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Wednesday, April 6, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Marshall retires after 44 years
Hiker injured on icy
Black Butte Trail
By Jim Cornelius
News Editor
On his 21st birthday, Jerry
Marshall interviewed for a
position as a receiving clerk
with Bi-Mart in the Rogue
Valley. Forty-four years later,
on Friday, April 1, Marshall
hung up his spurs as manager
of Bi-Mart’s Sisters store.
He recalled those early
days in an interview last
week.
“At the time, Roseburg
was just the ninth store,” he
said. “It was a small company
and it was growing and there
was a chance to advance.”
And advance he did —
from sporting goods manager
in Walla Walla, Washington,
to second assistant manager
in Oregon City, back to Walla
Walla as a store manager,
then to Woodburn and on to
Keizer, where he worked for
17 years.
Through good times
and tough times, he stuck
with the company. In 2004,
Bi-Mart became employee-
owned through an ESOP pro-
gram and “that just solidified
working for the company —
totally in control of our own
destiny. Best thing that ever
happened.
“As long as I’ve been with
them, it’s exciting,” he said
of his tenure.
Marshall opened the store
in Sisters in 2009, where
he has striven to create a
family-oriented, small-town
atmosphere.
“The feeling that I’ve
photo by JIm CorNELIuS
Jerry Marshall started with Bi-Mart at age 21.
tried to foster is the small-
town (atmosphere) — see
your neighbor and stand in
the aisle and visit,” he said.
Management with
Bi-Mart is a demanding, but
satisfying job. Growing up a
farm boy, Jerry had the right
work ethic to tackle a posi-
tion that requires a willing-
ness to pitch in till the work
is done.
“It’s one of those things
that’s just been bred in me:
You have a job, you do it,”
he said.
The store is thriving, and
Jerry and his wife, Bev, have
enjoyed living in Sisters.
“Living in the Valley for
20 years, the clarity of the
sun (here), the brilliance of
the mountains on a morn-
ing like this, is beyond com-
pare,” he said. “It just makes
your heart smile.”
They’ll stay here, at least
for now — but a lot depends
on where their grandchildren
are. That’s the priority for
Jerry as he moves into a new
phase in his life.
“I’ve looked at the time
I’ve spent with them and
it hasn’t been as much
as I’d like,” he reflected.
“Tomorrow is not promised
to anybody. It’s time to focus
a little more on family than
on business.”
Kendra Owens, 30, of
Bend, found out the hard way
that a spring hike on Black
Butte can be a little dicey.
She fell on an icy stretch of
trail and had to be rescued
by local search and rescue
volunteers.
Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office Search and
Rescue was dispatched on
March 30 at 12:59 p.m.
to assist Owens, who had
slipped on ice and injured
herself while hiking on
Black Butte Trail, northwest
of Sisters. Kendra’s friend
and reporting party, Trisha
Russell, stated they were
half- to three-quarters-of-
a-mile up the trail from the
trailhead and could not pro-
ceed without assistance.
Seven SAR volunteers,
one SAR sergeant, one Forest
Service law enforcement
officer and Sisters-Camp
Sherman RFPD personnel
responded to assist. Rescuers
reached Owens at 2:20 p.m.,
stabilized her injury, and
transported her to the Black
Butte Trailhead via wheeled
litter. Kendra was then
released to Sisters-Camp
Sherman RFPD, and was
transported via ambulance
to St. Charles Hospital in
Bend.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office Search and
Rescue unit remind those rec-
reating in the outdoors dur-
ing this time of the year to be
prepared for all conditions on
the trail. It is not uncommon
at this time to experience dry
ground, ice, and snow on the
same trail. Be prepared with
the proper clothing and foot-
wear to safely travel in all
conditions.
photo by CoNrAD WEILEr
It’s inviting, but the trail has icy spots to be alert for.
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