February 2018
Volume 6 • Issue 1
Bleyhl Co-op plans to open new Pasco store in fall BY JESSICA HOEFER for Senior Times
DSHS introduces new caregiver support programs
Page 3
Trios cuts more staff as financial crisis continues
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Health care predictions for 2018 Page 14
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Vintage at the Ridge antique show March 9 - 10 Southridge Sports & Events Complex 509-585-4279
Bleyhl Co-op plans to break ground this spring on a new 20,000-square-foot store in Pasco and share the space with True Value Hardware and Great Harvest Bread Co. The $4.5 million to $5 million project at Road 68 and Chapel Hill Boulevard will replace the current Pasco store at 1126 W. Ainsworth St. Russ Ward, Bleyhl’s vice president of retail, said the company has outgrown the site, which is about 4,000 square feet. “It’s been a temporary location for almost 20 years. We rented the building with the plan to build a bigger location,” he said. “We were waiting for the right time and place and found a piece of land on Road 68.” Along with Pasco, Bleyhl Co-op has locations in Sunnyside, Zillah and its headquarters in Grandview at 940 E. Wine Country Road. The company also operates fueling stations throughout the Yakima Valley. Bleyhl Co-op is probably best known for its livestock feed and supplies for orchards, vineyards, lawns, gardens and pets. But Ward said the new store will be a flagship for change, and that all of the Bleyhl Co-op locations will undergo a facelift this year. “We really want to make this a whole new customer experience. Our vision is about the true hometown farm and ranch and hardware store that we remember when we were kids. You’d visit farmers in there and see your neighbors. We want to capture that, but people want a modern store—bright with big aisles,” Ward said. “When I was brought on with the company, we were looking at building a new store and what we needed to do to grow as a co-op and grow in retail. How could we gain market share?” uBLEYHL, Page 6
Connie Wormington, 69, of Kennewick, wears the bronze medal her team earned during the Huntsman World Senior Games last fall. The owner of Just Roses Flowers and More shops in Kennewick and Pasco is an avid softball player.
Love of softball keeps Kennewick senior fit, healthy and focused BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz
When Connie Wormington isn’t running one of her three businesses, she can usually be found on the softball field. A love for the game has helped keep the 69-year-old Kennewick woman fit, healthy and focused over the years. “It’s the thrill of hitting the ball and making a base hit. It’s tough to get a base hit for a woman. It’s hard to catch a grounder to the gut and throw it. It’s the thrill of doing it and being excited about doing it,” she said. Her love of the sport — and, she admits, her age — caught the attention of a Washington team bound for the
Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, last fall. Wormington said the event is the world senior Olympics. Fifty countries were represented and 11,000 athletes competed. She joined two teams and played 16 games in two divisions. She played second base in the 65-and-over division with the Wet Socks, with the team earning a bronze medal. “At the practices we had in Seattle, when they saw me play, they said, ‘We could use you in the 60-and-over team,’” so she also competed with the Women Who Run team at the Utah games. uSOFTBALL, Page 2
Kennewick’s Hallmark store closes doors after 41 years BY LAURA KOSTAD for Senior Times
Crest Hallmark Shops closed its Kennewick Plaza store last month amid declining sales. The Richland store on George Washington Way in Washington Plaza will remain the sole Hallmark Gold Crown store in the Tri-Cities of the five started by the Jilek family in 1968. Patrick Jilek, a second generation owner, said five to six years ago he didn’t foresee this happening, but in a rapidly changing retail world, external marketplace forces have been shutting down Hallmarks nationwide.
“We’ve held on longer than most,” he said. However, declining sales over the past couple of decades culminated in a massive drop-off last year, prompting the decision to close. “You can only sustain so many losses,” he said. Longtime customers like Joe Gallegos, who’s shopped at the Kennewick Plaza Hallmark for the past 20 years, lamented the closure. “I hate to see (Hallmark) leave, but I understand,” he said. Gallegos said he has a lot of friends and family “so, I’m always buying cards.” uHALLMARK, Page 9
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