Page 6B
East Oregonian
PEANUTS
COFFEE BREAK
Friday, June 30, 2017
DEAR ABBY
BY CHARLES M . SCHULZ
Suicide rate among older
men is overlooked tragedy
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
BY LYNN JOHNSTON
B.C.
BY JOHNNY HART
PICKLES
BY BRIAN CRANE
Dear Abby: My elderly father’s
• Firearms in the house.
dearest friend committed suicide
SIGNS TO LOOK FOR include:
yesterday. He shot himself in the head.
• Lack of energy;
The family wasn’t even aware that
• Lack of motivation;
he was depressed. Dad has lost three
• Less interest in eating or getting
wonderful friends this way in recent
out of the house;
years. He’s heartbroken thinking that
• Loss of interest in activities the
his buddies were secretly suffering.
person once enjoyed.
According to the Centers for
A common mistake people
Jeanne
Disease Control, the rate of suicide Phillips make is thinking these things are
for men 70 and older in the U.S. is
happening because a person is old. If
Advice
more than double the overall suicide
you observe a change in someone’s
rate. Yet, with all of our suicide
behavior, it is all right to ask the
prevention efforts, this high-risk group seems person what’s going on. Keep in mind that
to be ignored.
people who feel connected are less likely
How can we help prevent these tragedies? to harm themselves. Isolation is the enemy.
What are the signs of depression in older Visit them, or take them out so they won’t
men? And what can families do if they feel alone.
suspect depression in “Dad,” “Gramps” or
It’s also important to help seniors meet
“Uncle John”? Thank you for any help you others they can relate to, particularly if their
can provide. — Van In Massachusetts
friends are dying off. A senior center can
Dear Van: Please convey to your father provide a place to socialize and meet new
how sorry I am for his loss. I think the first people. Exercise is important, too, and many
thing people have to remember is that men in senior centers provide exercise facilities.
general do not manifest depression the way
Equally important is volunteering. Older
women do because women are more open men are valuable assets to the community and
about sharing their feelings. Men, particularly should be encouraged to regard themselves
older men, were not raised to do that because that way. They have a lifetime of experience
they were taught that expressing emotion was to offer, which should not be wasted. By
“weak,” so they stay silent. And men who helping these men get and stay connected,
were once breadwinners, active and vital, can you could actually be saving a life.
become depressed when they retire.
A final thought: As people age, they often
Among the RISK FACTORS are:
have physical problems that are associated
• Having lost a wife or significant other;
with depression. (Heart disease is one.) If you
• Being alone and isolated;
need advice about how to approach someone
• Concern about being a burden;
about your worries, an excellent resource
• Substance abuse (alcohol or prescription is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
drugs);
The toll-free number is 800-273-8255.
DAYS GONE BY
BEETLE BAILEY
GARFIELD
BLONDIE
BY MORT WALKER
BY JIM DAVIS
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
June 30, 1917
Dr. H. H. Hattery, well known Pendleton
physician and city health officer, yesterday
received a telegram from Washington, D.C.,
asking him if he would accept a call at once
for service in the big Red Cross hospital in
France. The position carries no compensa-
tion other than expenses and at this time Dr.
Hattery cannot see his way clear to accept.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
June 30, 1967
It was her first solo. And it was so
outstanding that, combined with beauty
and personality, Chris Beach was selected
to represent Umatilla County at the Miss
Oregon Pageant, July 5-9 at Seaside. “Chris
had all the ideas,” said Rod Esselstyn,
who has been working with her. “She’s
combining ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and
“On the Street Where You Live.’ We feel
it’s a good selection because it gives her an
opportunity to show off her cockney accent
and the quality of her voice, too.” Although
the pageant performance was her first solo
appearance, Chris has taken lessons from the
Ted Roy Studio and belonged to a quartet of
girls, the Tea Slippers. They filled several
local singing engagements during the two
years they performed together.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
June 30, 1992
Large amounts of hazardous chlorine
were released over Hermiston early this
morning after a fire started in a chlorine
storage building at the Hermiston High
School swimming pool. No injuries were
reported, but the fire and ensuing chlo-
rine-contaminated cloud caused some
anxious moments when it wafted over the
northeast area of town about 5 a.m., Fire
Marshal Pat Ward said. Police used sirens
and public address systems to caution area
residents the contaminated cloud can cause
respiratory problems. Police and the local
radio station first advised area residents to
evacuate their homes, then recommend resi-
dents stay inside with their windows closed
and air conditioners turned off.
BY DEAN YOUNG AND STAN DRAKE
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
DILBERT
THE WIZARD OF ID
LUANN
ZITS
BY SCOTT ADAMS
BY BRANT PARKER AND JOHNNY HART
BY GREG EVANS
BY JERRY SCOTT AND JIM BORGMAN
Today is the 181st day of
2017. There are 184 days left
in the year.
Today’s Highlight in
History:
On June 30, 1997, the
Union Jack was lowered for
the last time over Govern-
ment House in Hong Kong
as Britain prepared to hand
the colony back to China at
midnight after ruling it for
156 years.
On this date:
In 1859, French acrobat
Charles Blondin walked back
and forth on a tightrope above
the gorge of Niagara Falls
as thousands of spectators
watched.
In 1865, eight people,
including Mary Surratt and
Dr. Samuel Mudd, were
convicted by a military
commission of conspiring
with John Wilkes Booth,
the assassin of President
Abraham Lincoln. (Four
defendants, including Surratt,
were executed; Mudd was
sentenced to life in prison, but
was pardoned by President
Andrew Johnson in 1869.)
In 1892, small frogs rained
down on Moseley, England,
south
of
Birmingham.
(According to an account
quoted in the U.S. Agricul-
ture Department’s Monthly
Weather Review for May
1917, the frogs, described as
“almost white in color,” were
found “scattered about several
gardens” and had “evidently
been absorbed in a small
waterspout” during a storm.)
In 1908, the Tunguska
Event took place in Russia as
an asteroid exploded above
Siberia, leaving 800 square
miles of scorched or blown-
down trees.
In 1917, singer, actress
and activist Lena Horne was
born in Brooklyn, New York.
In 1936, the Civil War
novel “Gone with the Wind”
by Margaret Mitchell was first
published by The Macmillan
Co. in New York.
In 1977, President Jimmy
Carter announced he had
decided against production
of the Rockwell B-1 bomber,
saying it was too costly.
(However, the B-1 was later
revived by President Ronald
Reagan.)
Today’s
Birthdays:
Actress Lea Massari is 84.
Actress Nancy Dussault is 81.
Songwriter Tony Hatch is 78.
Singer Glenn Shorrock is 73.
Actor Leonard Whiting is 67.
Jazz musician Stanley Clarke
is 66. Actor David Garrison
is 65. Rock musician Hal
Lindes (Dire Straits) is 64.
Actor-comedian David Alan
Grier is 61. Actor Vincent
D’Onofrio is 58. Actress
Deirdre Lovejoy is 55. Actor
Rupert Graves is 54. Boxer
Mike Tyson is 51. Actor
Peter Outerbridge is 51.
Rock musician Tom Drum-
mond (Better Than Ezra) is
48. Actor Brian Bloom is 47.
Actor Brian Vincent is 47.
Actress Monica Potter is 46.
Actress Molly Parker is 45.
Actor Rick Gonzalez is 38.
Rhythm-and-blues
singer
Fantasia is 33. Olympic gold
medal swimmer Michael
Phelps is 32.
Thought for Today: “I
believe the future is only the
past again, entered through
another gate.” — Sir Arthur
Wing Pinero, English drama-
tist (1855-1934).
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
BY DANA SIMPSON
BIG NATE
BY LINCOLN PEIRCE