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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2019)
COFFEE BREAK 8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2019 Husband checks out of marriage after wife’s cancer diagnosis DEAR ABBY: I need some advice for my dear friend. She needs to have chemotherapy and her husband says he won’t help her when she gets sicker from the meds. She is devastated and feels like he isn’t even her husband anymore. He told her he will move out and put her into a nursing home and that they can break up. Any advice? — DEVASTATED IN THE MIDWEST DEAR DEVASTATED: I am appalled. That someone could be so heartless and cruel is deplorable. Your friend’s husband appears to be one of those who becomes so freaked out by his spouse’s cancer diagnosis that he cuts and runs instead of standing by her when the going gets tough. (Yes, regrettably, there are some.) Her top priority right now has to be getting through this challenge, regardless of what it involves. Are there supportive friends or family members who are willing to see her through the term of her treat- ment? If so, that’s what I recommend. When she recovers — because with the advances that are being made in cancer treatment every day, it is entirely possible — I hope she realizes how lucky she is to be rid of this poor excuse for a man. you should agree to leave the arrangement the way it is. DEAR ABBY: I live in a neighborhood with nosy neighbors who like to gossip. My wife and I are private people and keep our business to ourselves. There is one person, a man who recently moved here, whom I consider to be my only good friend. The other day my friend showed me a text he had DEAR received from another one of ABBY my neighbors — a doctor — asking him if I had a certain medical condition. My friend responded by saying that the topic had not been discussed. I find the inquiry to be inap- propriate. It’s really none of his business. I also believe my neighbor the doctor showed a lack of character and poor judgment. I value your input. Are my feelings out of line? — TICKED OFF IN TAMPA DEAR TICKED OFF: Your feelings are not out of line. If the doctor is truly concerned about your well-being and not neighborhood gossip, he should have asked you that question directly. David Goldman/The Associated Press ‘Flash drought’ worsening across 14 Southern states weather Mitigation Center in Ne- braska. “Typically we look at drought as being a slow onset, slow-developing type phenomenon compared to other disasters that rap- idly happen, so this flash drought term came about,” Fuchs said. “The idea is that it’s more of a rapidly developing drought situa- tion compared to what we typically see.” Fuchs said he expects scientists to have further discussions about flash droughts, and perhaps de- velop parameters for what constitutes a flash drought. Climate change is expected to make this kind of drought even hotter in the southern Great Plains, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported recently. In a separate report this summer, NOAA scientists and researchers with the University of Colorado Boulder studied the impacts of the intense 2017 flash By Jess Martin The Associated Press ATLANTA — More than 45 million people across 14 Southern states are now in the midst of what’s being called a “flash drought” that’s cracking farm soil, drying up ponds and raising the risk of wildfires, scien- tists said Thursday. The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows extreme drought conditions in parts of Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and the Florida panhandle. Lesser drought conditions also have expanded in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Overall, nearly 20 percent of the lower 48 U.S. states is experiencing drought condi- tions. The drought accelerated rapidly in September, as record heat combined with little rainfall to worsen the parched conditions, said Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought DEAR ABBY: My father was killed recent- ly in a shooting. I have received text messages and phone calls from my immediate family and close friends. My mother-in-law was thoughtful enough to send me a card, and I called to thank her the day I received it. My husband has other close relatives. None of them called me, not even my sister- in-law. They have my number, so that’s not the issue. Is this the norm in the United States? I ask because I come from a different background, and I find this disheartening. — GRIEVING IN NEVADA DEAR GRIEVING: Please accept my deepest sympathy for the tragedy that took your father. When something so out of the ordinary happens, many people don’t know what to say. While something as simple as, “I’m so sorry,” or, “You are in my prayers, and my thoughts are with you,” would suffice, they are so fearful they will say the wrong thing that they say nothing. Your husband’s fam- ily may fall into this category. Please try to forgive them. DEAR ABBY: I am divorced and live alone, which I enjoy. I’m a homebody — I work and come home. I dated a woman many years ago and we have reunited. I’m very much in love with her. She has family not far from here, and if I marry her, I know I’m going to be inundated with visits from them on a regular basis. Problem is, I love my privacy. I’m getting cold feet because of this. I have lived the way I do for a long time and I’m happy with it. — COLD FEET IN THE SOUTH DEAR COLD FEET: Have you talked to this lady about your concerns? If you haven’t, it’s time, because it’s entirely pos- sible that she loves her family as much as you love your privacy and won’t want to be isolated from them. In a situation like yours, if there is no compelling reason to tie the knot, perhaps Astoria Longview 47/55 Kennewick 46/53 St. Helens 46/54 48/55 Portland Condon 51/58 TUE WED THU FRI Mostly cloudy, a shower Sunny and colder Sunny, but cold Mostly sunny and cool 44 18 49 20 55 25 Eugene 0 2 3 50/60 42 20 47 24 55 31 0 2 3 La Grande 46 52 30 Comfort Index™ 10 Enterprise 1 44 49 28 Comfort Index™ 10 42 22 52 30 0 2 3 0 ALMANAC SATURDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Saturday Low Saturday High: 104° Low: 11° Wettest: 2.63” 61° 27° 60° 29° 59° 32° PRECIPITATION (inches) Saturday 0.00 Month to date Trace Normal month to date 0.09 Year to date 7.03 Normal year to date 7.71 0.00 Trace 0.15 12.51 11.69 0.00 0.01 0.18 22.69 16.03 HAY INFORMATION TUESDAY 50% WNW at 7 to 14 mph 9.8 0.08 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Sunday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 22% of capacity 27% of capacity 63% of capacity 38% of capacity 23% of capacity 11% of capacity Brookings Burns On Oct. 7, 1902, a waterspout was spotted off Cape May, N.J. When the fi rst chilly air masses of fall cross warm bodies of water, waterspouts form. SUN & MOON Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset 770 cfs 1 cfs 14 cfs 46 cfs 78 cfs 37 cfs Full MON. TUE. 6:58 a.m. 6:22 p.m. 4:05 p.m. 12:34 a.m. 6:59 a.m. 6:20 p.m. 4:38 p.m. 1:34 a.m. Oct 13 Last Oct 21 New Oct 27 53/60 Grants Pass 299 $ Silver Lake First Nov 4 ONLY 499 $ Frenchglen Paisley 39/61 Medford 49/63 53/63 39/69 39/65 Lakeview 36/60 33/61 McDermitt 37/68 RECREATION FORECAST TUESDAY TUE. WED. Hi/Lo/W 55/36/sh 54/26/pc 65/36/pc 63/45/pc 59/25/pc 59/42/pc 58/33/pc 54/29/sh 51/30/c 60/35/pc 62/37/pc 55/38/sh 55/33/sh 51/29/sh 48/27/sh 61/38/pc 60/23/pc 61/22/pc Hi/Lo/W 57/35/s 45/20/s 49/27/pc 65/47/s 45/14/s 59/38/s 59/32/s 44/21/pc 42/20/s 60/32/s 56/24/s 56/30/s 42/22/sf 41/18/s 36/17/sn 56/25/s 50/19/s 44/16/s TUE. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla WED. Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 59/36/c 49/27/s 53/35/pc 56/31/s 48/28/c 39/17/s 63/37/pc 62/33/s 55/38/pc 56/38/s 54/34/pc 55/31/s 64/37/pc 54/28/s 62/38/pc 57/27/s 57/34/pc 50/26/s 56/38/sh 59/36/s 60/40/pc 61/35/s 55/26/c 48/19/s 60/39/pc 60/35/s 57/34/pc 58/32/s 51/28/pc 44/23/s 58/38/pc 58/31/s 48/26/r 38/14/s 57/35/pc 52/28/s ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE A bit of icy mix Showers 35 15 49 BROWNLEE RES. A shower Spotty showers 23 58 EMIGRANT ST. PARK A shower A morning shower 39 18 44 25 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR Spotty showers A p.m. shower 48 27 55 32 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK A shower; cooler A shower 54 31 1520 ADAMS AVENUE La GRANDE, OREGON 97850 699 30 EAGLE CAP WILD. ONLY $ 26 MT. EMILY REC. 42 Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice Seven Drawer Dresser Grand View Arock 39/67 Klamath Falls Shown is Tuesday’s weather. Temperatures are Monday night’s lows and Tuesday’s highs. City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Diamond 42/58 Fields Value at Every Price Swivel Rockers Jordan Valley 36/59 37/61 38/56 Boise 47/65 52/67 Brookings 41/60 42/56 55/60 Chiloquin Globe ONLY Beaver Marsh Juntura 39/59 44/51 40/51 Roseburg Ontario 43/64 Burns Brothers 50/54 Coos Bay Huntington 43/50 46/54 Oakridge 40/54 45/59 Seneca REGIONAL CITIES MOON PHASES STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Saturday) 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 OREGON WEATHER HISTORY AGRICULTURAL INFO. Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Jasper, Ala. Lyman, Wyo. Savannah, Ga. High: 75° Low: 22° Wettest: none Elkton Council 41/54 48/51 46/53 Bend Powers 43/57 42/47 John Day 46/55 Sisters Florence 52/58 Halfway Granite Baker City Redmond 47/55 51/59 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. Monument 48/56 46/58 Newport Enterprise 44/49 46/52 44/49 47/57 Corvallis 53/60 37 18 45/51 La Grande 43/49 46/54 Idanha Salem A couple of showers late 1 Elgin Pendleton The Dalles 48/56 45/54 TONIGHT Comfort Index™ 10 52/57 48/57 Newberg Lewiston 53/59 Hood River Maupin 41 54 31 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Walla Walla 50/61 Vancouver 44/54 TIllamook Baker City drought in the northern Great Plains, which caused $2.6 billion in losses in the region. A more arid land- scape due to climate change “will make droughts of similar intensity 20 percent more likely than in the past,” NOAA said in a sum- mary of the research. The current drought has been putting stress on a wide variety of crops across the South, including cotton in Alabama, peanuts in Georgia and tobacco in Vir- ginia, according to reports from the National Drought Mitigation Center. Pumpkins are faring better in Alabama, though they’re somewhat smaller this year due to the drought. “We would have liked to have had a few more pumpkins this year, but we do have pumpkins and we are selling pumpkins _ that’s the good news,” said Doug Chapman, a commer- cial horticulture expert with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION 45/53 A man sun- bathes amidst patches of dried out lawn from a lack of rain in Atlanta. Scientists say more than 45 million people across 14 Southern states are now in the midst of a drought that’s cracking farm soil, drying up ponds and rais- ing the risk of wildfires. Casual Style Stanton Sofa 52 30 • Free Delivery • In-Store Credit • 70 Store Buying Power • Decorating Assistance HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 9:30 am-6:30 pm Saturday 9:30 am-5:30 pm Sun. 12 noon-4 pm (541) 963-4144 888-449-2704