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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2020)
COFFEE BREAK 8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2020 Happily unmarried couple reaches impasse over kids Flat-earth believer ROCKET DEATH dies in rocket crash In their case, it’s the truth. DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend and I have been dating for more than a decade. We’re DEAR ABBY: I recently received an email nearly 30 now. We are happy not being from the grade school-aged son of a close married, and we both agreed early in our friend, which included a link requesting relationship that we would not have kids. All of a sudden, my boyfriend has decided funding to support his school sports program. My friend told me to expect such an email. he wants children. I said maybe in the I’m not certain how to respond, as I al- future, but he feels we’re running out of time. ways encouraged my children I still don’t want kids, and to communicate face-to-face it’s for selfi sh reasons. I enjoy DEAR when soliciting funds for their traveling, having time to ABBY school programs, but that was myself and just the two of us, years ago, and I realize this peace and quiet, being able to is a new era. It just seems so do what I want when I want impersonal to ask for money electronically, without having to worry about kids. Is that especially when I barely know the young so wrong? Where do we go from here? — AT ODDS IN MONTANA man. Are my expectations wrong? How DEAR AT ODDS: After 10-plus years, “the would you handle this? — CHECK’S IN THE E-MAIL future” has arrived. It appears you and your DEAR CHECK’S IN: Despite how the re- boyfriend have reached a large fork in the quest was made, if you want to support the road. From here you either go your separate program, do so. If not, then don’t. Personally, ways or agree to relationship counseling to I would ignore the email, and if I was asked see if there may be a way to bridge this gap. about it, I would politely decline. DEAR ABBY: For the last 25 years, we DEAR ABBY: In the past three weeks or have gone on several weekend getaways so, a man has placed a fl ower blossom in a with another couple. They are now suggest- small cup on the edge of my patio. This has ing a one-week vacation together. The issue happened 18 times. The fl owers are, seeming- is, they constantly either talk to or text their children while we are with them. They call to ly, from surrounding yards. I live in a golfi ng tell them the weather, where we’re eating, get community, and many golfers pass by daily. updates on their various sporting events, etc. Once, he left a golf ball as well. As I was looking out one day, I saw a man We also have children and grandchildren, wearing a red shirt, tan cap and shorts. His but we wait until we return home to recon- cap was pulled low, so I couldn’t see his face. nect and hear about their weekend and tell He looked to be middle-aged, and he walked about ours. We love our kids, but we don’t away quickly. He has never tried to make need to be constantly connected. Except for us, this couple’s entire social life contact with me. My partner is not happy about this, and I’m afraid if he catches the appears to revolve around their children’s man in action, he may cause a scene. I don’t lives, and it is pretty much all they talk know if I should be fl attered or afraid. Also, about. We’re not sure we can tolerate this for the man might be shocked to learn that I’m an entire week. We don’t want to lose these friends, but don’t know how to decline a week 85. What to do, Abby? — SECRETLY ADMIRED IN FLORIDA of this. Please advise. DEAR ADMIRED: Here’s what I’d do. I — VACATION FROM THE VACATION would accept the compliment, but I would DEAR VACATION: Constantly texting and calling in the presence of others is rude. also leave a note on the edge of the patio ad- dressed to “Secret Admirer.” In it I would say Because you are hesitant to call them on it, that I’m 85 years old and, while fl attered, try this: Unless they know you take week- I’m not available -- so please stop leaving long vacations with other friends, tell them “gifts” on my patio. you prefer shorter visits with other couples. weather The Associated Press BARSTOW, Calif. — A California man who said he wanted to fl y to the edge of outer space to see if the world is round has died after his home-built rocket blasted off into the desert sky and plunged back to earth. “Mad” Mike Hughes was killed on Saturday afternoon after his rocket crashed on private property near Bar- stow, California. Waldo Stakes, a colleague who was at the rocket launch, said Hughes, 64, was killed. The Science Channel said on Twitter it had been chron- icling Hughes’ journey and that “thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this diffi cult time.” “It was always his dream to do this launch,” the Twit- ter message said. Hughes also was a limousine driver, who held the Guinness world record for “longest limousine ramp jump,” for jumping 103 feet in a Lincoln Town Car stretch limousine, at a speedway in 2002. A video on TMZ.com showed the rocket taking off, with what appears to be a parachute tearing off during the launch. The steam- powered rocket streaks upward, then takes around 10 seconds to fall straight back to earth. Shrieks can be heard as the rocket plows into the desert. Freelance journalist Justin Chapman, who was Mercedes Blackehart/The Associated Press “Mad” Mike Hughes rocket takes off, with what ap- pears to be a parachute tearing off during its launch near Barstow, Calif., on Saturday. Hughes, a California man who said he wanted to fl y to the edge of outer space to see if the world is fl at or round has died after his home-built rocket blasted off into the desert sky and plunged back to earth. “Mad” Mike Hughes, 64, was killed on Saturday after his rocket crashed. AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION Astoria Longview 39/51 Kennewick 40/55 St. Helens 39/57 35/58 Newberg Condon 35/60 40/58 WED THU FRI SAT Partly cloudy Mostly cloudy Mostly sunny Times of clouds and sun Showers possible 55 27 57 30 53 28 Eugene 7 7 5 37/59 53 30 53 35 47 28 7 7 5 La Grande 31 48 27 Comfort Index™ Enterprise 7 5 5 28 46 27 Comfort Index™ 5 55 35 46 26 8 8 5 5 TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin NATION (for the 48 contiguous states) High Sunday Low Sunday High: 85° Low: -17° Wettest: 2.09” 58° 23° 53° 24° 50° 26° PRECIPITATION (inches) Sunday Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Normal year to date 0.01 0.33 0.47 0.61 1.27 0.06 2.97 0.92 4.52 2.55 0.00 8.20 1.91 16.79 5.08 AGRICULTURAL INFO. HAY INFORMATION WEDNESDAY Lowest relative humidity Afternoon wind Hours of sunshine Evapotranspiration 45% S at 4 to 8 mph 8.5 0.05 RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Monday) Phillips Reservoir Unity Reservoir Owyhee Reservoir McKay Reservoir Wallowa Lake Thief Valley Reservoir 26% of capacity 58% of capacity 75% of capacity 74% of capacity 53% of capacity 102% of capacity STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Sunday) Grande Ronde at Troy 2400 cfs Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder 99 cfs Burnt River near Unity 25 cfs Umatilla River near Gibbon 198 cfs Minam River at Minam 176 cfs Powder River near Richland 221 cfs SUN & MOON Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset TUE. WED. 6:39 a.m. 5:33 p.m. 7:57 a.m. 7:43 p.m. 6:37 a.m. 5:34 p.m. 8:18 a.m. 8:44 p.m. MOON PHASES First Mar 2 Full Mar 9 Last New Mar 16 Mar 24 Value at Every Price Beaver Marsh 38/62 Grants Pass Brookings Burns Juntura 27/53 Silver Lake Jordan Valley 27/49 Paisley 28/58 Frenchglen Diamond 28/54 Klamath Falls 24/61 Lakeview 24/58 McDermitt 24/49 RECREATION FORECAST WEDNESDAY THU. City Lewiston Longview Meacham Medford Newport Olympia Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Powers Redmond Roseburg Salem Spokane The Dalles Ukiah Walla Walla WED. THU. Hi/Lo/W 51/35/sn 55/36/c 47/26/c 65/34/s 52/37/pc 53/34/c 52/25/pc 60/29/pc 57/32/pc 58/35/c 62/39/s 59/23/pc 62/36/s 58/34/pc 46/31/c 60/32/pc 49/25/pc 55/36/pc Hi/Lo/W 57/36/pc 58/34/s 52/28/s 67/35/s 54/38/s 57/33/pc 56/25/s 61/29/s 58/34/s 61/36/s 68/40/s 64/26/s 63/38/s 59/33/s 50/31/pc 62/32/s 54/27/s 57/36/s Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice Swivel Rockers 24/50 24/54 Fields 35/65 Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W 51/35/pc 54/36/s 56/26/pc 61/29/s 49/29/pc 54/32/s 62/45/s 65/45/s 55/23/pc 59/27/s 55/38/s 59/39/s 59/35/pc 59/34/s 41/24/c 46/24/s 48/27/c 53/29/s 59/35/pc 59/34/s 60/32/pc 59/32/s 58/32/pc 61/32/s 49/28/c 55/33/pc 53/26/pc 56/26/s 45/27/c 51/31/s 60/30/pc 59/31/s 61/23/s 64/26/s 58/24/s 61/26/s Grand View Arock 27/52 29/57 REGIONAL CITIES City Astoria Bend Boise Brookings Burns Coos Bay Corvallis Council Elgin Eugene Hermiston Hood River Imnaha John Day Joseph Kennewick Klamath Falls Lakeview Boise 28/49 Shown is Wednesday’s weather. Temperatures are Tuesday night’s lows and Wednesday’s highs. WED. Ontario 25/52 28/57 29/59 Medford 44/62 Huntington 27/49 22/55 41/67 Wonderful Winter SALE 27/53 Chiloquin Hermiston Lakeview Meacham On Feb. 25, 1934, a storm centered in the Carolinas brought killer tornadoes to Georgia and Alabama while dumping up to 9 inches of snow from Richmond, Va., to Philadelphia, Pa. Brothers 26/53 20/41 24/49 30/56 Oakridge Roseburg 39/62 OREGON WEATHER HISTORY 30/53 Seneca 38/58 Coos Bay Zapata, Texas Boulder, Wyo. Lyons, Kan. High: 64° Low: 18° Wettest: 0.50” 26/59 Council 24/50 John Day 30/57 Elkton Powers 24/46 22/46 Bend SUNDAY EXTREMES ALMANAC Sisters Florence 43/54 Halfway Granite Baker City Redmond 40/52 40/55 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. 28/46 38/59 Newport 38/60 52 31 30/56 38/55 38/58 Corvallis Enterprise 31/48 Monument 32/58 Idanha Salem TONIGHT 5 Elgin 29/48 La Grande 33/53 Maupin Comfort Index™ 34/55 Pendleton The Dalles Portland 39/57 Lewiston 35/51 Hood River 34/57 39/54 24 50 24 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Walla Walla 31/60 Vancouver 40/56 TIllamook Baker City the world is round. “I don’t want to take anyone else’s word for it,” he said in the video, posted on the BBC News website. “I don’t know if the world is fl at or round.” In another video posted on his YouTube site, Hughes said he also wanted “to convince people they can do things that are extraordi- nary with their lives.” “My story really is incred- ible,” Hughes once told The Associated Press. “It’s got a bunch of story lines — the garage-built thing. I’m an older guy. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, plus the Flat Earth. The problem is it brings out all the nuts also.” at the scene, said the rocket appeared to rub against the launch apparatus, which might have caused the mis- hap with the parachute. In March 2018, Hughes propelled himself about 1,875 feet into the air. He deployed one parachute and then a second one but still had a hard landing in the Mojave Desert in California, and injured his back. “This thing wants to kill you 10 different ways,” Hughes said after that launch. “This thing will kill you in a heartbeat.” He said in a video that his goal was to eventually fl y to the edge of outer space to de- termine for himself whether Five Drawer Chest 299 $ 499 $ • Free Delivery • In-Store Credit • 70 Store Buying Power • Decorating Assistance 1520 ADAMS AVENUE La GRANDE, OREGON 97850 ANTHONY LAKES PHILLIPS LAKE Clearing Clearing 33 19 47 22 MT. EMILY REC. BROWNLEE RES. Mostly cloudy Partly sunny 39 26 46 26 EAGLE CAP WILD. EMIGRANT ST. 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