By Jon A. Brake

The Wal-Mart story will never be a classic and it will never be a short story but if Wal-Mart has anything to say about it, the final chapter will be printed next month.

Wal-Mart sent the latest, as in number 56 or 57, plans to the City of Manhattan last Friday. Today, Thursday, the Wal-Mart team will be in Manhattan to discuss the plans with the City administration.

Wal-Mart would like to have City Commission approval by the middle to the end of August and would start construction this fall.

The new plans have almost everything the City Commission and City Staff asked.

1. An entrance off McCall Road.

2. Bluemont extends across Tuttle Creek Blvd.

3. The entrance to ACE Hardware stays the same on the Westside and they will get an entrance off Bluemont.

4. The American Legion will get a parking area where the City holding pond is now.

5. Bluemont will extend to Hayes Dr. on the East.

6. Mrs. Clyde’s Restraint and Roche’s Family Hair Care will be removed to make way for the Frontage Road to curve to the East and then extend behind ACE Hardware.

The 209,921 square foot superstore will be a regular Wal-Mart and have groceries. A request for a Wal-Mart store on the west side of Manhattan was turned down four years ago. Wal-Mart has worked for the past three years to get approval on the east location.

Wal-Mart traffic engineers have indicated the new plans will take care of traffic problems.