The Times Herald from Port Huron, Michigan • Page 2

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2002 2A TIMES HERALD, PORT HURON, MICHIGAN MEDICINE: Shopping for deals can be risky BLUE luTTER FGHECAST AREA, MICHIGAN, NATION, WORLD SAiunoAir suraflY iwranY Tuesday TODAY Prescription prices The cost of some common medicines at area pharmacies: Amoxi- High 45 Low 30 High 25 Low 18 High 38 Low 22 High 45 Low 30 High 40 Low 25 Cold and Cloudy, dry Continued Cloudy with Cloudy with windy; chance and warmer cloudy and chance of rain chance of rain of snow dry and snow and snow Low Precip Water plant Temp. Clarity pH Alk. Harttn. 32 Harbor Beach: 38 21.10 8.6 82 115 29 Lakeport: 34 1.4 8.0 79 98 High 39 47 Port Huron Normal Hydro-chloro-ttiiazide 30 25-mg pills $9.99 $6.53 $6.79 $5.49 $7.60 $10.71 $5.69 $7.19 $6.99 $8.99 $5 46 Alprazolam Ambien clllin Evista Celebrex 60 30 30 30 60 0.5-mg 10-mj) 500-mg 60-mg 200-mg pills pills pills pills pills CVS $16.59 $91.99 $16.89 $80.99 $173.99 Port Huron Hogan Pharmacy $10.35 n.a. $10.72 $42.71 $64.65 Sarnia Medicine Chest $18.99 $63.49 $11.09 $69.89 $149.19 Yale Meiier $17.92 $90.91 $10.54 $69.68 $155.46 Fort Gratiot Pharmacy Place $6.60 $78.35 $12.40 $72.25 1 $148.55 Port Huron Sanilac Pharmacy $18.75 $73.17 $11.43 $72.70 $147.03 Sandusky Super Kmart Center $16.49 $81.97 $9.99 $73.89 $150.99 Port Huron Twp.

Vollmer's $21.33 $75.68 $11.61 $69.56 $155.42 St. Clair Wadhams Pharmacy $16.19 $86.09 $12.50 $79.29 $174.69 Kimball Twp. Walgreen's $15.99 $89.99 $16.99 $75.99 $169.99 Corporate Wal-Mart $12.62 $81.72 $5.98 $69.68 $149.98 Port Huron: 37 14.6 8.25 84 103 Marysville: 38 4.6 8.09 78 97 St. Clair: 36 5.5 8.1 76 110 Marine City: 40 2.5 8.3 84 97 Algonac: 35 5.2 8.0 86 Readings tor 24 hours ending midnight Readings taken this morning. KEY: Clarity: Open-ended scale.

Lower numbers are clearer. Average 1-2. Tap water 0.05: pH: range 0-14. 7 neutral: Alkalinity: Open-ended scale. Tap water in 70s: Hardness: Open-ended scale.

Tap water can be up to 25Q- General: All figures can reflect temperature precipitation and pollution. I UV Risk index: 3 (low) scription programs to help with costs. CVS has a plan for those 50 and older that offers a 5 to 50 savings on drug prices for $9.95 a month. Pharmacy Place offers a 10 savings to all members of 55 Plus. Membership is free.

Sanilac Pharmacy in Sandusky reduces prices for customers who don't have insurance, pharmacist Gina Patterson said. The savings is about 10, she said. Joe Henrion of Custer Township shops at Sanilac Pharmacy because he said it is the cheapest in his area. He spends about $50 a month on medication. "Elderly people pay more than they can afford to pay," he said.

"It's unfair to charge seniors that much." Harder ways to save Canadian pharmacies have received attention because their prescription drug prices generally are cheaper than those on the U.S. side of the border. Neubrecht said the prices are cheaper in Canada because the government sets the prices. The difficulty comes in getting a valid prescription. Canadian pharmacies only accept prescriptions from doctors with Canadian licenses.

Neubrecht said some go to a doctor in Canada for the prescription, but that expense, as well as the cost of the border crossing, can negate the savings. A few local doctors have Canadian as well as U.S. licenses. Another way to save money is through online or mail-order pharmacies. Neubrecht said he doesn't recommend this because there is no one to check for drug interactions and because the quality may not be the same.

"The Internet isn't going to know if your pupils are dilated or if you can't speak," he said. "You need eyeball-to-eyeball contact with a pharmacist." He said some medicines are sensitive to temperature changes and may be harmed by being outside for long periods of time in hot or cold weather. "You need someone to keep an eye on your prescriptions so they won't kill you," Kelley said. Continued from PagelA $21.23 for a month's supply at Vollmer's in St. Clair but $6.60 at Pharmacy Place in Port Huron Hospital.

An Internet Web site, www.bodyplus.com,. advertised Alprazolam at $5.99 for a six-week supply. The price of prescription drugs in Canada usually is lower as well, thanks to the U.S.-favored currency exchange rate and the Canadian government's setting of prices for drugs. Luann Black, a geriatric social worker at the 55- Plus program at Port Huron Hospital, suggested those who want to shop around should do so with all their prescriptions and pick the pharmacy with the lowest price for all. Why prices vary A pharmacy survey by state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm showed price differences of as great as 400 at Michigan pharmacies.

A further study by the Michigan Pharmacists Association suggested the differences were caused in part by price increases that occurred during Granholm's survey. Genna Gent, a spokeswoman for Granholm's office, said the surveys for each community were done during a two-week period. The main point of the survey was to show prices do vary from store to store. She said the survey will be repeated every three months. Franz Neubrecht, director of pharmacy resources for the Michigan Pharmacists Association, said prices often can vary depending on additional services a pharmacy offers, such as being open 24 hours and home delivery of medicine.

Other factors are the location of the pharmacy if it's on prime real estate and if it has competition in the area. Expensive property could send the prices up, while competition would drive the price down. He said drugstores will mark up a prescription between $6 and $7 on average because of all of these factors. Some pharmacies can get the drug cheaper to begin with, depending on where manufac- Fort Gratiot 'Exchange rate as of Tuesday: $1 .58 iSolunar Minor i.m. Maion.m.

Minor p.m. Maioro.m. Today: 11:55 5:45 0 6:15 Saturday: 12:30 6:40 12:50 7:10 Sunday: 1:25 7:35 1:45 8:00 Best times for hunting and fishing, based on moon and sun. TOMORROW jSault Ste.Manej 29 1 LAKES Lake Huron: West winds to 30 knots. Freezing spray with snow showers.

Waves 6 to 10 feet. Lake St. Clair: West winds to 30 knots. A chance of snow showers. Waves around 3 feet.

EXTENDED Lower Peninsula: Cloudy Sunday; chance of snow, highs 30 to 40. Partly cloudy north, chance of rainsnow Monday and Tuesday, highs 30 to 40 Monday, near 38 Tuesday. Upper Peninsula: Chance of snow central and east Sunday, highs 25 to 35. Partly cloudy Monday and Tuesday, highs 22 to 32. liaverse City fi5 lj I I Saginaw 35l Grand Rapids 381 V.

inhibitor, I'll see if we can get an older one." An ace inhibitor reduces the risk of kidney failure in people who have kidney disease caused by high blood pressure. Some pharmacies, such as those in stores such as Meijer, Wal-Mart and Kmart, will match the price of a drug if it is being sold cheaper elsewhere. Vollmer said he will match the price if it is reasonable. Dave Kelley, pharmacy manager at Super Kmart Center in Port Huron Township, said the store has had the price-matching policy for about a year. He said the pharmacist will call first to verify the price.

The service isn't that popular, said Gary Osburn, pharmacist at Meijer in Fort Gratiot. He said the store matches between eight and 10 in a week. "Not as many take advantage of it as should be," he said. Other drugstores offer pre turer a drugstore buys the drug and how many pills it buys at a time. Dorothy Weidenbach 75, of Port Huron switched buying her blood-pressure drug Lotrel from Rite Aid to CVS.

She checked and found she could get the $58 drug for $5 cheaper at CVS. "Every dollar is important because the prices are so high," she said. Easy ways to save Neubrecht said about 15 of those needing prescription drugs buy them without insurance. Dennis Vollmer, owner of Vollmer's, said he does what he can for those patients who have a difficult time paying for their prescriptions. "I call the doctor and see if they can get a less-expensive medicine or see if they have any samples," he said.

"If they can't pay for a new ace Detroit 42 Bands separate high temperature zones for the day. JlOs IT 20s fV FS i fine '40s cus rj 7- '( i 20s iQX-20 i -40s L. 60s 1 i- k- .1 40sS 60sy l605 40s 1 T49o. 40 vt 70s 50s '50s MUSEUM: Piece of old Fort Gratiot acquired rin. 10s fin 70s -i 80s- S1 30s TO KELP 2002 AccuWeather, Inc.

or ed Lm eh Hiqh Low Showers Rain T-storms Flurries Snow Sunm Pt. CkHKtw CloooV reunite it with the other house," he said. "(The Armstrongs) spent a lot of trouble, time and money to fix the house up," he said. "We were under the impression that they had no intention of moving from that site in the foreseeable future." Williams said the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse is the only structure in Port Huron that predates the buildings. The original foundation for the officers' headquarters was on the bluff south of the inn.

Williams said the museum has not determined a final site for the joined buildings. "Our dream would be to put it on its original foundation," he said, but it may not be possible. Local historian Bill Pierce, who witnessed the move two years ago, expressed surprise the museum was considering another move so soon. But having both halves together again would be worth it, he said. "I think that would be historically really important and would make a nice display," he said.

Continued from PagelA was the residence of Jane and Kevin Armstrong. The museum took possession of it in August. The museum obtained the other half in 1999 and in April 2000 spent $16,000 to move it from 2112 St. Clair St. to the property behind the museum, 1115 Sixth St.

At the time, Williams said, the museum didn't expect the other house to become available soon. "We moved the other structure to the museum grounds thinking hopefully, someday, maybe 30 years from now, we could NATIONAL ROUNDUP GLOBAL For details on contributing to the fund-raising campaign, call the Port Huron Museum at 982-0891 Later the building was moved next to the Grand Trunk Railroad Depot, now home of the Thomas Edison Depot Museum, then moved back to the fort for use as a hospital. After the fort closed, the building was split and converted into homes. .36 Fndiy Hi Lo 27 15 71 40 39 20 49 35 38 33 69 42 34 25 51 34 35 10 53 40 53 30 Tfcunilaf Hi Lo 45 31 71 40 1 -6 67 55 53 38 69 38 48 34 65 51 27 26 62 57 64 39 23 12 25 16 .23 .40 .02 .70 .03 SUSPECT: Man arrested at Blue Water Bridge Continued from PagelA High low 71 53 96 82 55 39 67 53 47 38 86 67 71 55 00 -16 76 63 48 34 56 46 79 71 82 68 82 68 58 44 81 60 56 51 70 42 91 75 79 50 40 33 79 60 95 64 61 55 66 54 83 74 88 67 61 40 71 47 43 32 37 29 60 54 Wtkr Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Rain Cloudy Clear Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Clear Clear Rain Cloudy Rain Clear Cloudy Rain Rain Rain Cloudy Rain Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Rain Cloudy Rain Snow Cloudy Saturday Hi Lo 37 17 72 44 37 19 60 28 47 25 57 42 44 24 57 23 46 22 63 27 67 38 67 33 52 25 26 9 81 68 70 38 55 26 71 55 64 53 58 31 79 67 42 22 65 41 46 27 67 34 77 51 82 60 44 20 55 44 58 28 58 49 54 44 52 27 Athens Bangkok Beijing Beirut Berlin Brisbane Aires Calgary Caracas Copenhagen Dublin Hanoi Havana Hong Kong Jerusalem Jo burg London Madrid Manila Mexico City Moscow Nairobi New Delhi Paris Rome San Juan Sao Paulo Seoul Tokyo Toronto Vancouver Zurich Ollk PCIoudy Clear Clear PCIoudy Clear Clear PCIoudy PCIoudy Clear Clear Clear PCIoudy Clear PCIoudy Clear Clear Clear PCIoudy PCIoudy Clear Cloudy Clear Clear Clear Clear PCIoudy Clear PCIoudy Cloudy Clear Rain Cloudy Clear otn Cloudy Clear Clear Cloudy Clear Cloudy Cloudy Clear Cloudy Clear Clear Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Clear Cloudy Clear Cloudy Rain Cloudy Clear Cloudy Clear Clear Clear Cloudy Clear Cloudy Rain Cloudy Rain Rain Clear Albany.N.Y. Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Atlantic City Boise Boston Charlotte.N.C Chicago Columbia C.

Dailas-Ft Worth Denver Des Moines Fargo Honolulu Houston Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Beach Milwaukee New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Orlando Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland.Ore. St Louis San Francisco Seattle Washmgton.D.C was signed Nov. 5, said John Cur-ran, a U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. He said Hussain is a Pakistani citizen, and Awan claims to have legal ties to Canada.

Curran and Margolin declined to say if Sarwer is being investi- gated for possible terrorist ties. Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins in Detroit, said Sarwer's age and citizenship are unclear, though he is not a U.S. citizen. She said INS officials had some contact with Sarwer before he tried to cross this weekend.

It is unclear if he had tried to cross into Port Huron before. Bruce Campbell, manager of the Blue Water Bridge for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said traffic was not affected by the events. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Choudhry Hussain, 38, and Khalid Awan, 39, are accused of netting more than $250,000 between June and September last year, according to the complaint. A warrant for their arrest 75 53 31 24 77 48 80 52 59 40 85 69 21 21 69 63 55 38 41 36 86 63 93 56 25 3 82 67 60 44 43 12 82 52 72 52 43 26 '79 68 34 10 58 47 36 24 46 22 74 61 91 61 27 16 55 38 40 17 60 50 57 41 40 33 05 49 36 .03 49 41 37 33 63 51 52 32 59 43 Save Call Today! 322 Daily mean levels lor week ending March 18; leet above sea level Week's Record Record 30-day FIRST PREFERRED MORTGAGE COMPANY Today: Sunset: 6:44 p.m.

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