CAMP HILL, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp., the nation's No. 3 drugstore chain, has formed an operating region for its West Coast stores in an attempt to clean its slate and put a troubled year behind it.

The move by the company, based in Camp Hill, Pa., reverses an earlier plan by its former management to sell up to 350 of its about 1,000 West Coast stores.Rite Aid has 30 stores in Utah, and plans to close its Ogden distribution center this year, putting 500 people out of work.

The former Thrifty Payless Inc. stores on the West Coast were acquired by Rite Aid in December 1996.

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