ASHLAND, Va. (WTVR) - It is a battle that has been fought in many small towns across the country. A battle to keep "big box" stores like Walmart from setting up shop. Some locals fear when stores like Walmart open in town, small businesses are put out of business.
Back in 2000, some people in Ashland fought against Walmart building a super center in the town.
On May 24, 2000, CBS 6 reporter Mark Holmberg, then a writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, reported:
Early this morning, as 75 opponents held signs that said "Please Say No," Ashland Town Council voted 4-1 in favor of rezoning that would allow a Wal - Mart to open in eastern Ashland. The vote ended five hours of often emotional testimony from residents, a climax to more than 20 months of to-and-fro on the controversial project. "You go to hell," shouted one opponent at Jay M. Weinberg, the attorney for Richland Limited Partnership, the developers proposing a shopping center that would be anchored by Wal - Mart , near the town's Interstate 95 interchange.
Two months before that vote, in March 2000, town planners discussed a proposal they thought would give them more power to shape the kind of development that occurred in Ashland.
This story, reported by Ray Sayah, covered that angle.
Ray, who goes by Reza, is now a reporter for CNN.
The Ashland Walmart opened its doors to customers in 2003.
