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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 2020)
COFFEE BREAK 8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020 Sister gets more of man’s time than his wife and kids New law opens up process for post-conviction testing OREGON DEAR ABBY: I don’t know how to handle this. My husband of 29 years spends more time with his sister and her family than he does with me and our children. If I say anything about it, he jumps all over me, de- fending her. He says she doesn’t have anyone to help her. But Abby, she has two grown sons and a husband she recently decided to divorce. I think his relationship with his sister is weird, and other people have said they think so, too. One person even called it creepy. When I told my husband I thought it was a weird relationship, he yelled at me. I can no longer talk about his sister with him; it’s off limits. Please help. — ONLY THE WIFE DEAR ONLY THE WIFE: Has your husband always been close to this sister? It may be the reason he is spending time with her. I’m sure she wouldn’t be divorcing her husband if the marriage had been a bed of roses, and she may need private time with her brother to help her detoxify. That said, that he spends more time with his sister than with you and the children is unusual. It makes me wonder about the state of your own marriage. If there is stress and tension the two of you can’t resolve together, you may need to consult a licensed marriage and family therapist. worried that either of you will be forced to view or participate in nude activities when you visit your son, all you have to say is, “I think we’ll stay at a nearby hotel, thank you.” By Donald Orr Oregon Public Broadcasting SALEM — A new law that took effect on Jan. 1 will allow better access to post-conviction DNA testing for people who say they’ve been wrongfully convicted of aggravated murder and other serious crimes. The new measure amends statutes previously introduced in 2015 that said someone requesting a DNA test would have to show that specifi c evidence would lead to fi nding that they were “actually in- nocent,” in effect having to vouch for their innocence before DNA could even be tested. The new law opens up the process by eliminat- ing gate-keeping language that would have prevented access to the discovery of evidence from the initial conviction. Steve Wax is the legal director for the Oregon Innocence Project, an Or- egon nonprofi t focused on preventing and correcting wrongful convictions. Wax helped propose the initial 2015 legislation with the project and he was among a handful of advocates who testifi ed for the newer changes last February. While the 2015 bill was a big leap forward for a modern stan- dard of DNA testing, Wax said some of its language was still restrictive. “There are still hurdles that need to be jumped through, but what a person has to prove is now more reasonable,” Wax said. DEAR ABBY: I recently attended a wedding and was videotaped while I was dancing. I was shown the tape later at a family gathering. I’m not a great dancer, and I looked silly, so I asked that the video be deleted. Instead, DEAR it was passed around and ABBY everyone laughed and made fun of me. It was embarrass- ing and hurtful. My husband says I’m overreacting. Am I? I said nothing and don’t intend to, but I can’t get it out of my mind. — DANCING FOOL IN OHIO DEAR DANCING FOOL: Your feelings are your feelings. Nobody wants to be made fun of. But you have two choices: The fi rst is to continue to stew about it. The second is to join in the laughter, admit you don’t dance like a gazelle — few people do — and let it go. If you downplay it, it will go away. DEAR ABBY: My husband and I recently lost our beloved pet of 12 years, “Bootsy.” He was our fi rst “fur baby.” His death was very sudden, and we are devastated. We don’t have children; it was as if he was our fi rstborn. What can we do to get through the death of our beloved dog-child? — SUFFERING IN THE SOUTH DEAR SUFFERING: I am sorry for your loss. An unfortunate aspect of being emotionally invested in a pet is the reality that they have much shorter lifespans than humans do. Start the healing process by reminding each other that you gave Bootsy the best life possible. Consider making a contribution in his name to an animal res- cue organization. Then contact the veteri- narian who cared for Bootsy about joining a grief support group to help you through this time of bereavement. DEAR ABBY: Our 47-year-old son remar- ried two years ago. We have a 15-year-old grandson from his previous marriage who lives with his mom and who visits his dad every other weekend. We are not close with our new in-laws, who live out of state. We recently found out that they have pur- chased a second home very close to our son. The problem is, the home is located within a nudist colony and, therefore, we assume they are in fact nudists. Should this be a problem for us (we are both 70), or should we not be concerned? — WONDERING IN THE SOUTH DEAR WONDERING: I don’t think there is anything to be worried about. If you are concerned that your grandson will “see” something shocking, please know that he can fi nd whatever he is curious about on his computer or cellphone. However, if you are Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. weather EO Media Group fi le photo In this April 15, 2014 fi le photo, a criminalist trainee prepares sample bone fragments for DNA testing at the training lab in New York. The Oregon Innocence Project has successfully assisted two men who have seen their convictions overturned thanks to better standards of DNA testing. Nicholas McGuffi n’s convic- tion was overturned thanks to previously undisclosed DNA evidence, revealing another man’s DNA at the crime scene. He had served nine years of a 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of manslaughter in 2011 with a non-unan- imous 10-2 verdict from the jury. Oregon is the only state in the country that allows for non-unanimous jury convictions in criminal felony cases. Coos County District At- torney Paul Frasier decided not to pursue a retrial and McGuffi n currently awaits being released from custody. Janis Puracal is the AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 36/47 Kennewick 36/44 St. Helens 37/45 34/44 33/48 38/46 36/46 Condon FRI SAT Baker City 27 38 23 Comfort Index™ La Grande 0 24 34 18 Comfort Index™ 0 40 24 35 24 Eugene 0 1 0 37/47 33 30 39 27 34 26 0 0 0 0 37 24 32 24 0 0 0 0 ALMANAC NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Monday Low Monday High: 84° Low: -12° Wettest: 4.20” 38° 28° 39° 31° 38° 33° PRECIPITATION (inches) Monday Trace Month to date 0.01 Normal month to date 0.18 Year to date 0.01 Normal year to date 0.18 0.07 0.42 0.34 0.42 0.34 Trace 1.27 0.63 1.27 0.63 AGRICULTURAL INFO. HAY INFORMATION THURSDAY 60% W at 8 to 16 mph 0.7 0.03 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Tuesday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir Elkton 40/47 23% of capacity 43% of capacity 68% of capacity 21% of capacity 40% of capacity 99% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Monday) Grande Ronde at Troy 1100 cfs Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder 32 cfs Burnt River near Unity 10 cfs Umatilla River near Gibbon 127 cfs Minam River at Minam 124 cfs Powder River near Richland 72 cfs Santa Ana, Calif. Waverly, Colo. Stampede Pass, Wash. OREGON High: 60° Low: 20° Wettest: 2.34” Hermiston Crater Lake Astoria The temperature stayed below zero in New York City for an entire day only once--on Jan. 8, 1859. During the same cold snap, Toronto had its coldest January temperature ever with a low of 27 degrees below zero. SUN & MOON WED. THU. 7:31 a.m. 4:27 p.m. 2:40 p.m. 5:28 a.m. 7:31 a.m. 4:28 p.m. 3:32 p.m. 6:33 a.m. MOON PHASES Full Jan 10 Last Jan 17 New Jan 24 Beaver Marsh 39/48 First Feb 1 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 28/35 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 47/41/c 38/23/c 41/22/c 50/35/r 37/18/c 48/36/c 47/35/c 32/13/sf 36/22/c 47/35/c 47/32/pc 44/35/sh 36/19/c 36/23/c 33/15/sf 47/32/pc 39/18/sh 37/16/c Hi/Lo/W 50/41/r 44/31/sn 38/33/pc 47/41/r 37/29/sn 49/43/r 45/40/r 28/26/sn 32/29/sn 46/41/r 46/41/sh 42/38/r 35/30/sf 38/32/sn 30/25/sn 46/43/r 39/30/pc 38/27/sn Grand View Arock 30/42 30/38 28/38 Klamath Falls 29/39 Lakeview 27/37 McDermitt Shown is Thursday’s weather. Temperatures are Wednesday night’s lows and Thursday’s highs. FRI. Diamond 27/34 Fields 36/44 THU. Boise 27/33 28/37 27/37 Medford Brookings 28/41 32/41 39/48 40/50 Juntura 25/37 Silver Lake Chiloquin Grants Pass Ontario 31/44 27/36 28/35 RECREATION FORECAST THURSDAY REGIONAL CITIES WEATHER HISTORY Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset 25/34 24/32 Roseburg Powers Brothers 36/40 Coos Bay Huntington 25/32 26/38 Oakridge 24/32 29/40 Seneca Bend MONDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration Florence Council 27/38 30/36 26/40 41/48 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. 23/32 John Day 25/40 Sisters 39/48 32 26 27/37 Baker City Redmond 38/47 42/48 Halfway Granite 36/47 Newport 34 30 3 28 35 22 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 3 30/38 31/37 37/47 Corvallis Enterprise 24/34 28/35 Monument 30/44 Idanha Salem SUN Snow showers; Chilly with snow not as cold at times Elgin 28/36 La Grande 28/36 Maupin THU 33/42 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg Lewiston 32/41 Hood River 32/40 TIllamook TONIGHT Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Walla Walla 34/47 Vancouver 36/45 36/46 A bit of evening Mostly cloudy, a A little snow shower afternoon snow executive director with the Forensic Justice Project and represented McGuffi n dur- ing his trial along with the Oregon Innocence Project. “If there is DNA that can prove a person’s innocence, we want to know that,” Puracal said. “The changes to the statute give us a bet- ter opportunity to look criti- cally at our justice system and right the wrongs.” The Oregon Innocence Project is now working on a case with Jesse Johnson, a death row inmate who was charged with aggravated murder after the 1998 fatal stabbing of a Salem woman. The Oregonian reported that Johnson and his at- torneys requested 37 pieces of evidence to be tested, but that request was opposed and denied. Attorneys with the Oregon Innocence Proj- ect have since appealed. 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 41/28/pc 44/36/c 33/21/sn 44/29/r 47/39/c 43/35/c 44/25/c 48/33/pc 40/27/c 46/38/c 47/33/r 40/24/c 48/34/c 47/37/c 36/24/pc 48/34/c 33/20/sf 42/30/pc Hi/Lo/W 41/37/sf 43/41/r 31/28/sn 43/37/r 49/42/r 43/40/r 40/33/pc 47/41/c 45/40/sh 45/42/r 47/40/r 46/30/r 48/42/r 45/41/r 33/30/sn 44/37/r 34/30/sn 44/40/sn 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 Very cold Mostly cloudy 18 6 33 17 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. A snow shower Snow showers 26 18 36 21 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK A snow shower Snow, up to 1” 23 6 29 18 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR A snow shower A passing shower 33 15 40 28 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Mostly cloudy A shower 38 23 35 22 Y R E EV Y A D I FR BL E LOGO REVERS R - COLO B
