Mary Stroebel staying home from grocery job

Most everyone is abiding by Gov. Jay Inslee’s “stay home, stay healthy” order.

None more so than Mary Stroebel.

The beloved longtime Pioneer Market cashier, a fixture at the local store since hiring on with then-owners Lois Coonc and Pam Johnson more than three decades ago, is taking a hiatus from work due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

She has gone home – for the time being.

“I’m 73,” she told the Weekly News in a telephone interview, “and I don’t want to catch it (the coronavirus) or give it to someone.”

It was a tough decision.

“Mom decided it would be best for her to no longer work (at th...