A8
COFFEE BREAK
East Oregonian
Saturday, February 20, 2021
DEAR ABBY
Story of wrongful conviction is shared without permission
Dear Abby: I’m a gay man in my late 40s,
partnered with a man in his late 50s. There
are a lot of issues from my past that I try hard
to move beyond and let go of. I was wrongly
accused and convicted of a crime I didn’t
commit, for which I was sentenced to life in
prison.
I sat in prison seven years before I was
able to prove my innocence and regain my
freedom. Even then, I was forced to accept
certain requirements to keep my freedom,
regardless of being proven innocent. Unfor-
tunately, I’m fi nding it diffi cult because my
partner keeps sharing my story with people
who are complete strangers to me. When they
meet me, the fi rst words out of their mouths are
things like: “You poor man, I’m so sorry,” or
“Wow, I can’t believe you went through that,”
and “Man, you must be a strong person to have
gotten through that.”
How do I move past this, if he keeps telling
Dear Frustrated: You not only have to
people a story that is not his to tell, but mine
speak up, but you also have to be heard. That
to disclose if I choose to do so? The
your much older partner dismisses
shame and embarrassment of facing
your feelings is controlling and
this trauma of my past on a regular
condescending. He has no right to
basis isn’t healthy for me. How can I
disclose very personal information
get him to understand that he needs
about you with strangers.
to stop doing it?
You wrote that this is your fi rst
I’m afraid to say anything to him
relationship. If this continues, it
about it. He dismisses my feelings
may not be your last. Present it to
your partner in exactly these terms.
most of the time when I bring up
J EANNE
things he does that upset me.
Couples counseling may save your
P HILLIPS
I love this man with all of my
relationship, but only if the balance
ADVICE
heart. He was one of only two people
of power is adjusted.
Dear Abby: I was friends with
who stood by me during my trauma
and made it possible to prove my innocence.
my guy before getting into a relationship with
He was also my “fi rst.” My love for him has
him seven years ago. The problem is, I feel
only grown over the years, but this issue of my
like we are not growing. He is still living with
story being revealed has to stop. — Frustrated
his mom, we have no plans for the future, etc.
in the Midwest
At least once a year, I ask him how he
views our relationship, but I only get the same
response that things are fi ne the way they
are. I have now started back in college while
maintaining a full-time job, but I’m so frus-
trated I feel like giving up on the relationship
and moving on. I’m actually stuck between a
breakup and keeping a friendship. Any advice?
— Uncertain in Alabama
Dear Uncertain: Of course your “guy”
thinks things are fi ne the way they are. They
are — for him. I’m delighted you decided to
return to college and get your degree. By doing
so, you are taking control of your life, which is
moving in the right direction.
Please understand that you may not only
outgrow the relationship, but also this young
man. By all means, keep him as a friend if you
can. Be a role model if he’s able to learn from
your example, but continue to broaden your
horizons.
DAYS GONE BY
100 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Feb. 20, 1921
“That’s pretty stiff,” said George Travis. “I’ll just add six
months to that,” said the judge. Travis was inspired to his
remark when Judge T. M. Schannep, in county court this
morning, imposed a fi ne of $200 for a conviction on the charge
of having liquor in his possession unlawfully. The judge was
inspired by Travis’ seeming impertinence. The jail sentence
was later reduced to three months. Travis fell for the hold
game. He took $7.50 from a state prohibition offi cer, bought
him a pint of whisky and delivered it. He was arrested and
taken to the county jail. Before getting behind the bars, Travis
broke and ran through the jail yard and behind the Oregon
Lumber yard. The offi cer and deputy sheriffs Lavender and
Ridgway surrounded Travis and with two guns pointed at
him he “reached for the moon.” He started serving time today.
50 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Feb. 20, 1971
He handed me a dry, forked branch of a mulberry bush.
“Try it yourself,” he said. The stick bent lightly when I held
it near a streaming faucet. Then the water witch placed his
hands on mine and the forked stick almost yanked itself out
of my hands. The world is full of water witches, and Umatilla
County is no exception. Here are people who do routinely
what appear to be almost acts of magic, although none of
them think of it as magic. Many of them locate wells. Others
can fi nd water, metal or lost objects of any kind, including
people. “Witching” for wanted things “is as old as time,”
said the Pendleton man who introduced me to the power his
hands could generate in the dry mulberry branch. How does
witching work? “An ionic fi eld,” says one water witch. “Extra
sensory perception,” says another. “Static electricity? Elec-
tromagnetic force? I don’t know, but it works,” says William
Jordan of Stanfi eld, who uses a pair of brass welding rods to
fi nd not only water but metal.
25 Years Ago
From the East Oregonian
Feb. 20, 1996
Several days a week Pat Struthers wheels his light blue
pickup through the twisty back roads of Eastern Oregon
wheat country making house calls. “It’s virgin territory
pretty much,” says Struthers, during a drive from Heppner to
Hardman. “I’d say every other home probably has one.” That
would be a personal computer. Struthers and partner Steve
Amsberry serve some of Eastern Oregon’s most rural house-
holds as well as its small cities. The two own Eastern Oregon
Computer Consulting, a Pendleton-based business that takes
computer know-how where it’s needed. Business has tripled
each of the last three years from about $15,000 in part-time
gross sales to $150,000 last year. The company’s services are
extensive, from hooking up a new computer to designing web
pages for the Internet and teaching classes. Computers have
been a hobby for Struthers since high school and Amsberry’s
skills began with a home-taught crash course. “You can’t go
to school to learn this,” Amsberry said. “You have to have it
in your hands.”
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
On Feb. 20, 1905, the
U.S. Supreme Court, in
Jacobson v. Massachusetts,
upheld, 7-2, compulsory
vaccination laws intended
to protect the public’s health.
In 1792, President George
Washington signed an act
creating the United States
Post Offi ce Department.
In 1839, Congress prohib-
ited dueling in the District of
Columbia.
I n 1933, Cong ress
proposed the 21st Amend-
ment to the U.S. Constitution
to repeal Prohibition.
In 1942, Lt. Edward
“Butch” O’Hare became the
U.S. Navy’s fi rst fl ying ace
of World War II by shooting
down fi ve Japanese bombers
while defending the aircraft
carrier USS Lexington in the
South Pacifi c.
In 1965, A mer ica’s
Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed
on the moon, as planned,
after sending back thou-
sands of pictures of the lunar
surface.
In 1987, a bomb left by
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski
exploded behind a computer
store in Salt Lake City, seri-
ously injuring store owner
Gary Wright. Soviet author-
ities released Jewish activist
Josef Begun.
In 1998, Tara Lipinski
of the U.S. won the ladies’
figure skating gold medal
at the Nagano Olympics;
Michelle Kwan won the
silver.
In 1999, movie reviewer
Gene Siskel died at a hospi-
tal outside Chicago at age 53.
In 2003, a fire sparked
by pyrotechnics broke out
during a concert by the group
Great White at The Station
nightclub in West Warwick,
Rhode Island, killing 100
people and injuring about
200 others.
In 2007, in a victory for
President George W. Bush, a
divided federal appeals court
ruled that Guantanamo Bay
detainees could not use the
U.S. court system to challenge
their indefi nite imprisonment.
In 2010, Alexander
Haig, a soldier and states-
man who’d held high posts
in three Republican admin-
istrations and some of the
U.S. military’s top jobs, died
in Baltimore at 85.
Today’s Bir thdays:
Actor Sidney Poitier is 94.
Singer-songwriter Buffy
Sainte-Marie is 80. Rock
musician Billy Zoom (X) is
73. Newspaper heiress Patri-
cia Hearst is 67. Basketball
Hall of Famer Charles Bark-
ley is 58. Model Cindy Craw-
ford is 55. Actor Lili Taylor is
54. Actor Majandra Delfi no
is 40. Comedian Trevor
Noah is 37. Singer Rihanna
is 33.
CHURCH
Featured this Week:
DIRECTORY
Community Worship
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
Iglesia Católica Nuestra
Señora de los Ángeles
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
First United
Methodist
Church
Solid Rock
Community Church
Pendleton
210 NW 9th St. Pendleton Oregon
140 SW 2nd St Hermiston, OR 97838
(Peace Lutheran Church)
541-567-6937
Sunday worship 8:30pm
541-276-2616
Open Hearts,
Open Minds, Open Doors
Patty Nance, pastor
ONLINE and IN-PERSON SERVICES
S U N D AY S
541.276.1894
| 10:00AM
|
712 SW 27TH ST.
www.pendletoncog.com
love God, love people, and make disciples who make disciples
The Salvation Army
Center for Worship & Service
Sunday Worship Service
9:30 - Sunday School
10:30 - Worship Service
Wednesday Bible Study
Worship Service: 11:00AM
Sunday School: 9:45
Pastor Wilbur Clark
5:30 Family Fellowship Meal • 6:00 Bible Study
Community
Presbyterian
Church
PENDLETON
LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH
COME AS YOU ARE
150 SE Emigrant
(541) 276-3369
Sunday Mornings
1st Service: 8:30am
2nd Service: 10:30am
Includes Children’s Services
Redeemer
Episcopal
Church
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
-Presbyterian Church (USA)-
201 SW Dorion Ave.
Pendleton
www.pendletonpresbyterian.com
241 SE Second St. Pendleton
(541)276-3809
www.pendletonepiscopal.org
Worship Service on
Facebook
10:00 am Sundays
Open Hearted...
Open Minded
ok -
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n
9
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at
er P
Sunday Holy
Communion
days
un
edeem 9:00 a.m.
live S of the R
Wednesday
Holy
ming
ch Communion Noon
Strea pal Chur
o
Episc
cebo
M-F Morning Prayer at . 7:00
on Fa a.m. ton
All Are Welcome
FAITH LUTHERAN
CHURCH
in Mission for Christ LCMC
Sunday Worship.........9:00 AM
Bible Study......10:15 AM
Red Lion Hotel
( Oregon Trail Room )
108 S. Main St.
Pendleton
Sunday at 10:30am
PendletonFaithCenter.com
“A Come as
You are Church”
OPEN HEARTS – OPEN DOOR
www.graceandmercylutheran.org
Sunday Worship 8:45 a.m.
Sunday School 10:00 a.m. (Nursery Provided)
Fellowship, Refreshments & Sunday School
Check Out our Facebook Page or
Website for More Information
541-289-4535
Pastor Weston Walker
Grace and Mercy Lutheran Church, ELCA
(First United Methodist Church)
191 E. Gladys Ave. / P.O. Box 1108
Hermiston, Oregon 97838
14 Martin Drive,
Umatilla, OR
922-3250
Worship: 10 AM
Sunday School at 11:30
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
Us
Join
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Join us on ZOOM 9:00 AM Sunday
Email: chuckb@eotnet.net for link
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
Sunday Service: 9am & 6pm
Tuesday Kingdom Seekers: 7pm
Wednesday Bible Study: 7pm
Also Live Stream at PendletonFirst.com
SundayEvenings
Celebrate Recovery: 6:00
We offer: Sunday School • Sign Language
Wednesday Evenings
Interpreters • Nursery • Transportation • & more!
Family Night: 6:00 pm
Pastor Dan Satterwhite
541.377.4252
417 NW 21st St. • Pendleton, OR 97801
www.facebook.com/
PendletonLighthouseChurch
Pendleton First Assembly of God
1911 SE Court Ave. PO Box 728
541.276.6417 pendletonfirst.com
To advertise in the
Church Directory, please contact
Audra Workman 541-564-4538
or email aworkman@eastoregonian.com