West Point’s new Dale’s Market, as well as the new Alabama Highway 157 turn lane are now officially open, following a ceremony on Friday with Mayor Kenneth Kilgo, store owner Greg Black and a number of city and county officials. (Christy Perry for The Cullman Tribune)
WEST POINT – West Point celebrated the official ribbon cutting and grand opening for Dale’s Market, along with the long-awaited completion and opening of the new turn lane at the Alabama Highway 157 intersection with County Road 1242. West Point Mayor Kenneth Kilgo and Dale’s Market owner Greg Black combined the two celebrations and welcomed the community to share in their excitement.
Stephen Parker, chairman of the Cullman County Industrial Development Authority, presented the mayor with a check for $40,000 to help with the cost of the new turn lane.
Parker said, “They first came to us in about 2014 or 2015. This lane was much needed and it’s a joy to see our communities grow.”
A happy Kilgo smiled, “We’ve spent three years working on getting this turn lane. With all the trees there before, you couldn’t see to make turns. Now, it’s much safer. A lot of people go through that intersection- lots of school buses, lots of teen drivers and so many others. This is so much safer and better. Back 10 years ago when Jack’s was coming in, we were told 15,000 vehicles a day passed through so I’m sure it’s more now. We had good support from the (Cullman County) Commission, the ID Board, (and) ADECA (the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs) paid for about half of this.”
Cullman County Commissioner Garry Marchman added, “It really helps on traffic. The local contractor, T&K Construction, helped by working with us on many of the details. We have also noticed that the store is attracting lots of the out of town traffic that passes through here each day.”
Kilgo explained, “The way this thing works in Cullman County, when we open something like this, the way we tax share between the municipalities and the County Commission, any new tax monies- we all share it. Everyone in Cullman County benefits.”
Black opened the new Dale’s Market two-and-a-half weeks ago and was excited to report, “Business has exceeded expectations. We are enjoying getting to know everyone. (The year) 2000 was when we first started looking at purchasing this land. Me and my mother, when she was still alive, wanted to open a store in West Point. My mom was Betty Pitts. My momma had breast cancer and passed away before we could get it done. My son’s birthday is today. He’s 14 and we chose 11:30 this morning because he was born at 11:30 a.m. on 11-30!”
Black thanked Pepsi, Merchants Bank, the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, Kilgo, 31 Construction, T&K Construction and everyone who came out to celebrate Friday morning. Pepsi gave an ATV to be raffled and the store’s wholesaler donated a bicycle. Hunt Bros. Pizza and J. Walken Chicken had raffle prizes and provided free lunch to customers.
Dale’s Market is open Monday-Saturday from 4 a.m.- midnight and Sunday’s from 6 a.m.-9 p.m.
Copyright 2018 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
