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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 13, 2020)
COFFEE BREAK 8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD Millions of gallons of sewer water overflow after storms Niece suspects elderly aunt is being isolated by her son DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have an elderly (90-plus) aunt who lives with her son in a town about four hours away. She corresponds by letter with us regularly, and we always write back. However, it has become apparent that she’s not receiving our letters because she doesn’t make any comments on any of the things we write to tell her about. We suspect that her son is withholding her mail because we have written to him in the past to express our displeasure about how he treats his mother’s emotional and safety needs. In the last letter we received from her, she told us she expected to spend Christmas in her basement apartment while her son and his wife’s family have Christmas festivities upstairs. It broke our hearts, but we realize that since we’re so far away, there’s little we can do. We’ve tried sending letters without our return address on the envelope, etc. to get past her son’s scrutiny, but we really don’t believe she’s getting her mail. Should we contact the police or social services to do a wellness check on her, or do you have another suggestion? We know she occasionally goes to a senior center in town. Should we write to her in care of the senior center? Your comments are appreciated. -- SUSPICIOUS IN GEORGIA DEAR SUSPICIOUS: Your relative may be having memory issues, or your fears may be genuine. Is it possible to talk with her on the phone or visit her to make an assessment? If someone suspects that an older person is being physically, emotionally or fi nancially abused, it should be reported so the mat- ter can be investigated. You can do that by contacting Adult Protective Services in your aunt’s state or the National Do- mestic Violence hotline at thehotline.org or 800-799-7233. DEAR ABBY: A few years ago, I found some fl irtatious and slightly risque mes- sages between my husband and a female business associate. My husband agreed that they were wrong and says he has discontinued those kinds of conversa- tions. He has stayed in contact with her, and their friendship remains. After dealing with the hurt for more than two years, I fi nally told him a few months ago the only way I would be OK with their friendship is if he introduced me DEAR to her. He promised he ABBY would, but he hasn’t fol- lowed through. This week I saw on our phone bill that while on a recent business trip he was texting with her late into the night and early in the morning. I confronted him, but he continues to say they are just friends, and he is doing nothing wrong. I’m heartbroken. I feel he has betrayed my trust. What should I do? -- DISRESPECTED IN TEXAS DEAR DISRESPECTED: Your husband is doing something wrong. He’s hurting you and threatening the marriage. What you should do now is ask your doctor or your health insurance company to refer you to a marriage and family therapist, schedule some visits and insist that your husband join you. If he is interested in saving the marriage, he will agree. If not, you may need to reconsider your future and consult an attorney. Jeronimo Nisa/The Decatur Daily via AP Untreated sewage overfl ows from a manhole Tuesday on Central Parkway, in Decatur, Alabama. The Associated Press What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in “What Every Teen Should Know.” Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.) AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 40/48 Kennewick 39/48 St. Helens 37/49 38/47 37/51 38/51 36/49 Condon FRI SAT SUN MON A little late- night snow Cloudy with a snow shower Occasional snow and rain A little snow Mostly cloudy, some snow 28 44 30 44 33 42 24 41 23 Eugene 0 0 3 36/50 40 34 38 26 38 22 0 0 0 La Grande 30 40 30 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 3 1 28 39 27 Comfort Index™ 4 37 23 35 19 0 0 1 1 ALMANAC TUESDAY EXTREMES TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Tuesday Low Tuesday High: 89° Naples, Fla. Low: -24° West Yellowstone, Mont. Wettest: 2.04” Wakefi eld, Va. 48° 22° 52° 23° 48° 24° PRECIPITATION (inches) Tuesday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date 0.00 0.28 0.23 0.56 1.03 0.00 2.27 0.42 3.82 2.05 0.00 6.85 0.94 15.44 4.11 AGRICULTURAL INFO. HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration 50% W at 6 to 12 mph 7.1 0.05 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 25% of capacity 55% of capacity 74% of capacity 63% of capacity 50% of capacity 102% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday) Grande Ronde at Troy 7170 cfs Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder 177 cfs Burnt River near Unity 41 cfs Umatilla River near Gibbon 2260 cfs Minam River at Minam 343 cfs Powder River near Richland 474 cfs OREGON High: 70° Low: 12° Wettest: 0.01” Brookings Meacham Astoria A gale-whipped blizzard on Feb. 13, 1899, dumped up to 3 feet of snow from Massachusetts to Delaware. Cold air pushed deep into the South. The mercury at Tallahassee, Fla., dropped to 2 degrees below zero. SUN & MOON THU. Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset FRI. 6:58 a.m. 6:56 a.m. 5:16 p.m. 5:17 p.m. 11:06 p.m. none 9:40 a.m. 10:08 a.m. MOON PHASES Last Feb 15 New Feb 23 First Mar 2 Full Mar 9 ed ne ORE M Show Listings, Florence Beaver Marsh Powers 38/51 38/51 Silver Lake ds, r o w s s o r C , Sudoku ts r o p S , h c r a Word Se ...? e r o M & s e z Quiz Jordan Valley 29/38 Frenchglen Paisley 27/41 25/45 23/45 Medford City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview SAT. Hi/Lo/W 48/42/sh 44/29/pc 46/31/c 55/43/c 43/24/c 49/36/sh 50/38/sh 36/25/sn 40/31/sf 50/39/sh 53/40/pc 47/38/sh 40/29/sf 41/29/pc 38/24/sf 54/39/pc 47/24/c 46/26/c Hi/Lo/W 49/40/r 47/35/r 45/38/r 52/44/r 43/32/sn 50/42/r 47/39/r 35/31/sn 41/34/sn 48/40/r 52/41/r 47/37/r 42/36/sn 43/37/sn 38/31/sn 51/42/r 47/34/r 45/33/r Grand View Arock 29/48 28/45 28/44 Klamath Falls 23/47 Lakeview 24/46 McDermitt Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs. FRI. Diamond 27/40 Fields 35/51 41/55 Boise 32/46 38/54 Brookings 28/45 25/44 Chiloquin Grants Pass Juntura 23/43 25/40 20/41 Roseburg Ontario 30/50 Burns Brothers 34/45 Coos Bay Huntington 25/37 27/44 Oakridge 25/36 29/45 Seneca Bend Elkton Council 28/44 29/41 28/45 25/39 RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY REGIONAL CITIES WEATHER HISTORY 25/36 John Day 26/46 Sisters 39/49 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. 27/42 Baker City Redmond 39/48 42/48 Halfway Granite 35/50 Newport 38/50 39 32 30/45 34/41 35/49 Corvallis Enterprise 28/39 30/40 Monument 33/47 Idanha Salem TONIGHT 3 Elgin 31/40 La Grande 31/43 Maupin 3 35/49 Pendleton The Dalles Portland Newberg Lewiston 37/48 Hood River 36/49 TIllamook Comfort Index™ Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Walla Walla 36/54 Vancouver 37/48 41/47 Baker City aging system, much of it clay pipe installed a half-century ago, is failing in that role. Heavy rains cause water to enter the sewer pipes, mixing with the sewage and exceeding the pipe’s capacity. The result, as could be seen Tuesday in the city, is diluted sewage gush- ing from manholes. A state reporting tool showing sewage overfl ows by location and amount is fairly new and there’s no way to say whether recent spills are abnormally high, said Jerome Hand, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. It’s also impossible to say whether all the problems are linked to storms or something else, he said. “It’s probably just too much rain going through the system but we don’t know for sure,” Hand said. “We require these systems to report them and we will investigate them and help them get back into compliance.” The problem carries health risks. Sherri Davidson, state epidemiologist for the Alabama Department of Public Health, told the Decatur newspaper. Sewer overfl ows contain bacteria, viruses and intestinal parasites such as hookworms, she said. Even if people avoid sewer water, sewage can be tracked inside homes on shoes or by pets. DECATUR, Alabama — Days of rain have left parts of Alabama awash in millions of gallons of dingy water that overfl owed from sanitary sewer systems. On Wednesday, reports submitted to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management showed more than 18.5 million gallons of sewer water spilled over the past 10 days around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, where the National Weather Service said some spots have received more than 6 inches of rain so far this week. In the Tennessee Valley, about 4.8 million gallons of sewage escaped from sewer pipes in Decatur last Thursday to Saturday, with most ending up in Dry Branch Creek, the Decatur Daily reported. The general man- ager of Decatur Utilities, Ray Hardin, said upgrades are continuing, but a city leader said he wants more action. “I’m sensing a lack of urgency. I guess I want to see someone at DU running around like their hair’s on fi re trying to resolve this,” City Council member Billy Jackson, whose district includes most of Dry Branch Creek, told the newspaper. Sanitary sewer systems are designed to keep sewage in and rainwater out. Decatur’s 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 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla FRI. SAT. Hi/Lo/W 48/35/c 48/40/sh 39/29/sf 51/35/c 48/39/sh 49/38/sh 50/31/c 56/38/pc 49/37/pc 51/41/sh 51/37/sh 46/28/pc 51/39/sh 49/38/sh 43/32/c 51/38/sh 38/26/sf 49/36/c Hi/Lo/W 47/38/sn 46/40/r 39/33/sn 48/40/r 48/40/r 46/38/r 46/38/r 52/41/r 49/38/r 47/41/r 51/41/r 49/34/r 51/42/r 46/39/r 41/34/sn 50/39/r 38/30/sn 48/37/r 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 Colder Mostly cloudy 24 18 37 27 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. A snow shower A snow shower 30 24 41 29 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. PARK A snow shower A snow shower 27 16 34 25 WALLOWA LAKE MCKAY RESERVOIR A snow shower A p.m. shower 38 24 48 35 THIEF VALLEY RES. RED BRIDGE ST. PARK Mainly cloudy A snow shower 44 30 40 30 Y R E V E Y A D R SATU BLACK E LOGO REVERS LOGO R - COLO G N CHAN BAR CA
