8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, MAY 28, 2020
COFFEE BREAK
Weight loss frees woman from mind-numbing drugs
DEAR ABBY: I had weight-loss
surgery a year ago. I’m now off
all medications (high blood pres-
sure, antidepressants, etc.) and
take only one multivitamin daily.
I feel like I’m 25
again. However, I
have also changed
mentally. After many
years of being a
zombie on antide-
pressants, I feel like
I have finally “awakened.”
I come from a dysfunctional,
abusive childhood. My father
abused my mother. I was diag-
nosed with dysthymia years ago,
and I feel the diagnosis was cor-
rect. I now feel my dysthymia has
turned more into anxiety than
depression. I’m no longer afraid
of speaking up and, after 20
LIVESTOCK
Continued from Page 1B
determined the death a
“possible/unknown.”
When biologists
responded to yet another
report of a dead calf on
Telephone Ridge they
found enough evidence
to determine the death of
a 3-month-old calf was
wolf-caused. The live-
stock producer reported
seeing one wolf near his
cows on May 11 near
the location the calf was
later found. The location,
size of bite scrapes, and
severity of the injuries are
similar to those observed
in other calves attacked
by wolves. ODFW
attributed the death to
wolves from the Mount
Emily Pack.
No reports have been
filed in nearly a week and
managers are expecting
that increased human
presence will keep the
wolves at bay. Producers
and tribal staff have
hazed wolves away from
cattle repeatedly.
“One producer has
hazed wolves away from
his herd five or six times,”
years, I actually have opinions of
my own.
Needless to say, my family
(husband, grown children and
in-laws) are not used to this side
of me. I find myself
feeling resentful,
anxious and envious
DEAR
of certain immediate
family and in-law
ABBY
family dynamics
now. I don’t want to
upset my family by being so vocal
and opinionated, but I don’t want
to get back on mind-altering pre-
scriptions either. I also have little
faith that counseling will do much
good. I’m afraid I’ll be pushed
into taking meds again. I feel like
I’m between a rock and a hard
place right now. Any advice?
— A TOUGH SPOT
Rimbach said.
Spring is a good time to
get collars on wolves, and
Rimbach said a wolf in
the North Emily Pack near
Highway 204 was collared
a few weeks ago. Tracking
information indicates
OR-47 is in the Ruckel
Ridge area, but livestock
won’t be turned out in that
area until June 1.
Rimbach said coop-
eration with tribal staff
and the ranchers has been
“spectacular” and antici-
pates the conflict between
wolves and livestock on
Telephone Ridge will sub-
side. Communicating
collar information is part
of the defense strategy.
“My assistant and I
provide collar informa-
tion every single day with
livestock producers,”
Rimbach said.
They also notify
Scheeler or his staff when
a collared wolf is located
on a tribal allotment,
mobilizing wildlife and
range staff to respond
quickly to the site.
“It’s important to have
presence out there to
locate the depredation in a
timely fashion,” Scheeler
said.
DEAR TOUGH SPOT:
Keeping in mind that no one can
force you back on medications if
you don’t want them, I do think
you could benefit from talking
with a licensed mental health pro-
fessional about this.
You have made major changes
in your life, and are no longer the
person you were when you were
prescribed the medications that
made you feel like a zombie.
A mental health professional
can help you to sort out whether
you have a problem or whether
your family members do in
dealing with the new you.
DEAR ABBY: In the future
when I am able, I would like to
travel with a mix of single and
married ladies. I’m in a com-
mitted relationship, and when I
Monitoring wolf
activity is also part of
the tribe’s daily routine
while cattle are on the
allotments.
“We have our regular
staff doing patrols and
talking to operators on
a daily basis,” Scheeler
said.
The tribe has also
hired an additional range
rider to supplement the
riders hired by ranchers,
Scheeler said, and to dis-
suade scavenging. He
said the remnants of
the dead livestock are
removed from the pasture
after an investigation is
completed.
Anticipating that the
reservation would be the
center of wolf activity as
they naturally recolonized
in Oregon from wolves
dispensing from Idaho
and Washington, the tribe
developed its own wolf
management plan. While
Scheeler said the tribe
supports the use of non-
lethal measures, its plan
reflects the state’s plan
which allows a producer
on a tribal allotment to
shoot a wolf caught in the
act of biting, chasing or
harassing livestock.
discussed this with my partner, we
had a difference of opinion.
She believes that happy indi-
viduals in committed relationships
do not travel with other people.
She believes happy couples
should travel together and not
independently. Is that controlling?
I have traveled independently in
prior committed relationships,
and this has never been an issue.
Should I honor her request
or deny it? She is pushing me
to respect this rule and says it
applies to her as well because
she believes “ females” let loose
when they are away from their
significant others. I get the dis-
tinct feeling that if I travel inde-
pendently, there will be an emo-
tional price to pay, or she will
do something in my absence that
SERVICES
Continued from Page 1B
The fiber optic cable
will provide lightning-fast
internet service, Miller
said. He said it is gener-
ally at least 10 times faster
than the DSL internet ser-
vice Ziply Fiber customers
in La Grande now receive.
The fiber optic cable
also can provide phone
and television streaming
services.
Fiber optic systems use
small, flexible strands of
glass encased in a protec-
tive sleeve, known as a
fiber cable, to connect to
the internet.
Eastern Oregon Net Inc.
in La Grande already pro-
vides fiber optic options.
About five years ago, busi-
nesses on Adams Avenue
began receiving fiber optic
from EONI, and busi-
nesses on Washington and
Jefferson avenues started
getting it about a year ago.
The company in July 2019
offered fiber optic cable
to businesses on Cove
Avenue from Cherry Street
to Interstate 84, said EONI
owner Jeff Crews.
EONI installed fiber
will change the dynamics of our
relationship.
— LOVE OR CONTROL
DEAR LOVE: There are
already issues that will change the
dynamics of your relationship —
your partner’s insecurity and need
to control, and your need for some
freedom.
Unless you are laying down
“rules” for her to follow as she is
trying to do to you, step back and
take a second look at this rela-
tionship. Healthy people who love
each other want their partner to
be happy and fulfilled whether
they are together or apart. This
takes trust, self-confidence and
courage. Rather than the wind
beneath your wings, it appears
your partner may be more of an
anchor.
optic internet for house-
holds from Alder Street
to Fourth Street and from
Palmer Avenue to Adams
Avenue in late 2019.
Eastern Oregon Net will
continue installing fiber
optic cable in more resi-
dential areas in the future,
Crews said. He added the
company now is installing
fiber optic cable in Elgin.
Ziply Fiber, in addition
to its fiber optic upgrades,
will continue providing
the services its customers
previously received from
Frontier Communications,
including DSL internet and
copper landline telephone
services.
Miller said many people
want to keep their land-
lines in today’s digital age
because these phones often
continue operating during
power outages.
Ziply Fiber purchased
Frontier Communica-
tion’s Northwest region for
$1.35 billion, according
to Miller. The closing of
the sale means that the
500,000 residential and
business internet, phone
and television subscribers
that Frontier Communica-
tions had served are now
Ziply Fiber subscribers.
Miller said the former
Frontier Communications
subscribers were noti-
fied multiple times of the
changeover.
Ziply is investing $500
million on upgrading the
internet services to its cus-
tomers in the four-state
Northwest region. Much of
this is going to projects in
La Grande and the other
12 cities: Coquille, Coos
Bay, and North Bend;
the Idaho cities of Coeur
d’Alene, Kellogg and
Moscow; the Washington
cities of Anacortes, Ken-
newick, Pullman, Richland
and Snohomish; and the
Montana city of Libby.
Ziply Fiber will be
making upgrades in hun-
dreds of other cities
throughout the Pacific
Northwest. Miller said La
Grande was one of the first
cities for upgrades because
it is a place where instal-
lations could be made in
short order. In La Grande,
he said, much of the cable
Ziply will need access to
is not below ground, which
means less digging.
“We wanted to start in
areas where we can make a
difference quickly,” Miller
said.