Coming soon: Walgreens

In the five years since the establishment of Plumas Lake, residents have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of retail.

The wait is over.

Ground was broken this month for the first large-scale retail store - Walgreens, which is slated to be complete by March or April of 2009. The groundbreaking ceremony took place July 12, attracting a crowd of about 50 residents who came out to express their support for the
project.

"I have gotten used to not having any local services, but the coming Walgreens will be a blessing," said Sean McColley.

The groundbreaking was led by three individuals who have been working diligently for the past few years to make this happen along with two resident representatives of the local Reclamation District 784. Mary Jane Griego, the Yuba County supervisor representing Plumas Lake, was joined by Paul Petrovich of Petrovich Development Co., Walgreens Northern District Manager Paul Friello ,and RD 784 representatives Jeff Phinney and Gary Bradford.

In addition to the ceremonial groundbreaking, attendees were invited to stay and enjoy food and drinks and ask any questions about the future of the development. In addition, both Petrovich and Walgreens gave residents tons of freebies including T-shirts, water bottles, letter openers, pens and stress balls shaped like pills.

Children attending the event were included in the ceremony, with some allowed to sit on the large ground-hauling tractor and all of them leaving with balloons.

Barring any significant rain delays affecting construction, residents can look forward to being able to run down the street for milk and eggs and other goods in just 26 short weeks - much shorter than some individuals have been living in the area.

"Walgreens is a big step forward and hopefully the catalyst for future commercial development," said Phinney.

Plumas Lake correspondent Michele Perrault can be reached at 483-3664 or e-mail her at mperrault@plumaslakelife.com.