Dollar General breaks ground in Forkland; next step in town’s growth

Earth-moving equipment already had begun preparing the site before more than a dozen elected officials, dignitaries and citizens of Forkland donned hard hats and grabbed shovels Friday morning.

Scores of excited supporters turned out to witness the official ground-breaking ceremony for a new Dollar General store took place. Construction of the store is the next in a series of steps the Greene County town is taking in its efforts to grow and prosper.

One speaker after another praised Mayor Charlie McAlpine, the city council and other officials for working together to bring a new business to the town.

“I never thought we’d ever have one,” said Forkland resident Gertrude Parker, “but we have one…Today is a great day.”

Forkland Mayor Charlie McAlpine and Dollar General District Manager Travis Wilson

“Dollar General is just as excited to be a partner with this community,” Travis Wilson, Dollar General District Manager, told the crowd.

He said the store, being built by Broadway Construction, is expected to open in November. Initially it will employ six to ten associates, but as the volume of sales grows, so will the number of employees.

The Forkland store will be a new prototype, he continued. It will provide larger freezer and refrigerated spaces and provide a wider variety of home and domestic items.

Travis started working with Dollar General in May. In his short time with the company, Travis continued, he has found the impact the stores have in smaller communities “is exciting.”

“There is a close relationship between the store and the community,” he explained. Cal Turner, Jr., founder of Dollar General, had as his vision to provide small communities the access to affordable goods.

Mayor McAlpine said the town began developing a three-year strategic plan after he took office in 2016. Dollar General was “on the bucket list.”

Once “we got our house in order” and were financially sound, the town began to implement its plan. One of the first to become a reality was the Forkland One-Stop Innovative Program. FOSIP teaches computer and life skills to senior adults in the community.

The town reactivated its police force, which had been suspended in 2010, and hired an interim chief. A Municipal Court is being established, with the judge to be selected at the Sept. 4 council meeting.

The Municipal Complex has become the center of the town’s activities. The mayor said a 100-car parking lot is in the works to accommodate all the programs going on in the building. Next door a storm shelter to hold 87 people is under construction.

A public service building to house both the fire and police departments is planned. The town is working with Greene County to purchase the local park and renovate it. If the sale can be finalized, McAlpine envisions a new pavilion, playground, concession stand and bathrooms.

Also being considered is the purchase of the now-closed Birdine Elementary School. It would be converted into a multi-purpose recreation center.

All of this, said McAlpine, comes from the vision of the community itself.

And he made sure all the shovels used in the groundbreaking were returned. He expects they will get a lot of use in the future.