COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
FRIDAY, DECEmBER 31, 2021
Dinner-and-drinks invite makes teetotaler uneasy
another bottle to share. I think
Dan should give Ken a heads-up
beforehand. Dan thinks it would
be rude to refuse a drink and
doesn’t want to have to go into an
explanation as to why we don’t.
We don’t care if the people we
are with drink alcohol. Is there
a polite way to decline without
offending? Should it be ahead
of time or at the restaurant? —
RESPECTFULLY DECLINE
DEAR RESPECTFULLY: It
is perfectly acceptable to refuse
alcohol. For various reasons, many
people forgo “the grape” (and the
harder stuff) these days. If a server
asks your husband what bev-
erage he would like, your husband
should state his preference — be
it sparkling water, a soft drink, a
juice drink, etc. There is no shame
DEAR ABBY: My husband,
“Dan,” and I do not consume
alcohol, mostly because of our
family history. Several years ago
while Dan was at a work event, a
consultant, “Ken,” took him and
some co-workers out for dinner.
Ken ordered a bottle of wine for
the table. Not wanting to cause
a scene, my husband drank the
glass poured for him. Now Ken
has invited Dan and me to join
him and his wife for an evening
out, and he wants to “meet early
for drinks.”
Dan is sure Ken will buy
body? I was left feeling embar-
rassed, angry, and on top of that,
enormous.
I know I shouldn’t care what
other people say or think, but
pregnancy is also a hormonal
time, and I can’t seem to get past
her nasty comment. What ever
happened to “If you don’t have
something nice to say, don’t say
anything at all”? A simple “Con-
gratulations,” or “How exciting!”
would have been a far more appro-
priate and well-received response.
I’m sending this in the hope
that ignorant people who say
things like this will read it and
realize how hurtful their com-
ments can be to expectant
mothers. Also, how should I
respond if someone else makes
a similar comment? — TEN
in it, and it isn’t rude. That the
host is providing alcohol is not a
mandate to indulge, particularly
if the guest has a problem with it.
If Ken pushes, Dan should simply
tell him the two of you generally
prefer not to drink alcohol.
DEAR ABBY: I am 30 weeks
pregnant with my second child.
I have always been slender, so
like many expecting women, I
am somewhat self-conscious of
my changing (and ever-growing)
figure. I was at the park today
with my 2-year-old son when an
older woman smiled and asked
me when I was due. When I told
her, she replied, “Oh, my God.
Are you sure there aren’t twins
in there?” I thought her comment
was appalling. Since when is it
OK to comment on someone else’s
MORE WEEKS TO GO
DEAR TEN MORE
WEEKS: Two responses come
immediately to mind. The first
would be to tell the person who
made the thoughtless comment,
“Wow, that was tactless!” Or say,
“Nope. It’s just one healthy baby
in there.” Of course, a third option
is to say nothing and walk away.
DEAR READERS: I’m
wishing you a happy, healthy
2022. Whew, folks, I can’t believe
we made it so quickly through
2021. I will join you tonight
toasting a new year that will be a
less stressful year for all of us. If
you are celebrating this evening,
please take measures to protect
not only your own health but also
the safety of others. — LOVE,
ABBY
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Widespread flight cancellations continue as omicron spreads
is normally held in February,
with semifinal and final rounds
at Madison Square Garden. Last
year, it was moved to June and
held outdoors at the Lyndhurst
estate in suburban Tarrytown,
north of New York City. Specta-
tors weren’t allowed, and human
participants had to be vaccinated
or newly tested.
A Pekingese named Wasabi
won best in show, beating out a
whippet, a French bulldog, an
old English sheepdog, a German
shorthaired pointer, a Samoyed
and a West Highland white terrier.
With COVID-19 cases now
exploding around the U.S., the
postponement comes less than
two weeks after more than 8,500
canines, owners and handlers
converged for another top U.S.
dog show, the American Kennel
Club National Championship in
Orlando, Florida.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Hundreds of
flights were cancelled Wednesday,
Dec. 29, as the omicron variant
creates havoc both for travelers
and for airlines that are having
to cobble together flight crews
as pilots, flight attendants and
ground crews become infected or
are exposed to others who have
been.
More than 850 flights were
cancelled by midday Dec. 29 and
that number has ticked higher
throughout the day, according
to data from the flight-tracking
website FlightAware. There were
nearly 1,300 cancellations for
flights entering, leaving or inside
the U.S. Dec. 28, and about 1,500
on Dec. 27.
Cancellations began to spike
the day before Christmas during
what is already a buzzing pace for
airlines this time of year.
Delta, United and JetBlue have
all said that the omicron variant
was causing enough staffing
issues that flights were cancelled.
SkyWest led U.S. carriers with
195 cancellations, followed by
United with 158 and Delta with
103. SkyWest, a regional airline
based in Utah, has suffered an ele-
vated level of cancellations after
severe weather hit several of its
hubs, but it’s reporting the same
staffing issues due to COVID-19.
The Pacific Northwest was
slammed with cold and heavy
snow over the weekend. Among
U.S. airports, Seattle-Tacoma
had the highest percentage of
incoming and outgoing flights
cancelled Wednesday, according
to FlightAware.
Omicron has intensified
already significant staffing issues
for airlines, which winnowed
workforces in 2020 as air travel
After almost 2 years,
water park reopens at
Disney World
collapsed, only to be broadsided
when vaccination rates jumped
and millions of people felt com-
fortable flying again this year.
That could translate to travel
headaches for hundreds of thou-
sands of people if cancellations
maintain the current pace into
the weekend. The Transportation
Security Administration expects
the Monday after New Year’s will
be one of the busiest days of the
holiday season.
According to TSA checkpoint
data, the numbers of people flying
this holiday season far exceeds
weather
| Go to AccuWeather.com
last year — before COVID-19
vaccinations were available — but
still trails 2019 traveler numbers.
it was postponing its 2022 event,
scheduled for late January, to later
in the year. A new date wasn’t
given.
“The health and safety of all
participants in the Westminster
Kennel Club Dog Show are para-
mount,” the group said in a state-
ment. “We appreciate the com-
munity’s continued interest and
support as we delay the show
to a time when we can safely
convene.”
The 144-year-old dog show
attracts thousands of competi-
tors from around the U.S. and
Virus postpones
Westminster Kennel Club’s
annual dog show
NEW YORK — The West-
minster Kennel Club’s annual dog
show has become the latest event
to be postponed or canceled in
New York as the number of coro-
navirus cases surges.
The club’s board of governors
announced Wednesday, Dec. 29,
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
27/45
Kennewick
19/39
St. Helens
18/36
Hood River
12/31
13/25
22/39
21/38
Condon
Baker City
-2
Comfort Index™
La Grande
SUN
3
19
9
MON
TUE
A bit of snow
and rain
25 25
36 26
Eugene
27/42
0
0
0
24 14
23 20
32 32
41 32
0
0
0
1
34 21
38 35
41 34
0
3
0
0
0
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Wednesday
Low Wednesday
High: 89°
Low: -33°
Wettest: 2.43”
21°
-4°
23°
3°
25°
4°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Wednesday
Trace
Month to date
0.36
Normal month to date 0.80
Year to date
5.37
Normal year to date
9.01
0.03
0.83
1.77
10.81
17.29
0.02
4.65
3.53
26.69
25.71
HAY INFORMATION SATURDAY
30%
SSE at 6 to 12 mph
1.3
0.03
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Thursday)
1% of capacity
21% of capacity
16% of capacity
17% of capacity
15% of capacity
17% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Wednesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
Burnt River near Unity
Umatilla River near Gibbon
Minam River at Minam
Powder River near Richland
Brookings
Meacham
Ontario
898 cfs
0 cfs
15 cfs
139 cfs
161 cfs
24 cfs
SUN & MOON
FRI.
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
7:32 a.m.
4:19 p.m.
5:19 a.m.
2:15 p.m.
SAT.
7:32 a.m.
4:20 p.m.
6:40 a.m.
3:07 p.m.
MOON PHASES
New
Jan 2
First
Jan 9
Full
Jan 17
Brookings
Last
Jan 25
Jordan Valley
Paisley
Frenchglen
9/26
Diamond
Grand View
Arock
8/24
8/22
1/20
Fields
25/37
6/26
Klamath Falls
8/25
Lakeview
3/24
McDermitt
Shown is Saturday’s weather. Temperatures are Friday night’s lows and Saturday’s highs.
0/20
RECREATION FORECAST SATURDAY
SUN.
City
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
Astoria
45/40/r 46/40/r
Bend
37/28/c 41/39/c
Boise
18/2/pc 21/13/pc
Brookings
48/35/c 49/44/pc
Burns
19/-2/pc 22/8/pc
Coos Bay
49/35/c 50/48/c
Corvallis
40/29/c 43/41/r
Council
18/8/c 18/9/pc
Elgin
23/10/c 25/16/pc
Eugene
42/30/c 46/42/c
Hermiston
24/15/c 26/19/pc
Hood River
31/13/sn 31/26/c
Imnaha
28/20/c 33/28/pc
John Day
30/19/c 36/26/pc
Joseph
24/19/c 34/23/pc
Kennewick
23/15/c 26/18/c
Klamath Falls 25/7/pc 32/24/pc
Lakeview
24/6/pc 28/16/c
Boise
5/21
8/30
8/29
Medford
33/48
Juntura
-1/21
2/18
25/40
SAT.
A snowstorm in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31,
1982, brought the monthly total there to
18 inches, which is 14 inches more than
the town usually gets in an entire winter.
Burns
-4/19
Silver Lake
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
OREGON
Ontario
-2/16
9/28
28/43
Grants Pass
Harlingen, Texas
Hallock, Minn.
Oxnard, Calif.
High: 48°
Low: 6°
Wettest: 0.22”
Beaver Marsh
Chiloquin
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
30/50
9/31
5/29
Roseburg
Powers
Brothers
19/41
Coos Bay
Huntington
3/27
15/37
Oakridge
-5/18
2/19
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
Council
-2/14
10/30
13/38
Florence
WED. EXTREMES
ALMANAC
0/25
John Day
9/32
Sisters
31/49
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.
0/16
Baker City
Redmond
31/45
33/48
Halfway
Granite
24/40
Newport
30/43
23 14
1/29
18/43
25/42
Corvallis
Enterprise
0/23
-2/24
Monument
11/32
Idanha
Salem
Cloudy, snow;
chilly
0
0
0
Comfort Index™
14
0
-2
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
SAT
-1/23
La Grande
6/27
Maupin
Cloudy and cold High clouds and
very cold
Elgin
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
5/20
3/17
-1/22
TIllamook
Partly cloudy
and frigid
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Walla Walla
8/23
Vancouver
17/38
27/45
TONIGHT
ORLANDO, Fla. — The
big waves are returning to Walt
Disney World.
The theme park resort said
Tuesday, Dec. 28, that it will
reopen its Typhoon Lagoon water
park after an almost two-year
hiatus.
The water park closed in
March 2020 as the coronavirus
started spreading throughout the
U.S. While Disney World’s other
theme parks reopened in summer
2020 with virus safety protocols
in place, the water park stayed
closed.
Visitors to Typhoon Lagoon
will be able to swim in its massive
wave pool, slide down its water
coaster and meander down its
lazy river starting on Jan. 2.
Kathy Willens/The Associated Press, File
The handler of a Samoyed runs with her dog before the judges in the working group category at the Westminster Kennel Club
dog show, on June 13, 2021, in Tarrytown, N.Y. The Westminster Kennel Club’s annual dog show has become the latest event to
be postponed or canceled in New York as the number of coronavirus cases surges.
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
SAT.
SUN.
Hi/Lo/W
20/14/c
39/33/c
23/12/c
37/23/c
45/37/c
37/34/c
16/4/pc
20/15/c
22/9/c
39/29/c
50/31/c
32/18/c
43/29/c
42/32/c
14/10/c
25/17/sn
27/15/c
17/13/c
Hi/Lo/W
32/23/pc
44/39/sh
25/22/pc
38/34/pc
47/43/r
42/37/sh
18/8/pc
27/19/c
35/30/pc
44/41/sh
49/46/r
39/33/c
46/43/c
45/44/r
25/21/sf
28/23/c
34/24/pc
26/25/pc
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
Not as cold
Low clouds
17
12
24
6
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Cloudy
Cloudy and cold
19
17
24
11
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Low clouds
Cloudy
14
5
23
12
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Low clouds
Cloudy and cold
24
19
27
17
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Cloudy and frigid
Cloudy and cold
14
3
24
14