GALLIPOLIS — Following a lull for the Thanksgiving holiday, most tri-county retail stores opened their doors bright — although in some cases it was still dark — and early today as Black Friday 2009 signaled the beginning of the mad rush to Christmas Day.

Several local affiliates of national chains — Wal-Mart, Kmart, Big Lots, Dollar Tree — were open on Thanksgiving Day and offered some good deals ahead of Black Friday. However, a glance at the circulars that ran on Thanksgiving Day in all three of Ohio Valley Publishing’s local papers reinforced the fact to consumers that today is the day for the big deals, at least according to the retail industry.

Wal-Mart announced recently that it would maintain its regular 24-hour cycle in the wake of last year’s Black Friday tragedy at its store in Long Island, N.Y. Jdimytai Damour, a seasonal employee, was trampled to death by a swarm of shoppers after they broke down the doors.

Federal safety regulators cited Wal-Mart for inadequate crowd management and required the world’s largest retailer to create improved crowd management plans.

Several retailers in the local area opened their doors early today. Sears in Gallipolis was open at 4 a.m. Big Lots at the Silver Bridge Plaza in Gallipolis opened at 7 a.m. Radio Shack stores opened at 5:30 a.m. Kmart in Gallipolis was open at 6 a.m., offering “Blue Friday” specials.

Some locally owned retail shops opened a little earlier than usual, but it appeared that most preferred to maintain their normal business hours today.