8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, JAnuARY 21, 2021
COFFEE BREAK
Colleague refuses payment for help above and beyond
DEAR ABBY: My colleagues
and I were recently notified that
our company is closing next
month. My work partner and I
have collaborated closely for
four years, and
he’s an expert at
the software I need
to know to get a
job in my field.
When I asked if he
would give me a couple of les-
sons via Zoom, I was thinking
it’d be about a three-hour com-
mitment for him. But he was
enthusiastic and designed a
20-plus-hour curriculum for me.
He keeps saying he doesn’t
want me to pay him, but I
want to find an appropriate
way to express my gratitude.
What would be an appropriate
amount to compensate him
without getting too steep (which
is why I didn’t do the full-price
software training in the first
place. It was $2K)? Thanks for
any advice.
— THANKFUL IN ILLINOIS
DEAR THANKFUL: If you
know of any interests, hob-
bies, a sport, etc. your partner
has outside the workplace, con-
sider going online to see if you
can find something connected
to that activity he would enjoy
that’s within your budget.
DEAR ABBY: Every year
on Facebook’s
“National Daugh-
DEAR
ter’s Day,” my
daughter’s moth-
ABBY
er-in-law professes
her love, respect
and admiration for her own
daughter, but never acknowl-
edges her daughter-in-law (my
daughter). Yet on “National
Son’s Day,” she posts glowing
tributes not only to her sons, but
also to her son-in-law.
We all live within miles of
each other, and this recurring
slight makes it difficult to act
like everything is fine when,
in truth, this is hurtful to my
daughter and to our family.
Should I address this issue with
the mother-in-law or continue
to bite my tongue?
— DISMISSED IN TEXAS
DEAR DISMISSED: If you
are smart, rather than address
the issue with your daughter’s
mother-in-law, who either has
the emotional intelligence of an
oyster or really doesn’t care for
your daughter, mention it to your
son-in-law and point out to him
that being slighted is hurtful.
There may be a better result if
HE brings it up to his mother.
DEAR ABBY: I battle with
a double chin, and I loathe it.
My chin hides itself only if I am
under 126 pounds. Anything
over that and it’s there. I’m not
overweight, but my double chin
makes me feel that way.
I have read that dermal fillers
in the chin can discreetly get rid
of this issue.
The problem? My husband.
He’s against any type of plastic
surgery. He doesn’t like my
double chin either, but he wants
me to only get rid of it “natu-
rally.” Normally I would agree.
I have been exercising (running
four times a week) without suc-
cess. I don’t feel comfortable
looking this way.
I think I deserve this
shortcut. Should I get the filler
without my husband’s blessing,
or should I continue this
struggle?
— TAKING IT
ON THE CHIN
things have grown progres-
sively worse.
My son and her mother
married when she was 7 and
divorced when she was 13.
Over the years, I worked
hard to develop and maintain a
relationship with her.
Now, she has told the other
grandmother that she will
never speak to me again. Was
what I did so bad, and what
should I do now?
— OTHER GRANDMOTHER
IN NORTH CAROLINA
DEAR OTHER: What you
said wasn’t “bad,” but it was
misinformed and heavy-handed.
While same-sex relationships do
happen in high school and col-
lege, young people don’t usually
indulge unless they are already
at least bi-curious. Even then,
straight people don’t suddenly
“turn gay.”
Your granddaughter may
still be trying to figure out
her sexual orientation, which
could be why she has reacted so
strongly. If you are wise,
you will allow her the time
she needs to sort it out, rather
than push or panic.
DEAR TAKING IT: You
are an adult, and it’s your body.
You do not need permission to
do something that will help you
feel better about yourself.
If your husband is against
any type of plastic surgery
(and by the way, fillers do not
qualify as plastic surgery), HE
should forgo having it when his
frown lines begin to look like
tractor furrows and he develops
a wattle.
DEAR ABBY: My col-
lege-aged granddaughter is
no longer speaking to me,
answering my phone calls or
allowing her other grand-
mother (who raised her) to post
anything on Facebook where I
can see what she is doing.
My granddaughter came
to live with me last summer
because she worked a summer
job here. I asked her if she was
gay, not because I think she
is but as a prelude to a con-
versation about not allowing
other girls to recruit her into a
same-sex relationship as I saw
in college and while teaching
public school.
Although I tried to explain,
News of the Weird
Beetle keeps rivals
off scent of food
buried for offspring
MANSFIELD, Conn. —
Some beetles go to great —
and disgusting — lengths
for their children.
They scout for a dead
mouse or bird, dig a hole
and bury it, pluck its fur or
feathers, roll its flesh into
a ball and cover it in goop
— all to feed their future
offspring.
Now scientists think that
goo might do more than just
slow decay. It also appears
to hide the scent of the
decomposing bounty and
boosts another odor that
repels competitors.
“It helps them to hide
their resource from others,”
said Stephen Trumbo, who
studies animal behavior
at the University of Con-
necticut and led the new
research, published Jan. 14
in The American Naturalist.
“They try to keep everyone
away.”
The beetles — called
burying beetles — aren’t
the only creatures who try
to deceive their compet-
itors or prey with subtle,
sneaky tactics. Large blue
butterflies, for example,
will imitate certain sounds
to manipulate ants. Corpse
flowers produce rotting
odors to attract insect
pollinators that feed on
Police: Thief berated
mom for leaving kid
in car he stole
Vanessa R. Lane via AP
This November 2020 photo shows a Nicrophorus orbicollis beetle in Georgia. Burying
beetles scout for a dead mouse or bird, dig a hole and bury it, pluck its fur or feathers, roll
its flesh into a ball and cover it in goop — all to feed their future offspring. Now scientists
think that goo appears to hide the scent of the decomposing bounty and boosts another
odor that repels competitors.
decomposing matter.
The importance of these
interactions are being rec-
ognized more and more,
said Alexandre Figue-
iredo, a biologist at Univer-
sity of Zurich, who was not
involved in the new study.
Burying beetles and
other things that feed on
dead animals — including
vultures, opossums and
maggots — race each other
to track down carcasses.
BEAVERTON — A car
thief who found a toddler
in the backseat of a stolen
vehicle drove back and
chastised the mother for
leaving the child unattended
before taking off again,
police in Oregon said.
The woman went into a
grocery store about 15 feet
from the car Saturday, Jan.
16, leaving her 4-year-old
child inside with the engine
running and the vehicle
unlocked, said Beaverton
police spokesperson officer
Matt Henderson.
also prevented rivals from
picking up the scent.
To find out, they col-
lected the gases wafting
off dead hairless mice pre-
served by a kind of burying
beetle that is found in for-
ests across North America.
The researchers then com-
pared the gases to those
from untouched carcasses.
The beetle-prepped
ones gave off much less of
an onion-smelling com-
Competition is stiff even
among burying beetles,
which use special antennae
to detect the remains from
afar.
Burying beetles are rel-
atively large, about an inch
long, and black with orange
markings. The gut secre-
tions they spread on a car-
cass are antibacterial, and
slow down decomposition.
Trumbo and his colleagues
wondered whether they
weather
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
38/47
Kennewick
38/47
St. Helens
37/45
37/44
36/43
37/49
38/47
Condon
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
A snow squall;
cloudy
Areas of low
clouds
Mostly sunny
and chilly
Cloudy with a
bit of snow
Cloudy
26 39 22
40 18
34 23
37 21
Eugene
39/46
La Grande
29 37 25
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
0
1
1
37 23
35 26
36 24
3
0
3
1
29 36 25
Comfort Index™
0
35 27
36 25
3
2
3
1
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Tuesday
Low Tuesday
High: 81°
Brownsville, Texas
Low: -15°
West Yellowstone, Mont.
Wettest: 1.02”
Gilmer, Texas
41°
17°
41°
15°
39°
18°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
0.00
0.31
0.53
0.31
0.53
0.00
0.95
1.08
0.95
1.08
0.00
4.07
2.05
4.07
2.05
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
60%
NNW at 4 to 8 mph
0.1
0.02
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
8% of capacity
42% of capacity
48% of capacity
40% of capacity
32% of capacity
84% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
1930 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
9 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
15 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
251 cfs
Minam River at Minam
154 cfs
Powder River near Richland
43 cfs
OREGON
High: 62°
Low: 9°
Wettest: none
Brookings
Rome
Powers
41/48
In 1994, Jan. 21 set a new record low of
21 below zero in Scranton, Pa. The next
year, however, temperatures remained
continuously above freezing for 10 days
and nights, a new January record.
SUN & MOON
THU.
FRI.
7:24 a.m. 7:23 a.m.
4:44 p.m. 4:45 p.m.
11:38 a.m. 12:02 p.m.
12:54 a.m. 1:57 a.m.
MOON PHASES
Full
Jan 28
Last
Feb 4
New
Feb 11
41/48
First
Feb 19
Jordan Valley
25/38
Paisley
24/39
27/39
Frenchglen
26/38
39/49
37/46
43/52
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
47/31/pc
35/20/pc
40/25/sf
52/40/c
38/19/sn
51/37/c
47/31/pc
33/18/c
37/26/c
46/34/c
41/24/pc
44/31/s
39/27/sn
37/22/c
36/24/sf
42/23/pc
39/23/pc
39/21/c
Hi/Lo/W
47/39/pc
40/24/s
38/23/pc
54/38/c
37/14/s
50/39/s
46/33/pc
29/10/s
37/25/s
46/35/pc
43/26/s
46/35/pc
37/20/c
35/18/s
34/19/pc
41/26/s
40/21/s
36/14/s
Grand View
Arock
26/41
25/40
26/38
Klamath Falls
28/39
Lakeview
25/39
McDermitt
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs.
FRI.
Diamond
25/36
Fields
Medford
Brookings
Boise
28/40
Silver Lake
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
26/38
26/34
24/39
RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
Beaver Marsh
Juntura
25/38
26/30
24/37
Roseburg
Ontario
31/41
Burns
Brothers
37/43
Coos Bay
Huntington
23/34
26/35
Oakridge
17/33
28/40
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
TUESDAY EXTREMES
ALMANAC
Tuesday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
Florence
42/51
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.
29/37
27/36
Council
26/39
John Day
27/36
Sisters
42/51
35 23
26/39
Baker City
Redmond
42/49
Halfway
Granite
23/35
38/47
Newport
39/47
3
30/37
33/43
36/45
Corvallis
Enterprise
29/36
29/37
Monument
33/40
Idanha
Salem
TONIGHT
2
Elgin
30/37
La Grande
28/34
Maupin
1
30/36
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
34/38
Hood River
30/37
TIllamook
Comfort Index™
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Walla Walla
31/42
Vancouver
36/48
37/48
Baker City
A store employee told
authorities the woman was
in the market for a few min-
utes before someone began
driving away with the SUV.
Once the thief realized
the toddler was in the back-
seat, he drove back, berated
the woman for leaving her
child unattended, told the
woman to take the child and
drove away in the stolen
vehicle.
“He actually lectured the
mother for leaving the child
in the car and threatened to
call the police on her,” Hen-
derson said.
Henderson said the
woman did nothing wrong
and was within sight and
sound of the child. He said
the incident served as a
“good reminder to take
extra precaution” with
children.
“Obviously, we’re
thankful he brought the
little one back and had the
decency to do that,” Hen-
derson said.
The vehicle was found
a few hours later in Port-
land, but police still are
earching for the thief. The
suspect was said to be in his
20s or 30s with dark brown
or black braided hair and a
multi-colored face mask.
Police said anyone
with information on the
theft should contact the
department.
— Associated Press
pound that usually attracts
burying beetles to fresh
remains. They also dis-
covered an increase in
another gas from decay
that’s known to deter other
insects that feed on dead
animals.
Next, they dropped off
the dead mice in a Con-
necticut forest. They found
the beetle’s rivals were less
likely to discover the ones
covered in goop.
“If you can deter other
scavengers, even for a little
bit of time, it can buy you
a lot,” said Daniel Rozen,
a biologist at Leiden Uni-
versity in the Netherlands
who was not involved in
the new study.
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
38/30/sn
47/33/s
34/21/c
46/34/pc
47/35/pc
45/28/pc
41/29/sn
42/23/pc
37/26/sn
49/33/pc
48/37/pc
36/22/c
48/37/c
45/30/pc
35/19/s
43/28/s
32/20/pc
36/25/sn
Hi/Lo/W
38/24/pc
47/37/pc
33/20/s
47/30/s
46/38/pc
44/34/pc
42/21/s
39/26/s
39/26/s
46/38/pc
49/36/s
41/20/s
47/35/c
44/35/pc
31/24/pc
46/32/s
32/21/s
36/26/s
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice
ANTHONY LAKES
PHILLIPS LAKE
Mostly cloudy
Partly sunny
30
13
35
19
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Partly sunny
A snow shower
34
23
33
18
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
A bit of p.m. snow
Partly sunny
30
12
32
19
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
A few fl urries
A snow squall
36
24
36
26
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Periods of sun
Partly sunny
39
22
37
25