Carolyn Dunn knows that the community of St. John is being watched, but says that’s a good thing, as long as a plan to bring a new grocery store to the community becomes reality. The Director of Stafford County Economic Development says the quest to find a new grocer for the community after Dillons left the town a year and a half ago continue.

Carolyn Dunn Audio

White’s Foodliner, which operates four grocery stores in rural Kansas and Oklahoma, has signed a letter of intent to operate a store for 10 years if Stafford County Economic Development can provide the building. Dunn has put together a financing plan for the $3 million needed for the building, parking lot and equipment.

But the make-or-break puzzle piece is that $800,000 community economic development grant through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dunn anticipates getting an answer from federal officials about the grant by the end of September. Without that funding, Dunn said the whole project is likely to collapse.