Staffing numbers have been OK the past few months for Tony Persson, general manager of the Ace Hardware in North Bend.
Although nearly 10% of the store’s positions remain vacant, Persson has managed to wrangle together enough high school and college students to pick up needed hours and prevent his store from closing like it did early in the pandemic.
“It’s really been a lifesaver for us that these young people have been willing to work while they’re in school,” he said. “Without them, I don’t know what I would have done.”