. &8220;It&8217;s designed by my sister who lives in West Monroe.&8221;

The program is designed to use a different theme each month. Students, ages 6 to 8, will meet one day a week after school for the approximately one-hour classes.

&8220;We&8217;ll do things like cooking, art, reading and community helpers, which will bring people in from the community to talk to the children,&8221; Webber said. &8220;We might have a doctor come to talk about taking care of your body.&8221;

Another fall program at the learning center will be painting on canvas for children ages 6 to 10. Notices for all her programs will go out through the school systems.

Webber is a first-grade teacher at Vidalia Lower Elementary School, where she taught kindergarten last year.

Her mother-in-law, Gwen Webber, and Tanya Richardson are helping at the store. The first few weeks were hectic, but the pace has slowed since school started a few days ago, they agreed.

The store is at 1108 Carter St. The phone number is 318-336-7155.