New pharmacist lands 'perfect job'

"Chris told me he had the perfect job and the perfect house," Laurie Miller, the new pharmacist at the Cathlamet Pharmacy said of her predecessor, Chris Wuestefeld. "And now he's moving."

Move he did. Wuestefeld and his family have relocated to the Tri-Cities. It may simply have been a case of happy wife, happy life.

Many people were sad to see him go, especially his co-workers. But they also seem pleased with Miller, who stepped in to fill the vacancy at the Cathlamet Pharmacy.

Miller, who grew up in St. Helens, studied pre-med at the University of Oregon before deciding to switch to the pharmacy program. She transferred to Oregon State University to get her degree and has been working in the field for the last 28 years.

"I told Steve Oliva, who owned the Hi-School Pharmacies that I wanted to be some place where I knew everybody and where they knew us," Miller said. "A place where they want to have a relationship with the pharmacy."

"This is just exactly, if I could pick, what I want," she said. "I'm looking forward to being here for a while."

The adjustment period continues. Customers are still learning that Wuestefeld is gone. They still ask for him or tell Miller that Chris would know, or Chris would do this or that.

It could get her down, but it hasn't.

"A positive attitude will make a difference in everything," Miller said. She's let that thought lead her through each day and each new experience. Her sense of humor has served her as well.

As for the co-workers that she has inherited, she's pleased.

"The girls in the pharmacy do a really great job, they are wonderful technicians," Miller said. "They make any pharmacist look good. They know everybody. It's just been great so far."