5,800 shop on first day

By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
Almost 6,000 people checked out at Russellville's new Wal-Mart Supercenter on its first day of operation Wednesday, store manager Steve Brannon said.
Brannon said he was not permitted to tell how much money the store made on the first day. He said only that business was "very good." Brannon said 5,800 people went through check-out lines on the first day of business.
Local residents were standing in line Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. as local officials cut the ribbon for the new store, one of three that opened Wednesday in north Alabama. Wal-Mart also opened Supercenters in Moulton and the Hampton Cove community near Huntsville.
Tuesday night, the store held a reception for employees and their families and presented checks to 17 local civic groups, schools and other organization totaling $19,200 in donations as part of Wal-Mart's "Good Works" community involvement program.
The store employs 300 workers, coming from more than 600 applications, Wal-Mart officials said. Three-fourths of those jobs are full-time.
The new 153,000-square-foot store contains a deli, vision center, car care center, snack bar and a branch of Valley State Bank.