Tuesday, OcTOber 26, 2021
FROM PAGE ONE
THe ObserVer — A5
Man faces murder, more in
June 2020 Hermiston killing
ily’s garage, according to
news reports. He died from
HERMISTON — A sus- a gunshot.
pect in the slaying of a man
Umatilla County Dis-
in Hermiston in 2020 is not trict Attorney Dan Primus
getting out of the Umatilla said his office extradited
Beridon from California.
County Jail anytime soon.
Keith Michael Beridon, He is in jail without bail,
26, who State Court records where he will stay for the
remainder of the case.
show having a La Grande
Beridon in September
address, is on the hook for
had a bail hearing. Cir-
two counts of unlawful
use of a weapon, one count cuit Judge Jon Lieuallen
found the evidence showed
of felon in possession of
a strong presumption
a firearm and one of sec-
ond-degree murder in
that Beridon was respon-
sible for the homicide and
the homicide of Jesus Eli
would not grant him bail,
Lopez, according to state
so he remains in custody,
court records.
Lopez’s body was found Primus said.
Primus said he can’t
June 9, 2020, in his fam-
East Oregonian
dick Mason/The Observer
Bi-Mart’s walk-up pharmacy is set to close Nov. 11, 2021, after 34 years in operation in La Grande.
BI-MART
Continued from Page A1
three times over, because
her prescription called for
two refills. This meant the
total cost of her prescrip-
tion had been trimmed
from $1,500 to $150.
“She saved me $1,350,”
Rekow said.
Despite such service
Rekow is now switching
to another local pharmacy.
She has no choice as La
Grande’s Bi-Mart phar-
macy is set to close Nov.
11, ending a 34-year run
that started in November
1987 when Bi-Mart opened
in La Grande. The loca-
tion has had a pharmacy
throughout its history.
The pharmacy is the
casualty of a sale involving
the Bi-Mart Corporation
and Walgreens, one of the
nation’s largest pharmacy
chains. Walgreens, as part
of the purchase agreement,
will buy all of Bi-Mart’s
pharmacies. Walgreens will
operate many of Bi-Mart’s
already existing pharma-
cies, but not at some stores,
including La Grande’s,
according to Don Leber,
Bi-Mart president of mar-
keting and advertising.
News of the upcoming
closure is not making
pharmacy patients like
Rekow happy.
“I’m really going to
miss it,” she said.
Rekow hopes that her
next pharmacy will make
her feel as comfortable as
the staff at Bi-Mart’s does.
Rekow has been picking
up prescriptions for herself
and her family for several
years at Bi-Mart.
“Whenever I come in
they ask, ‘Who is it for
this time?’ I really like the
familiarity,” Rekow said.
Doug Elliott of La
Grande, another Bi-Mart
pharmacy customer, also
will miss the pharmacy’s
personal touch.
“I don’t like it,” he said
of the upcoming closure. “I
really like the people who
work there.”
Walgreens will acquire
pharmacy patient pre-
scription files and related
inventory of 56 Bi-Mart
pharmacies located across
Oregon, Idaho and Wash-
ington as part of the pur-
chase agreement with
the Bi-Mart Corporation.
Leber said that because
there is not a Walgreens
near La Grande, any
patient who wants to get
their pharmaceuticals from
Walgreens without leaving
town will have to do so
through its mail service.
The closest Walgreens
to Union County are in
Walla Walla, an 83-mile
drive from La Grande, and
Ontario, which is 116 miles
away by motor vehicle.
Leber said that Bi-Mart
pharmacy patients who
want to be served by a
local pharmacy should
contact the pharmacy
and arrange to have their
records sent to it.
Leber said that phar-
macy techs will be able
to continue working at
Bi-Mart for the same
wages they now receive.
Bi-Mart’s pharmacy
assistants and pharma-
cists, Leber said, will be
given the opportunity to
be interviewed for jobs at
Walgreens.
Bi-Mart, in an Oct. 17
statement to The Orego-
nian, said the corporation
is getting out of the phar-
macy business because
it is becoming unfeasible
to operate its pharmacies
profitably within a chain of
stores its size. The state-
ment cited rising prescrip-
tion medication costs,
smaller insurance reim-
bursements and the new
Oregon Corporate Activity
Tax among the reasons it
is getting harder to run its
pharmacies profitably. The
statement noted that the
CAT, which took effect in
2020, is taxing the corpo-
ration not just on profits
but also receipts.
“Unchanged, the cost
of pharmacy operations
would threaten our business
throughout the Northwest.
Though difficult, we know
that this is the right decision
for the future of Bi-Mart,”
the statement said.
Rescue crews find man
snowbound in Wallowas
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
Crews from Baker
and Union counties res-
cued a Baker County man
in the snowbound Wal-
lowa Mountains north of
Halfway Monday, Oct.
25, the day after he was
stranded by a blizzard
while packing in supplies
with horses for an elk-
hunting trip.
Robert Derald Borders,
67, who lives near Baker
City, did not need medical
treatment, Baker County
Sheriff Travis Ash said
in a cellphone interview
Monday afternoon.
Borders, who had four
horses, was able to use
his satellite device, which
works even when cell ser-
vice is limited or nonexis-
tent, as is the case in that
remote part of the county,
to send a text message
to a friend late Sunday
alex Wittwer/The Observer, File
Continued from Page A1
light on her uncommon
spirit.
“No, no, I will never
get burned out,” Evans
told Cosner. “This is
my passion.”
Evans’ ceaseless drive
to take on volunteer work
to make her community
a better place ended Sat-
urday, Oct. 9, when she died
of natural causes at Grande
Ronde Hospital. A celebra-
tion of her life will be con-
ducted at 10 a.m. Oct. 30 in
Island City at Lighthouse
Pentecostal Church.
Evans, 52, had been a
member of the Island City
Lions Club for at least 10
years and its president for
about the past three years.
“I held her in very high
regard. She was one of
the best volunteers I have
ever worked with,” Cosner
said. “I was worried about
burnout but the more and
more she took on the more
enthusiastic she became.”
Projects she took on
included helping lead the
annual La Grande Gun
Show, directing the annual
Santa Mall, which provides
an opportunity for chil-
dren from lower-income
families to buy presents for
their families, and helping
conduct Hog Wild Days
in Island City and drives
to collect eyeglasses for
those in need. Many of the
events Evans helped lead,
including the gun show and
Hog Wild Days, were major
fundraisers for the Island
City Lions Club.
Cosner said Evans’
demeanor never changed
regardless of the challenges
she faced while helping lead
and organize events.
“I don’t think I ever
heard her say a cross word.
She handled everything
with a smile,” he said.
Evans was also well
known to many as an
employee at Apple Eye-
care, where she worked
for 22 years as its billing
and insurance specialist.
She strived to reduce bills
for patients and make sure
everyone could receive
care and the glasses they
needed, even if they could
not afford it. This resulted
in her becoming Apple
Eyecare’s patient advocate.
Dr. Spencer Luke, a
doctor of optometry at
Apple Eyecare, said that
“patient advocate” is not
a formal title but Evans
came to be described
as such because of the
extra mile she went to
help patients.
Toni Grove, one of
Evans’ daughters, said her
mother’s affiliation with
the Island City Lions Club
was a perfect one for her,
because if patients came in
to Apple Eyecare who could
not afford glasses or eye
care she could arrange for
them to receive both via the
Lions Club.
Evans enjoyed her job at
Apple Eyecare so much that
on its website she described
it as her major hobby.
“She loved her job
because she loved people,”
said Julie Coreson, Apple
Eyecare’s office manager.
Dr. Daniel Beckner,
a doctor of optometry at
Apple Eyecare and an
owner, compares Evans
to the biblical character
Tabitha, who is described
in chapter nine of Acts in
the New Testament. Tabitha
was known for her good
works and acts of charity.
“Shelia was a mod-
ern-day Tabitha,” Beckner
said. “She was giving to
a fault.”
morning, McClay said.
The friend then called
the Baker County Dis-
patch Center around noon
Sunday. The text message
also included Borders’ pre-
cise location, which aided
rescuers, McClay said.
Around 2:30 p.m.
Monday, McClay said res-
cuers had reached Borders,
who had sent text mes-
sages to rescuers with his
satellite device while they
were en route. Although
Borders’ use of the device
was a help to rescuers, the
weather on Sunday was a
major hindrance.
A group of Baker
County Search and Rescue
team members started
traveling to the location,
which is in the Eagle Cap
Wilderness several miles
north of Cornucopia, in the
Soldier Lake and Sugarloaf
Mountain area.
McClay said rain was
falling, snow was on the
ground and powerful
winds were toppling trees
as rescuers traveled higher
into the mountains.
They eventually had to
retreat late Sunday eve-
ning, McClay said.
On Monday morning,
Baker County crews were
joined by search and
rescue members from
Union County to resume
the effort, McClay said.
The Union County team
members arrived at the
Baker County Sheriff’s
Office around 5 a.m., trav-
eling from there to the
mountains.
McClay said Borders
apparently had left from
the Cornucopia trailhead
on Saturday, Oct. 23.
The weather deteri-
orated on Sunday, and
according to the text mes-
sage the man sent to his
friend, he was unable to
get back to the trailhead
and he needed help.
The first rifle elk season
starts Wednesday, Oct. 27.
Masks protect others against Covid-19. Masks protect against the
wearer spreading it to another person. “People should be free from other
people’s germs where possible, and that is why masks and social
distancing are advised.” ** Ask your doctor about wearing a mask!
Shelia Evans waves from the Island City Lions Club pig train during the Cove Cherry Fair parade on
Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021.
EVANS
speak to any of the facts in
the case, “only the posture
of the case, where it’s at in
the court system.” Officials
have yet to publicly disclose
any apparent motive in the
case.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston said
based on the investigation,
Beridon is the lone suspect,
but when detectives flew to
Orange County, California,
after his apprehension, pos-
sibly on an out-of-state war-
rant, he declined to talk.
Beridon’s pretrial con-
ference is scheduled for the
afternoon of Nov. 19 at the
Umatilla County Court-
house, Pendleton.
Wear a mask even if you feel well. People can feel well when they still
have the virus and many people with the virus don’t have symptoms.
They can spread the virus to others through talking, sneezing, coughing
and raising their voice through singing or shouting. *
Cloth masks can also protect others. They reduce the amount of
respiratory droplets sent into the air, thus reducing the chance of that virus
going through the air to others. *
Masks provide enough oxygen. You will not suffer from hypoxia or too
much carbon dioxide while wearing a mask. Both oxygen and carbon
dioxide can defuse freely through the mask when you breath – even cloth
masks *
“
* “Debunked myths about face masks” Kimberly Frodl, MD, see this
Mayo Clinic article at:
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speak-
ing-of-health/debunked-myths-about-face-masks
Paid for by: Union County Health and Safety Committee
** “Wear a Mask, But Act as if it Doesn’t Work,” Harriet Hall, MD,
see article at:
https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/wear-a-face-mask-but-
-act-as-if-it-does-not-work-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic/?gcli
d=CjwKCAjwn8SLBhAyaEiwAHNTJbXsq03nA_nU_ictDr_mkdy-
frvnoneYLeEhMJVvD7lhWB_AHCej61RoC_K8QAvD_BwE