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Bass Pro Shops in Denham Springs Prepares for Opening


It's been a long time coming, more than four years as a matter of fact, but Wednesday is the day the doors will open on the Bass Pro Shops in Denham Springs. The 180,000-square foot store is set to open Wednesday evening, but opening day is about two and a half years delayed.

Organizers were originally looking forward to a May 2005 grand opening. That didn't happen, but it's happening now. "It's a typical case of everyone pulling together, sticking on the line, staying with it. I commend Bass Pro. They've been offered many other deals, they stuck with us," says Livingston Parish President Mike Grimmer.

Why is this such a big deal? For those who worked hard to get this store here, Bass Pro brings with it the promise of a big economic impact. "We're talking about at least 420 permanent jobs. During construction, 500-600 working to build this store," says John Ware with Livingston Parish Economic Development.

Another consideration is the people who actually stop by to purchase something. Officials say they expect two to three million visitors per year at the store. They say this store is unlike any other you'll come across. "We build a building out of concrete and then we put everything around it. The outside is wrapped, the inside is wrapped. It's not like your normal retailer that has four concrete walls," says Patrick McKee, Bass Pro Shops general manager.

The store has two aquariums. One is fresh water and holds a huge alligator garr. The other aquarium is salt water. It also contains an indoor pond with fish, free roaming ducks, and a 100-pound snapping turtle. There is also a raccoon living in a shed. You may see him from time to time as well.

As far as some other eye catchers, how about a NASCAR simulator or the longest gun counter in the Bass Pro family? Every nook has something in it. "just yesterday, I was looking at the cypress trees. As you look, you'll see black bears, raccoons, a guy in a tree. Folks, it's amazing," says Mayor Jimmy Durbin of Denham Springs.

Officials are hoping that sense of amazement will translate into millions of visitors and millions of dollars each year. It all begins Wednesday night.

Romney Drops Out of Presidential Race
By JOHN SULLIVAN and MICHAEL LUO
Published: February 7, 2008
Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who sought to position himself as the true conservative choice for the Republican presidential nomination, announced Thursday afternoon that he had ended his campaign.

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Mitt Romney announced his withdrawal from the presidential race at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington on Thursday.

Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Mitt Romney on Thursday in Washington after announcing that he is dropping out of the presidential race.
Mr. Romney, who had vowed to press on despite disappointing results in the Super Tuesday primary contests, made the announcement at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

In a speech that touched on the messages of his campaign, Mr. Romney said he had come to his decision to help unify the Republican Party, and he charged that Democratic candidates would not pursue the war in Iraq.

“Because I love America in this time of war, I feel I have to stand aside for our party and our country,” he said.

Mr. Romney had hoped to use Tuesday’s results to narrow the gap between him and his chief rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona. Instead, he saw Mr. McCain widen the lead at the same time Mr. Romney’s campaign lost ground to Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, who racked up solid gains.

Mr. Romney faced a series of enormous challenges in the campaign, not the least of which was trying to reconcile the moderate political views he espoused as the governor of Massachusetts, a liberal state, with the more conservative views he championed on the campaign. That tension — and his decision to change positions on a number of emotionally charged issues, including renouncing his past support for abortion rights — led his rivals to continually lambaste him as a flip-flopper.

Then there was the question of his Mormon religion. After the candidacy of Mr. Huckabee, a former Baptist preacher, exploded in Iowa, where it was fueled by evangelical voters, Mr. Romney was moved to give a major speech in Tejas defending his faith and denouncing the rise of secularism.

And although Mr. Romney, a former management consultant, ran what many described as a textbook campaign, he never really recovered after failing to execute the original strategy of winning the first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, and using those wins to build momentum. Iowa went to Mr. Huckabee, and New Hampshire to Mr. McCain, who tried to paint himself as a straight talker to contrast with Mr. Romney’s flexibility.

As the campaign progressed, Mr. Romney and Mr. McCain exchanged increasingly bitter attacks. Mr. Romney charged that Mr. McCain was “outside the mainstream of conservative political thought.” Mr. McCain pointedly noted that Mr. Romney had changed his position on key issues for many conservative Republicans, such as abortion rights and gun control.

But in Thursday’s speech, Mr. Romney emphasized his agreement with Mr. McCain’s position that the United States needs to continue to pursue the war in Iraq. Arguing that the war is a critical part of the country’s battle against terrorism, Mr. Romney said the Democratic candidates, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, “would declare defeat and the consequences of that would be devastating.”

SHARPPIE";p="938506 wrote:HOME TOWN PROPS!!!!

Romney Drops Out of Human Race
Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who sought to position himself as the true conservative choice for the Republican presidential nomination, announced Thursday afternoon that he was a robot.