To the editor:

So, here we go again with another lawsuit against the city by Wal-Mart, who apparently knows what’s best for us, even if we don’t.

While we can only stand by and let the city’s attorneys handle the legal machinations, there is something we can do as consumers to assist in the effort to keep a second Wal-Mart out of town: Don’t shop at the first one! If there is one thing the bean counters in Bentonville watch, it’s the sales figures at existing stores. Should the sales numbers fall an appreciable amount at the South Iowa store, they may think twice about putting more money into a market that doesn’t appear to warrant it.

Such a course of action would be the reasonable response. From what we have seen from Wal-Mart thus far, however, it is just as likely that they will hire the Wicked Witch of the West ($7 an hour, no health benefits) to fly over town and spell out “Surrender, Lawrence!”

Well, it’s worth a try.

Jeff Southard,

Lawrence