To the editor:

Our staff at the Do It Best Retail Service Center here on Nash Road greatly appreciates your article on Donnie Roth and the future of the Scott City hardware store. In addition to being an integral member of the Scott City community, Roth Hardware has been a loyal and important member of our hardware distribution family. Many of our employees are regular customers at the store as well as personal friends and great admirers of Donnie and his family.

There was one part of your article that we would like to chime in on. Stores and store owners like Roth are not at all a dying breed. Although it may seem like the big-box behemoths are crowding out these types of stores, the hard work and personal service provided by the local hardware store owners are still favored by most. This sector of the retail business continues to grow and prosper due to the determined efforts of folks just like Donnie and his family.

We will miss Donnie but hope that some arrangements can be made to keep the store going.

RANDY DUNN, Cape Girardeau