Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2019)
COFFEE BREAK 8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020 Bride-to-be attempts to keep Snowpack well below costs, hurt feelings down normal heading into 2020 OREGON WINTER DEAR ABBY: I have an awkward wed- ding conundrum I hope you can help me with. I am getting married in April and want to invite two co-workers with whom I am very close. One of them is married; the other, “Sara,” is in the process of divorc- ing her husband. Sara was unhappy for years with her almost ex-husband, and we witnessed the deterioration of their marriage over several years. About a year ago, while still married, Sara began an affair. She’s still “seeing” this man — sneaking out, meet- ing him on his lunch break, going to motels — while she goes through the divorce process. She considers them to have been a couple for the past year. I know she will feel slighted because in her mind he’s her boyfriend, and they are a couple. I have met him only once, but because they have been so secretive, he’s a complete stranger to me. Sara may resent that I invited our other co-worker’s husband and not her “boyfriend.” Is there a way I can handle this tactfully? — BEWILDERED BRIDE DEAR BEWILDERED: If you invite one close co-worker’s signifi cant other and ex- clude the other, there are guaranteed to be hurt feelings. If you explain that you don’t feel she is in a committed relationship (after a year!), you will get yourself deeper into hot water because she will be insulted. Believe me, if you do what you are considering, it’s going to cost you far more than the price of two dinners. age, or should I just give it all up? I don’t even know how I’d go about fi nding such a partner without fearing I’d have to prove myself and experience more loss. — WANTING THIS BUT NOT THAT DEAR WANTING: I can’t guarantee that you will fi nd a partner, but there is a website for asexual people that offers a lot of information as well as a way to connect with the rest of the “ace” (short for “asexual”) community. Its DEAR members call it AVEN, which ABBY stands for Asexual Visibility and Education Network. It can be found at asexuality. org. You and many others may fi nd it help- ful, and I wish you luck in your quest to fi nd a loving relationship. By George Plaven Capital Press SALEM — Early season snowfall is lagging again across Oregon, potentially foreshadowing another dry and diffi cult summer ahead for farmers and ranchers. But as 2019 proved, things can turn around quickly, giving plenty of reason for hope. According to the USDA Natural Resources Con- servation Service, Oregon’s snow-water equivalent — the amount of water contained within snow — is just 45% of normal state- wide. Every water basin is measuring below average for snow, with the exception of the Owyhee Basin in south- east Oregon, which is hold- ing up at 117% of normal. The lowest totals are in the Hood, Sandy and Lower Deschutes basins at 25% of normal, and the Willamette Basin at 26%. Mountain snowpack is crucial for replenishing streams and reservoirs for farms and fi sh, especially in Eastern Oregon. As snow melts, it trickles down into creeks and rivers, sustaining healthy stream fl ows while providing irrigation water for crops and livestock. Scott Oviatt, snow survey supervisor for NRCS Or- egon, said the agency will release its fi rst water supply outlook report by Jan. 10. Based on the current lack of snow, Oviatt said he an- ticipates lower water avail- ability earlier in the spring, though there is still time to DEAR READERS: Welcome to 2020. I would like to share an item that was sent to me by L.J. Bhatia, a reader from New Delhi, India: DEAR ABBY: This year, no resolutions, only some guidelines. The Holy Vedas say: “Man has subjected himself to thousands of self-infl icted bondages. Wisdom comes to a man who lives according to the true eternal laws of nature.” The prayer of St. Francis (of which there are several versions) contains a powerful message: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love; For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. And so, Dear Readers, may 2020 bring with it good health, peace and joy to all of you. — LOVE, ABBY DEAR ABBY: I’m a 67-year-old woman. I’ve been single all my life but now wish I could fi nd a companion to share my later years with. My problem is, I’m not interested in a sexual relationship. I have never been good at the physical part of intimacy. As a result, I’ve had limited experience and not much luck with men. When I was younger, I had a reasonably healthy sexual appe- tite, but couldn’t seem to do “the act” right, although I enjoyed the prelude. My idea of a relationship now would be with a kind, supportive man who likes to dance and enjoy life, but who’s OK with no sex. Is this a reasonable expectation at my weather rebound. “We’re not in panic mode yet,” Oviatt said. “It is early in the (water) year ... We can see some improvement, depending on conditions.” The water year, as defi ned by hydrologists, begins on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30 of the following calendar year. November and December are typically much cooler and wetter months for Oregon, Oviatt said, however most of the state’s 90 snow monitoring sites are mea- suring less than 8 inches of snow-water equivalent. Perhaps more concerning, overall precipitation includ- ing rain is averaging just 50% of normal statewide. The Oregon Water Re- sources Department reports that November in particular was one of the top fi ve driest months on record for north- west Oregon. Racquel Rancier, spokes- AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 39/47 Kennewick 39/46 St. Helens 40/47 41/46 41/48 40/47 38/47 Condon TONIGHT THU FRI SAT SUN Cloudy with a snow shower Still cloudy A morning shower Snow showers possible 40 31 41 22 37 24 Eugene 2 1 4 40/51 41 35 41 25 38 26 2 1 3 La Grande 29 38 32 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 3 1 3 28 35 28 Comfort Index™ 0 39 20 36 25 5 1 0 1 TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Monday Low Monday High: 86° Low: -31° Wettest: 4.01” 38° 32° 39° 29° 43° 30° PRECIPITATION (inches) Monday Trace Month to date 0.08 Normal month to date 0.95 Year to date 7.43 Normal year to date 10.10 0.01 0.53 1.61 14.25 16.47 Trace 2.20 2.97 28.63 23.64 HAY INFORMATION THURSDAY 55% SSW at 4 to 8 mph 0.4 0.03 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Tuesday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 23% of capacity 41% of capacity 67% of capacity 20% of capacity 38% of capacity 92% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Monday) Grande Ronde at Troy Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder Burnt River near Unity Umatilla River near Gibbon Minam River at Minam Powder River near Richland Immokalee, Fla. Daniel, Wyo. Madison, S.D. OREGON High: 60° Low: 19° Wettest: 0.02” Brookings Keno Astoria On Jan. 1, 1864, an arctic blast caused poorly clothed Civil War soldiers and their prisoners much suffering in Louisville, Ky. The temperature dropped from 47 to 19 below zero in just 21 hours. SUN & MOON WED. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset THU. 7:32 a.m. 7:32 a.m. 4:20 p.m. 4:21 p.m. 11:28 a.m. 11:49 a.m. 11:03 p.m. none MOON PHASES 833 cfs 4 cfs 14 cfs 80 cfs 99 cfs 31 cfs First Jan 2 Full Jan 10 Last Jan 17 Beaver Marsh 41/53 New Jan 24 nee R d E O M u, k o d u S , s g n Show Listi , Crosswords rts o p S , h c r a e Word S re...? o M & s e z z i Qu Burns Jordan Valley Paisley Frenchglen 30/39 City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Hi/Lo/W 47/45/r 43/35/c 44/31/c 53/44/c 40/25/c 52/43/c 49/42/c 31/22/sf 38/32/sf 51/42/c 48/34/c 46/38/r 37/32/sf 38/32/c 33/27/sf 49/37/c 44/24/c 43/23/c Hi/Lo/W 53/40/r 53/32/pc 45/37/pc 54/41/r 45/29/pc 57/43/r 54/40/r 36/25/sh 41/36/c 58/41/r 50/42/pc 51/38/r 44/36/c 48/35/c 43/32/c 52/41/pc 49/31/pc 50/31/pc Grand View Arock 35/45 33/42 30/40 Klamath Falls 28/44 Lakeview 25/43 McDermitt Shown is Thursday’s weather. Temperatures are Wednesday night’s lows and Thursday’s highs. FRI. Diamond 29/38 Fields 37/48 THU. Boise 28/35 26/42 28/42 Medford Brookings 30/41 34/44 42/53 42/53 Juntura 28/40 Silver Lake Chiloquin Grants Pass Ontario 32/46 28/41 26/36 RECREATION FORECAST THURSDAY REGIONAL CITIES WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration 41/54 26/38 24/39 Roseburg Powers Brothers 37/47 Coos Bay Huntington 26/34 31/43 Oakridge 23/31 28/41 Seneca Bend Elkton Council 32/40 32/38 30/43 Florence MONDAY EXTREMES ALMANAC 27/34 John Day 30/45 Sisters 42/52 Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable. 27/36 Baker City Redmond 42/50 43/51 Halfway Granite 38/49 Newport 42/52 43 34 32/41 36/43 40/48 Corvallis Enterprise 28/35 29/38 Monument 36/45 Idanha Salem A shower in the evening 3 Elgin 32/38 La Grande 33/40 Maupin Comfort Index™ 36/45 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg Lewiston 38/45 Hood River 37/45 TIllamook 32 40 27 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Walla Walla 39/49 Vancouver 38/46 39/49 Baker City woman for OWRD, said that average stream fl ows were just 40% of normal state- wide as of Dec. 30. “We certainly would like to see better and more consistent stream fl ows and a greater snowpack at this point,” Rancier said. “Conditions need to greatly improve in the coming months in order to have a more normal water year.” The U.S. Drought Moni- tor shows nearly 98% of Oregon listed in some stage of drought, ranging from “ab- normally dry” to “moderate.” Conditions were much the same at this time last year, too, when snowpack was just 42% of normal levels in early January. Then came February, which brought drought-busting winter storms that dumped several feet of snow at higher eleva- tions and boosted snow-wa- ter equivalent by 20-30%. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla THU. FRI. Hi/Lo/W 45/37/sf 46/44/r 36/31/sf 48/34/c 50/47/r 45/43/r 46/30/c 50/40/c 45/39/c 47/44/r 54/43/c 45/31/c 53/39/c 48/44/c 38/32/c 48/37/c 36/30/c 45/39/c Hi/Lo/W 50/41/sh 53/41/r 40/34/c 52/39/r 53/42/r 53/39/r 44/33/pc 54/41/pc 54/41/c 55/42/r 60/39/r 56/32/pc 59/42/r 56/41/r 45/35/c 50/39/pc 45/32/c 52/40/c Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice Check out our new TV Magazine ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Winds subsiding Cloudy 25 18 35 24 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. A snow shower A snow shower 32 28 39 25 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK A snow shower A snow shower 26 18 33 27 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR A snow shower Cloudy 33 27 44 38 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK A snow shower A snow shower 40 27 38 32 Y R E EV Y A D I FR BLACK E LOGO REVERS LOGO R - COLO G N CHAN BAR CA
