LOCAL
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2019
CEREMONY
Continued from Page 1A
with her and her husband, who was
on hospice during the last 11 months
of his life. She shared what a relief
it was to have someone there to help
her.
“You always question whether you
were doing something right or wrong,”
Addleman said. “I just could not have
done it without them.”
Grande Ronde Hospital provides
home health care services for those
who are sick, disabled or just leav-
ing the hospital to help make the
THE OBSERVER — 5A
BYLENGA
“Many people, when they’re terminally ill and in the last few months of
their life, don’t want to go to the hospital. We allow them the opportunity
to spend their time at home with those they love.”
Continued from Page 1A
admiration for state Sen.
Bill Hansell, R-Athena,
and his participation in a
nine-day walkout to deny
the Democratic-controlled
Senate a quorum to vote
on a cap-and-trade bill.
Bylenga said he liked how
Hansell was willing to put
his reputation on the line to
protect local interests.
Bylenga said he also sup-
ports the Second Amend-
ment and wants to prevent
small businesses from
being overtaxed.
“I don’t want to be taxing
businesses and forcing them
to leave Oregon,” he said.
On the other hand,
Bylenga said he wants the
state to do more to help
— Ann Schaefer, a licensed clinical social worker at Grande Ronde Hospital
transition back into daily life easier.
Services include physical, speech and
occupational therapy, pain manage-
ment and personal needs assistance.
For those who are terminally ill,
hospice care is available, such as
palliative symptom management and
bereavement care, spiritual care and
respite care for a person’s regular
caregivers.
The program at Grande Ronde
consists of nurses and volunteers
trained to help those who need it in
the comfort of their home.
“Many people, when they’re termi-
nally ill and in the last few months
of their life, don’t want to go to the
hospital,” Schaefer said. “We allow
them the opportunity to spend their
time at home with those they love.”
low-income families and
fi nd a way to bring down
health care costs, although
he wasn’t committed to a
particular policy.
Although Bylenga is a
student in Portland, he said
his permanent residence
remains in Pendleton.
Bylenga said he’s on track
to graduate from college
in June and plans to move
back to Pendleton full time
after that.
Bylenga said he is
assembling a team to
help with his campaign,
including some sort of role
for his father, local defense
attorney Herman Bylenga.
The younger Bylenga said
his father has experience
running the campaign for
former Washington state
Rep. Doug Sayan.
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
These titles suggested by Cook Memorial Library and
Looking Glass Books are available for check out at the
library to start your winter reading off right.
BOOKS
Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson
Marge Addleman of La Grande received an angel ornament Thursday night in remembrance of her husband, Ray
Addleman, who died Christmas morning last year.
COMPETE
Continued from Page 1A
them from us, they would
not have had to pay that fee,”
Appleton said.
The service at Alpine
Archery not only saves
people money in the end, it
also can protect them from
injury. Appleton explained he
and his wife make sure their
customers receive the proper
size arrows for their bows.
“If you use the wrong
arrow with your bow, it can
blow up in your face,” said
Appleton, who added this is
a rare occurrence but always
a possibility.
He said the emphasis on
helping archers has changed
how the owners view their
shop.
“We think of ourselves as
a service business that also
sells retail products,” he said.
At The Mountain Works
Bicycles, owned by Whit and
Mavis Hartz, service also is
a big spoke in their wheel as
they face Amazon’s intimi-
dating presence.
“Service is half of what we
do,” Whit Hartz said.
The La Grande store own-
er noted bicycles purchased
from Amazon do not come
assembled. He said people
who put their own bikes
together may end up with a
ride that is not comfortable.
For example, some people
purchase mountain bikes
they plan to ride only around
town. This can be uncomfort-
able because mountain bikes
have low handlebars.
“We can raise the stem
to make the handlebars
higher,” Hartz said. “We
adapt bikes to fi t individual
needs.”
The Mountain Works also
sells skis and provides ski
equipment service. Everyone
purchasing skis from the
store receives free waxing
and installation of bindings.
Hart, a certifi ed ski bind-
ing technician, said proper
installation of bindings is
critical to safety.
At Arrow Associated
Stores in La Grande, which
carries appliances, furniture,
electronics and lawn and
garden items, owner Kurt
Peterson said his business
has Amazon beat in terms of
service and price. He said he
will often show his custom-
ers the prices Amazon charg-
es for the same products he
sells and he almost always
charges lower prices.
All products purchased at
Arrow have warranties for
free repair work at the store.
“We are one of the few
retailers that have a full-
time service department in
the area,” Peterson said.
Arrow also is boosted by
its website, where people
can purchase items. He said
the site draws people into
his store where they make
purchases. Sometimes it
works in reverse. Peterson
explained on occasion some-
one will come in, see an item
and then purchase it that
evening on Arrow’s website.
Still others place orders
online and then come in and
pick it up.
Service is increasingly
important in today’s digital
age as the operation of elec-
tronic items becomes more
complex. This provides stores
with a greater opportunity
to beat Amazon by offering
service, said Mike Mallory,
the owner of La Grande Ste-
reo and Music. He cited car
stereos as an example.
“They are diffi cult to set
up because they are all com-
puterized. It is not like the
old days when you put in an
eight-track (a tape player in-
stalled in cars in the 1970s),”
Mallory said.
To assist motorists with
this challenge, La Grande
Stereo and Music installs car
stereos seven days a week.
The store offers installa-
tion and repair service for
all of its products including
electric guitars. It is not
uncommon for customers to
bring in stereos and musical
instruments they bought on-
line that are too complicated
for them to set up.
“We can make (the prod-
ucts) perform like they are
supposed to,” Mallory said.
The rise of Amazon is
blamed by many for the fall-
ing number of bookstores in
the United States, but those
which are succeeding include
The Archives Book Store
in La Grande. It sells used
books, magazines, board
games, records and comic
books. The store’s owner,
Walter Osterloh, credits his
success to lower prices than
Amazon’s, a wide variety of
titles and a book trade-in
program. People who bring
in books get credit they
can use to buy books from
Archives.
Osterloh’s son, Tim, credits
Archives’ success to the
remarkable knowledge his
father has of books, one he
readily shares with custom-
ers.
Tim Osterloh is the owner
of Clank-Tronix, which offers
electronics repairs within
the Archives store. He said
Clank-Tronix is able to com-
pete with Amazon because
of the service it provides. For
example, if someone brings
in an old Nintendo console
he can supply the cables and
other accessories needed to
make it operational.
Trent Bray, the owner of
The Bobolink — a birding
supply store that also sells
disc golf equipment and beer
— is an avid birdwatcher
who has spotted 295 bird
species in Union County.
He said his business has a
number of advantages that
help it compete with online
companies such as Amazon.
For instance, people who
purchase bird seed from his
store don’t have to worry
about it arriving in bags that
split open during shipping,
which periodically happens
and causes a mess.
He also noted people who
buy discs for disc golf from
his store know exactly how
much they weigh, knowl-
edge that matters to those
involved in the sport. Bray
said people ordering discs
online risk getting one with
a weight different than what
they ordered. Just 5 or 10
grams difference can alter
how a disc fl ies in relation
to the golfer’s power and
technique.
Bray added that a person
buying a disc online does not
get to touch it fi rst to see if
it would be comfortable to
toss. He compared this to
the process of being able to
try on a pair of shoes before
buying them.
The Bobolink owner said
despite Amazon’s growing
presence, he believes there
will always be a place for
unique brick-and-mortar re-
tail stores with owners who
are passionate about what
they are selling.
Continued from Page 1A
with “Dash and Lily’s Book
of Dares” by Rachel Cohn
and David Leviathan and
“My True Love Gave to Me:
Twelve Holiday Stories” ed-
ited by Stephanie Perkins.
Cook Memorial Library’s
teen services librarian Celine
Vandervlugt recommended
“Children of Virtue and
Vengeance” by Tomi Adey-
emi, “Starsight” by Brandon
Sanderson, “Wayward Son”
by Rainbow Rowell, “Super-
nova” by Marissa Meyer and
“The Book of Dust” series by
Philip Pullman.
The Looking Glass Books
owner’s suggestion for teen
reading was to begin “The
Mortal Instruments” series
by Cassandra Clare.
“It will keep you on the
edge of your seat, and it will
be hard to put down, so I
hope your winter reading
hideaway is cozy,” Maszk
said.
Adult books
“Uncommon Type” by
Tom Hanks is a collection
of short stories recom-
mended by Cook Memorial
Library’s director Kip Rob-
erson. The New York Times
Best Seller — includes
stories of family, celebrity
and romance. It also is
available at the library as
an audio book.
“If you don’t have much
time but you still want
something to read, these
short stories are satisfying-
ly perfect,” Roberson said.
“‘Uncommon Type’ is fi lled
with delicious bite-sized
stories of literary brilliance
for those quiet hours before
bed.”
Another suggestion in
adult reading is “The Inn
at Shining Waters” series
by Melody Carlson. Laura
Hancock from JaxDog Cafe
and Books recommended
this book because of Carl-
son’s ability to capture the
Cascades of Oregon.
“Her books will inspire
you to visit this part of Or-
egon if you haven’t already,”
Hancock said.
As Ben Aaronovitch
said, “In the winter she
curls around a good book
and dreams away the
cold.”
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