COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021
Former drug user looks for way out of toxic relationship
stuck in a relationship that isn’t
good for me. It’s embarrassing
to have dentures at such a young
age, and I don’t know how I will
be able to meet someone who can
see past them and my drug his-
tory so I can be in a healthy rela-
tionship that I deserve. I feel like
my only choices are to stay stuck
in this toxic relationship forever
or end up alone. How do I move
past my insecurities so I can
be happy for once? — Embar-
rassed in Arizona
Dear Embarrassed: You
have successfully battled drug
addiction, so you are clearly
not unused to “challenges.” I
applaud you for what you have
accomplished, and others should
respect you for it, too.
Please do not allow your fear
of being alone to prevent you
Dear Abby: I’m a 39-year-old
woman in a toxic relationship
with my boyfriend of almost
seven years. We had a child
together but lost custody due to
drug use during my pregnancy.
Even though we don’t have our
son, and he treats me badly, I feel
I have to stay with him because
we have gone through so much
together.
A couple of years ago, I got
dentures because I ruined my
teeth when I was using, and now
I’m afraid no one will want to be
with me because of them. So I’m
from taking another important
step in reclaiming your life.
You and I both know your
abuser is not healthy for you.
You have already invested too
much time in him. If you rely on
him for fi nancial support, fi nd
a job. Make arrangements with
friends or family so you can
eventually save enough to live
independently.
After you have left him, being
alone does not necessarily have
to be a bad thing. In your case it
could be therapeutic. And once
you are fi nancially stable, consult
a dentist or a school of dentistry
about what options you might
have besides dentures. The only
thing holding you back at this
point is yourself.
Dear Abby: I am a
37-year-old mother of three, ages
TRUMBO
13, 5 and 3. I’m married and own
my home. I am a new stay-at-
home mom after having worked
for 16 years at my last job. My
kids are happy and healthy.
Any time I go to my parents’
house or they drop in on me for
a quick visit, they have to “point
out” that it is a mess or that my
oldest is wearing jeans with holes
in them. There’s always a neg-
ative comment, never a posi-
tive one. My oldest has started to
notice. It makes it hard to spend
time with my parents since the
visit is never a happy one without
nitpicking. I’m wondering if I
can say anything, and what to
say.
I can’t even cut or color my
hair without ridicule. My oldest
got her nails done and there was
a negative comment about that as
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Woman comes face-to-face with
snake in Australia supermarket
Continued from Page B1
elevate decoys can easily be
constructed at home with
PVC, pipe or rebar. A few
decoys sitting side-by-side
mimics doves perching on a
powerline, which typically
attracts others. If hunting
your own land or an area
where you can set up some-
thing semi-permanent, the
T-bar or wire span can be
left and used year after year.
Options with more mobility,
like telescopic T-bars for
easy packing into public
land, can be found online.
Another option is to
make an actual tree perch
that can be cut and pruned
to an ideal structure for
decoy attachment, and
placed near food, water, and
even gravel sources. Doves
will also use them natu-
rally, which may provide an
advantage.
When placing decoys
on the ground, set them
20 to 30 feet from the ele-
vated decoys and pair them
up with a few feet between
pairs, generally facing into
the wind.
Dove pairs often travel
together, and pairing
decoys on the ground gives
the spread a more natural
appearance. This does not
mean placing each pair per-
fectly side-by-side, but set
in relative proximity to one
another to give the decoys
the look of feeding together.
Nonmobile (static)
decoys work well on their
own, but another option is
to include a spinning-wing
decoy to animate your
spread. Doves approach an
animated, spinning-wing
decoy head-on most often,
which can aid in setting up
that textbook crossing shot.
The Associated Press
CANBERRA, Aus-
tralia — Helaina Alati was
browsing the spice aisle of
an Australian supermarket
when she came face-to-
face with a huge snake.
The head of the 10-foot-
long nonvenomous dia-
mond python emerged
through a space in a shelf
above the spice jars in the
Sydney store.
“I was in the spice aisle
just looking for something
to put on my chicken that
night so I didn’t initially
see it because it was curled
up way back behind the
little jars of spices,” Alati
said. “I kind of turned to
my right and it poked its
head out.”
Alati, who coincidently
is a trained snake catcher,
said the snake’s head came
to within 8 inches of her
own.
“Thankfully, I have a
background in snakes so I
was pretty calm about it.
It defi nitely shocked me a
little bit because I wasn’t
expecting it,” she added.
Supermarket chain
Woolworths confi rmed in
a statement that a “slip-
pery and rare customer was
spotted in the spice aisle”
on Monday, Aug. 16, at its
store in the suburb of Gle-
norie on Sydney’s north-
west outskirts.
“Once it was sighted,
our team members reacted
quickly and calmly to
Brad Trumbo/Contributed Photo
A static dove decoy perched vis-
ibly on a tree branch placed for
good visibility.
Later in the season as doves
become wary, the additional
movement of the spin-
ning-wing decoy is more
convincing to the cynical
eye of our most frequently
hunted bird species.
When you get right
down to it, mourning doves
off er one of the most ver-
satile wingshooting oppor-
tunities of all upland birds,
and decoying doves can be
done simply, with minimal
gear. If you have never used
decoys, doves off er an easy,
aff ordable opportunity to
get started.
Static decoys are easy
to fi nd and can lure birds
even without being elevated.
Whether trying something
new or simply honing your
decoying skills this fall, set-
ting decoys for doves can
enhance your wingshooting
experience.
Brad Trumbo is a fi sh
and wildlife biologist and
outdoor writer in Waits-
burg, Washington. For tips
and tales of outdoor pur-
suits and conservation, visit
www.bradtrumbo.com.
weather
Helaina Alati via The Associated Press
In this image made from video provided by Helaina Alati, a snake
protrudes from grocery store shelf, Monday, Aug. 16 2021, in Syd-
ney, Australia. Alati was browsing the spice aisle of an Australian
supermarket when she came face-to-face with a snake. The head
of the 10-foot-long nonvenomous diamond python emerged
through a space in a shelf above the spice jars in the Sydney store.
cordon off the area for the
safety of customers,” the
statement said.
Alati said she used her
phone to video the snake
as it extended its body
from the shelf into the
aisle before reporting the
intruder to supermarket
staff .
“I said: ‘I’ll go get
my snake bag.’ I think
they thought I was a bit
crazy to be honest. I don’t
think they knew what to
say when I said there’s
a 10-foot python in your
aisle,” Alati said.
She retrieved the snake-
catching bag from her
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AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
55/66
Kennewick
57/70
St. Helens
57/73
57/70
59/80
59/74
54/74
Condon
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
Clear and
moonlit
Mostly sunny
and warmer
Sunny and
pleasant
Sun mixing with
clouds
Partly sunny
77 37
81 42
81 44
Eugene
10
9
9
52/79
73 40
78 47
79 50
10
9
9
La Grande
48 81 46
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
8
9
43 78 42
Comfort Index™
2
77 49
10
10
10
ALMANAC
THURSDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Thursday
Low Thursday
High: 107°
Low: 25°
Wettest: 4.86”
79°
44°
82°
43°
75°
45°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Thursday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
0.00
0.47
0.26
2.93
6.25
0.00
0.21
0.42
6.33
11.08
0.00
0.30
0.39
15.67
15.62
HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY
25%
WSW at 4 to 8 mph
5.8
0.21
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
0% of capacity
29% of capacity
20% of capacity
48% of capacity
1% of capacity
0% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday)
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
OREGON
High: 89°
Low: 31°
Wettest: 0.03”
Medford
McNary Dam
Astoria
WEATHER HISTORY
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
Zapata, Texas
Brideport, Calif.
Holyoke, Colo.
By Aug. 21, 1888, a massive lightning-in-
duced fi re that consumed six billion board
feet of lumber in the northern Rockies was
fi nally contained. By then, the fi re had
claimed 851 lives.
SUN & MOON
SAT.
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
6:01 a.m.
7:49 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
4:39 a.m.
SUN.
6:02 a.m.
7:48 p.m.
8:28 p.m.
5:54 a.m.
MOON PHASES
455 cfs
1 cfs
93 cfs
41 cfs
73 cfs
6 cfs
Full
Aug 22
Last
Aug 29
New
Sep 6
First
Sep 13
42/74
46/84
43/79
Florence
Beaver Marsh
Powers
54/73
53/82
Silver Lake
Jordan Valley
43/79
Paisley
40/82
40/78
Frenchglen
44/85
Medford
39/82
44/86
McDermitt
42/82
RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY
MON.
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
66/52/s 67/51/s
79/44/s 77/46/s
84/57/s 85/53/s
68/50/s 69/51/s
84/43/s 83/41/s
68/49/pc 69/50/s
75/47/pc 79/49/s
80/48/s 81/48/s
79/42/s 72/41/s
79/47/s 80/48/s
82/53/s 79/46/s
70/51/s 79/53/s
83/47/s 77/44/s
84/46/s 79/43/s
76/44/s 70/42/s
83/51/s 79/46/s
82/43/pc 83/45/s
82/41/s 83/43/s
52/86
Lakeview
36/82
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
Grand View
Arock
45/86
Klamath Falls
Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs.
SUN.
Diamond
43/83
Fields
53/86
51/68
Boise
53/84
49/85
Brookings
45/84
39/82
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
Juntura
37/84
39/78
37/78
Roseburg
Ontario
52/87
Burns
Brothers
49/76
Coos Bay
Huntington
41/79
47/79
Oakridge
49/80
54/82
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
Council
40/81
John Day
41/81
Sisters
54/68
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.
47/81
Baker City
Redmond
53/64
Halfway
Granite
52/75
Newport
52/77
75 50
48/84
49/73
54/77
52/63
71 41
10
Corvallis
Enterprise
43/78
48/81
Monument
54/79
Idanha
Salem
TONIGHT
9
Elgin
44/79
La Grande
51/75
Maupin
7
59/81
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
57/84
Hood River
55/80
TIllamook
Comfort Index™
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Walla Walla
60/83
Vancouver
56/72
53/65
40 81 41
nearby home and caught
the snake, which had by
then retreated back into the
shelf. She then released it
into nearby woodlands.
It’s unclear how or
when the snake entered the
supermarket.
Alati, who was trained
to catch venous snakes
when she was a volun-
teer working for a Sydney
wildlife rescue organiza-
tion several years ago, sus-
pected the snake was a
male looking for a mate.
“I knew straight away it
was non-venomous, it was
nonaggressive, it wasn’t
going to be a problem for
anyone,” Alati said.
“If anything, I think
everyone was a little bit
excited. We’re all in lock-
down so it was kind of like
the most excitement we’ve
had for a while,” she added.
By ROD McGUIRK
| Go to AccuWeather.com
Baker City
well. A few years ago, there was
a blowout between my mom and
me over my son’s haircut. I’m at
the point where I no longer want
to go to their house, but I don’t
want to keep my kids from them.
— Annoyed in Idaho
Dear Annoyed: Say some-
thing like this to your parents:
“I have noticed, and the chil-
dren have started noticing, that
when you visit you usually have
something negative to say about
me, my home and even them. It
is hurtful and I want it stopped,
because if it persists you won’t
be invited.” And if it does con-
tinue, please remember it is your
right as your children’s mother to
buff er them from comments from
their grandparents that make
them self-conscious about their
appearance.
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
SUN.
MON.
Hi/Lo/W
84/54/s
70/50/pc
80/40/s
86/54/s
63/47/pc
70/47/s
87/55/s
85/48/s
80/49/s
74/51/s
73/47/pc
81/41/s
82/51/s
77/48/s
74/48/s
80/53/s
77/38/s
81/54/s
Hi/Lo/W
78/52/s
73/49/pc
72/37/s
87/54/s
62/47/c
73/47/pc
88/52/s
80/46/s
75/47/s
75/53/pc
75/48/s
79/41/s
82/52/s
78/51/s
72/48/s
82/53/s
71/35/s
76/52/s
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
Mostly sunny
Warmer
54
39
75
41
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Warmer
Mostly sunny; nice
66
42
82
50
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Mostly sunny
Sunny and warmer
60
38
73
31
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Warmer
Sunny and nice
76
44
81
49
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Warmer
Warmer
81
41
81
46