FERRIDAY

&8212; Ferriday Upper Elementary School children will benefit from the last item bought at the town&8217;s Wal-Mart.

Teacher Frances Lee was the store&8217;s last shopper, her purchase &8212; discounted paint pens.

The store closed its doors for the last time at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Much of the merchandise and all of the employees can be found at the new Super Center in Vidalia at 8 a.m. today.

The Ferriday store marked down prices on some items, drawing a few bargain hunters in its last hours.

&8220;I came looking for discounts,&8221; shopper Michelle Jefferson said. &8220;Now I&8217;ll be going to Vidalia. It&8217;s sad to see this go. It is taking away from Ferriday.&8221;

Most of the shoppers shared similar sentiments, and all admitted they&8217;ll transfer their business to the new store.

&8220;I can&8217;t believe they are going to take Wal-Mart from us,&8221; Ferriday resident Emma Byrnes said as she walked down empty aisles. &8220;I said, &8216;let&8217;s go to Wal-Mart. It will be the last time we get to go.&8217;&8221;

Store Manager Timothy Coleman spent his final hours in the store telling customers they&8217;ll like what they see in Vidalia. Coleman will be the manager of the new store too.

&8220;Some people are just sentimental,&8221; he said. &8220;They hate to see this store go. But the majority are excited.&8221;

Coleman said the flow of business had been normal for the last several days, but he expects big crowds in Vidalia today.

Employees and a transition team from the store&8217;s corporate office worked through the night to close out the old and prepare the new.

&8220;We&8217;ve still got some polishing and shining we want to do,&8221; Coleman said in the final minutes at the Ferriday store.

The Vidalia grand opening is at 7:30 a.m. today. Vendors, like Coke, will be giving away products and small gifts to welcome customers, Coleman said.

As for Lee and her paint pens, she bought enough to last a while. After all, they were on sale, and they don&8217;t go bad.

Lee was happy with her purchase, but not so happy with the circumstances.

&8220;It feels sad now,&8221; she said. &8220;I&8217;ve got to drive further to get to Wal-Mart. But it&8217;s not too far, so it&8217;s not too bad.&8221;

Ferriday resident Christina Peoples said she&8217;s now going to try to find what she needs at Ferriday Market before driving down the highway.

&8220;What I can&8217;t find at the grocery store, I&8217;ll go to Vidalia for,&8221; she said. &8220;Now where do you go when you need Epson salt?&8221;

The Vidalia Wal-Mart&8217;s hours will be 6 a.m. to midnight daily.