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It's official. The rumors I have heard for the last four years are true. Home Depot broke ground for their store last week and will be opening in 2008.

There are pros and cons with each new business that comes to town. 150 new jobs with higher than average pay and great employee benefits, as stated by Home Depot, will boost the community and will bring more dollars into the Pahrump economy. "If you build it they will come." I foresee folks coming from Tonopah and Shoshone to shop at a Home Depot in Pahrump.

Add to that the sales tax generated, the property taxes paid by a new business and the homes or rentals that will be occupied by anyone who may relocate to Pahrump to work here and you have a win-win situation, right?

Not necessarily.

Pahrump was built, survived, grew and prospered on mostly locally owned Mom and Pop stores or businesses -- folks who saw a need and provided the goods and services the community desired. Much like the Pahrump Valley Times, this paper was built and grew right along with the town, one advertiser at a time.

It irks me to hear, "With Home Depot here, Ace Hardware can no longer gouge us on prices."

Of all the times I have shopped at Ace, I never once felt gouged. If I pay 50 cents more for something and it keeps me from having to "go over the hill," that is not gouging -- in my opinion, that is customer service.

One constant with personally owned businesses is they can't buy truckloads of inventory like Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Buying in smaller quantities makes the price higher and more than likely increases the shipping cost. That is why you pay a bit more.

The Floyds and the Moores saw a need in Pahrump over 40 years ago. They filled that need by opening Floyd's Ace Hardware, "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man," or woman. Their business has expanded to include items other than just hardware.

Where else can you go, get a free cup of coffee, a bag of popcorn if you want one, and customer service the way it used to be, with a smile.

When my well froze in January, as everyone else's did, I went to Ace in search of the pipe and fittings needed to fix it.

I am a creature of habit and really like the aspect of running water. The parking lot was packed with folks in search of the same items I needed. It came as no surprise to me that they were sold out.

What did surprise me was the desire to help displayed by the staff there. They could have sent me packing to Vegas, instead, they saved me a trip to H&M Pipe and Supply, another locally owned business, who they already knew were sold out. I was referred to Pahrump Valley Sprinkler's on Leslie, a business that at the time was fairly new to Pahrump, as I was not aware of them.

When I arrived at PV Sprinklers, I found Don, the owner, working in the dark as the power was out. He was assisting others in the same situation, with nothing more than natural daylight and a flashlight.

As he helped the guy in front of me, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation. His well was frozen and the pipe had also broken. Don located the items he needed and was writing the sale up.

Remember he was without power. The fellow was in a bad situation as he needed to pay with a debit or visa card, and no power makes this type of transaction impossible.

Don gave him a copy of the receipt with the charges on it and told him the important issue was restoring water for his family, he could come back and pay him later. I don't know that Home Depot could have done that or even remained open without power.

PV Sprinklers had the pipe and fittings I needed, I wrote a check and Don even gave me his personal phone number in case I needed additional parts as when night fell he would have to close.

Now, from the help received at Ace and from Don at PV Sprinklers, we were able to fix our well. This, in my opinion is above and beyond. They didn't do this to make a $20 sale; they did it to help people out.

Face facts -- one of your friends, neighbors or family will be working for Home Depot and they, too, will be there to help customers. Home Depot has a ton of stuff, kind of "a guy's store," in my opinion.

Will I shop there? No doubt I will.

But, I will continue to shop at Ace, PV Sprinklers, Don's Southside Nursery and other locally owned businesses, because these people saw a need, provided a service, and in my opinion, built this town. They were loyal to this community and I will continue to show my appreciation by patronizing their businesses.