A4 THE BULLETIN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2021
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Shoppers stream into WinCo Foods on opening day Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.
Winco
Continued from A1
Monday was a “soft open-
ing” for the grocery store as
the company wanted to pre-
vent large crowds that could
violate the state’s COVID-19
rules. Deschutes County re-
mains in the extreme risk cat-
egory, which requires grocery
stores to permit 50% of capac-
ity. There were no balloons,
free-giveaways or other fanfare.
“Normally we try to draw as
many people as we can in the
community to an opening, but
as responsible business people
we didn’t want to do that,” said
store Manager Steve Corbin.
“We wanted to do what was
safe for our employee- owners
and our community. So we
Councilor
Continued from A1
Throop quickly set to ruf-
fling feathers on the council,
according to testimony from
fellow councilors, who said he
quarreled with them and wrote
unprofessional communica-
tions to staff.
On Jan. 27, Throop com-
mented on a photo showing
fellow Councilor Jennifer Hol-
comb and three other people
have just asked (shoppers) to
be respectful, wear masks and
shop as they normally do.”
In their masks and face
shields, shoppers perused the
spick-and-span store, filling
up their gray shopping carts
with all manner of fruits, veg-
gies, bulk items, and packaged
goods. In addition to the usual
grocery sections, there is also a
sushi bar and a take-out pizza
department near the checkout
stand.
The bulk foods section func-
tions as it normally does, but
Corbin explained that touch-
points are sanitized every two
hours, while scoops and tongs
are replaced with freshly sani-
tized ones every four hours.
The store, which is open 24/7
except Christmas Day and
early closure for Thanksgiving,
is employee-owned and notably
does not accept credit cards. It
does accept debit cards, checks,
cash, WIC and EBT.
Like Trader Joe’s and Costco,
WinCo has its own cult fol-
lowing.
The bullet-gray decor, wide-
open aisles, and warehouse feel
do bring up comparisons to
wholesale retailers like Costco
or Sam’s Club. But the food
products are more diverse,
making WinCo more in-line
with a traditional grocery store
such as Fred Meyer.
Shoppers in Bend on Mon-
day all agreed that the low
prices attracted them to the
store.
“What we noticed when we
came to Bend was the prices
not wearing masks at a local
gym, calling them “pathetic
terrorists.”
He said Friday he was frus-
trated with a movement un-
derway in Madras involving
business leaders and members
of the City Council to flout
COVID-19 guidelines, which
could accelerate the spread of
the deadly virus.
Holcomb read a statement
Friday chastising Throop for
his unprofessional conduct and
calling on him to resign.
Another incident involving
a councilor was discussed by
the council Friday. Royce Em-
banks had raised his voice and
stormed out of a meeting during
public comment after a resident
criticized Embanks’ wife, The
Madras Pioneer reported.
Embanks apologized and
the council decided it was suf-
ficient to not sanction him.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
are higher here compared to
grocery stores in the Valley,”
said 26-year-old Kevin Hunt,
a welder who moved to Bend
five years ago. “But the prices
(at WinCo) are unbeatable.”
Nearby, 82-year-old Ruth
Ferguson of Crooked River
Ranch, a retired stenographer,
was gathering some fresh pro-
duce. She wasn’t aware Mon-
day was opening day but driv-
ing past she saw it was open
and had to stop in.
“I was happy to see it finally
open. I have been waiting pa-
tiently,” said Ferguson. “I am
familiar with WinCo stores. I
love ‘em. I like the variety and
the bulk food section, and let’s
face it, the prices are good.
One aisle over, retired Bend
resident Douglas Smith was
shopping Monday morning
for his wife, who was working
from home.
“She is making the bacon;
I am bringing it home,” said
Smith, his cart steadily filling
up. He was pleased at the look
and feel of the store and called
himself a “big fan” of WinCo.
“Look at everything they’ve
got here. It puts most grocery
stores to shame,” said Smith,
67. “And the prices are reason-
able too; for people who are
retired, it’s easier on the pock-
etbook.”
e e
11,000 Republicans in
Oregon leave the party
BY BETSY HAMMOND
The Oregonian
More than 11,000 regis-
tered Republicans in Oregon,
or 1.4%, have left the party
since Election Day, state voter
registration figures show.
Some of those departures
were likely the result of ad-
ministrative actions to cor-
rect voter rolls to reflect vot-
ers known to have died, left
the state or otherwise lost
qualification to vote. State-
wide registration totals also
reflect a loss of almost 8,500
registered Democrats, or
0.8%, since early November.
But it is clear that an un-
usually large number of vot-
ers have disavowed their
Republican Party identities,
particularly in Washington
County, where the number
of Republicans fell by nearly
1,900, or 2.3%, over the past
two months.
Most of the Republican
defectors appear to have re-
jected all party affiliation,
rather than moved to a dif-
ferent party. Oregon’s count
of unaffiliated voters rose by
more than 10,000 since Elec-
tion Day, records show.
One of Oregon’s highest
profile Republicans, former
gubernatorial nominee Kn-
ute Buehler, told the New
York Times he canceled his
Republican Party registration
recently after the Republi-
can Party of Oregon issued a
statement condemning the 10
Republican members of Con-
gress who voted to impeach
President Donald Trump and
aligning itself with conspiracy
theories about the Jan. 6 in-
surrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Long a moderate in his
party, Buehler cast himself
as an all-out supporter of
Trump during his unsuccess-
ful May 2020 primary race
for Oregon’s 2nd Congressio-
nal District seat in the U.S.
House of Representatives
won by Ontario Republican
Cliff Bentz.
According to the Times,
Buehler called quitting the
Republican party “very pain-
ful.”
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
Claire Lillian Nichols
of La Pine, OR
Aug 10, 1947 - Jan 26,
2021
Arrangements:
Baird Memorial Chapel
of La Pine is honored
to serve the Nichols
family. Please visit our
website, www.bairdfh.com,
to share condolences and
sign the online guestbook.
Enjoy chore free
living at
it’s finest!
OBITUARY DEADLINE
Call to ask about our deadlines
541-385-5809
Monday - Friday, 10am - 3pm
No death notices or obituaries
are published Mondays.
Email:
obits@bendbulletin.com
CALL NOW!
541-317-3544
127 SE Wilson, Bend