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