COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TuESDAY, JAnuARY 4, 2022
Half-sister’s apperance brings back bad memories
Shyla wants me to visit her and
video-call her like we are close.
When she asks questions about
my mother, I’m honest because
I refuse to create a person who
didn’t exist. The woman was a
monster.
I do not want a relationship
with this sister, or to have to
talk about my abuser for the
rest of my life. That chapter is
closed. Shyla makes me feel
horrible because I haven’t met
her yet. I don’t want to meet her.
Other adoptees I have spoken to
chide me on this, saying Shyla
“has a right” to her birth family.
Advice, please. — FREAKING
OUT IN NORTH CAROLINA
DEAR FREAKING OUT:
You have given your half-sister
what information you could.
DEAR ABBY: A year ago,
I was contacted by a half-
sister I’ll call “Shyla,” who my
mother placed for adoption at
birth. My mother passed away
five years ago. She was a hor-
rible mother who physically,
verbally and emotionally abused
my brother and me. Giving
Shyla up was the best thing she
ever did. I have spent years in
therapy to work through my
painful childhood.
Shyla barreled in like a train.
I was honest with her about our
mother and how I grew up. But
“Charlie,” has serious health
issues. My husband was sick for
five years prior to his death.
Charlie gets upset when I
talk about being interested in
starting to date. He thinks I am
going to abandon him again and
that I should pay more atten-
tion to reconnecting with my
children than trying to develop
a new relationship. I don’t see
why I can’t have both.
Charlie refuses to leave the
house, so taking him out to do
things is not an option. I don’t
think he loves me; I feel he
just wants to control me. My
other children are supportive,
but they are independent. Am
I wrong for wanting to pursue
life outside my home and grown
children? — ATTEMPTING
Regardless of what “other adop-
tees” are telling you, you are
not obligated to have more con-
tact with this half-sister than
you are comfortable with. If she
asks to meet again, tell her it
has taken years of therapy to get
past what was done to you and
your brother, and that talking
with her is bringing back all of
that trauma, which is why you
do not wish to have further con-
tact with her. If she persists
after that, block her.
DEAR ABBY: I am a
46-year-old widow. My hus-
band of 18 years passed away
14 months ago. My three chil-
dren from a previous marriage,
which ended because of abuse,
are adults. Two of them are still
in the house, and one, my son
TO GO FORWARD
DEAR ATTEMPTING:
You aren’t wrong for wanting
companionship, and I’m not
referring to the kind you can get
from your children. If Charlie
is unable to live independently
and needs constant supervi-
sion, you should be discussing
options for him such as respite
care, so you can have a break.
Because you mentioned that
he has serious health issues,
what are the plans for him if
you should predecease him?
This is an issue that should be
hashed out before there is a
crisis, so there will be no sur-
prises and Charlie can be reas-
sured, which may allay his fears
and help him to become less
needy.
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Crews rescue 21 people on stuck tram cars in New Mexico
first rescued 20 people stranded
in one car and several hours later
rescued a 21st person stranded by
themselves in a second car.
All the people on the two cars
were employees of the Sandia
Peak Aerial Tramway or a moun-
taintop restaurant, and the 20
in one car were being ferried
down to the base of the moun-
tains at the end of their workdays,
Arguelles said.
The other employee had been
heading up the mountain to pro-
vide overnight security when the
tram system shut down Dec. 31
By MARTHA BELLISLE
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
New Mexico search and rescue
crews used ropes and helicop-
ters Saturday, Jan. 1, to rescue
21 people who were stranded
overnight in two tram cars after
an iced-over cable caused the
cars to get stuck high up in the
Sandia Mountains overlooking
Albuquerque.
Lt. Robert Arguelles a Ber-
nalillo County Fire Department
spokesperson, said that crews
due to icing, Arguelles said.
There were no reported inju-
ries among those stranded,
Arguelles said. “More just pretty
frustrated.”
To rescue the 20 people in the
one car, operators were able to
move it to a nearby support tower
more than halfway up the moun-
tain, and search and rescue per-
sonnel early Jan. 1 hiked to the
area and climbed the tower to
deliver blankets and other sup-
plies to those inside the heated
car, Arguelles said.
Search and rescue personnel
over several hours used ropes
and other equipment to lower the
stranded employees about 85 feet
to the ground before escorting
them to a nearby landing zone in
the steep and rocky terrain where
the tower was located, Arguelles
said.
The 20 people were then fer-
ried by helicopter several at a
time to the base of the mountains,
he said.
Arguelles said the second car
with the one employee aboard
was higher up the mountain and
at location where the car was too
high above the ground to lower
people by ropes.
But the tram system was able
to inch the second car down the
cable to the rescue site at the sup-
port tower, and rescuers then used
ropes to lower the 21st person
as was done with the others,
Arguelles said.
Brian Coon, a tramway system
manager, said there was an
unusually fast accumulation of
ice on one of the cables that made
it droop below the tram, making
it dangerous to keep going,
KOB-TV reported.
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AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
37/42
Kennewick
36/41
St. Helens
37/42
TIllamook
35/38
35/39
39/44
38/45
Condon
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
Intermittent
snow, 2-4”
A bit of morning
snow
Snow and rain,
2-4”
Cloudy with a
little snow
Times of clouds
and sun
38 31
40 27
34 15
Eugene
0
2
2
42/47
38 37
42 31
42 26
0
2
3
Comfort Index™
La Grande
0
30 32 27
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
0
0
0
26 29 22
Comfort Index™
0
40 30
39 26
0
2
4
0
ALMANAC
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Sunday
Low Sunday
High: 88°
Low: -41°
Wettest: 2.76”
19°
0°
24°
17°
23°
16°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Sunday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
0.00
0.00
0.05
0.00
0.05
Trace
Trace
0.11
Trace
0.11
0.00
0.00
0.21
0.00
0.21
HAY INFORMATION WEDNESDAY
80%
WSW at 3 to 6 mph
0.1
0.01
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Monday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
48/53
1% of capacity
22% of capacity
17% of capacity
17% of capacity
16% of capacity
19% of capacity
SUN & MOON
TUE.
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
WED.
7:32 a.m. 7:32 a.m.
4:23 p.m. 4:24 p.m.
9:34 a.m. 10:08 a.m.
6:49 p.m. 8:08 p.m.
MOON PHASES
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Sunday)
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
A storm on Jan. 4, 1982, drenched San
Francisco, Calif., with 12 inches of rain and
dumped 10 feet of snow on Lake Tahoe in
just two days. The extreme storminess was
blamed on a strong El Nino.
779 cfs
0 cfs
15 cfs
104 cfs
N.A.
33 cfs
First
Full
Last
New
recliners
Jan Mayfair
9
Jan
17 and
Jan offi
25 ce chairs
Jan 31
Brothers
Beaver Marsh
45/52
Grants Pass
Silver Lake
Jordan Valley
35/37
Frenchglen
Paisley
36/41
34/42
Klamath Falls
35/43
Hi/Lo/W
42/38/r
39/35/r
37/32/sh
52/48/r
39/31/sn
51/50/r
46/42/r
34/24/sn
31/24/sn
47/44/r
35/23/c
38/32/r
36/26/sn
36/29/sf
31/22/sn
29/23/c
43/36/c
41/33/c
Hi/Lo/W
50/43/r
45/41/r
43/39/r
52/45/r
43/32/c
56/49/r
52/47/r
37/36/sn
40/35/r
54/49/r
37/34/i
41/39/r
40/38/sn
46/41/c
40/33/sn
37/33/sn
43/35/c
41/33/c
Grand View
Arock
34/37
36/38
Lakeview
32/41
McDermitt
37/38
RECREATION FORECAST WEDNESDAY
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
Diamond
34/38
38/40
Shown is Wednesday’s weather. Temperatures are Tuesday night’s lows and Wednesday’s highs.
THU.
Boise
34/37
Fields
43/49
WED.
Juntura
35/42
32/40
36/45
Medford
Brookings
32/39
31/39
46/52
48/52
Ontario
29/33
Chiloquin
North Bend
Lakeview
Astoria
WEATHER HISTORY
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
Powers
Huntington
Burns
32/38
34/44
Roseburg
28/34
31/37
Seneca
38/44
46/51
OREGON
High: 53°
Low: -8°
Wettest: 0.09”
32/36
35/39
Oakridge
Council
25/35
John Day
34/39
Bend
Coos Bay
Immokalee, Fla.
Celina, Minn.
Bainbridge, Ga.
26/29
34/38
Elkton
SUNDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
Sisters
Florence
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.
25/33
Baker City
Redmond
42/47
44/49
Halfway
Granite
40/46
Newport
45/49
41 34
30/33
36/43
42/47
Corvallis
Enterprise
26/29
30/32
Monument
32/36
Idanha
Salem
TONIGHT
25 35 23
Elgin
29/31
La Grande
31/34
Maupin
Baker City
26/32
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
31/33
Hood River
28/33
39/44
Lewiston
Walla Walla
25/29
Vancouver
36/41
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
WED.
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
THU.
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
33/27/c 39/38/sn
41/38/c 51/47/r
30/24/sn 38/35/r
49/46/r 50/46/c
47/45/r 51/46/r
40/35/c 48/41/r
39/32/c 39/37/c
31/26/c 35/31/i
33/22/sf 36/35/sn
44/42/sh 52/46/r
53/52/r 55/49/r
39/35/c 47/40/c
52/49/r 54/50/r
47/42/r 55/47/r
22/15/c 28/27/i
39/33/c 40/36/r
30/26/sf 41/34/r
32/26/sf 41/36/i
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
A bit of a.m. snow
A bit of a.m. snow
22
17
31
22
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
A bit of a.m. snow
A bit of a.m. snow
26
20
37
27
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
A bit of a.m. snow
A bit of a.m. snow
21
15
27
22
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
A bit of a.m. snow
A snow shower
31
22
33
26
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
A bit of a.m. snow
A bit of a.m. snow
35
23
32
27
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