COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, DECEmBER 2, 2021
Woman tired of couple’s constant, intrusive drama
Ann shows up at our house in
the middle of the night needing
a place to sleep. Their fighting
has ruined more gatherings than
I have fingers and toes to count.
I feel like our life is consumed
by their toxic relationship. My
husband tells me I should just
“ignore it.” But he’s not the one
who has to tend to his friend’s
wife EVERY day. I don’t know
what to do. — EXHAUSTED
IN ALABAMA
DEAR EXHAUSTED: What
you do is draw the line. Tell your
husband the unrelenting warfare
in his friend’s marriage is more
than you care to handle. Tell Ann
the same thing, and that if she
can’t sleep under her own roof,
DEAR ABBY: My husband
has a “best friend” from child-
hood I’ll call “Artie,” but they
have little in common anymore.
Finding things to do with him
and his wife is a struggle. We
like to travel, so we always invite
them along, but Artie says “no”
to everything. His wife, “Ann,”
and I are pretty close.
The problem? We all spend
a lot of time together (at our
home) and they fight constantly!
It doesn’t matter where they are.
she’ll have to find other accom-
modations than your house in
the middle of the night. Urge her
to get counseling and to contact
the National Domestic Violence
Hotline (1-800-799-7233) or a
local domestic violence shelter if
Artie is violent. As to socializing
with them as a couple — on
trips, yet (!) — explain to your
husband that you have lost your
appetite for it, and if he wants
to see his childhood friend, he
should do it without you.
DEAR ABBY: I’ve been mar-
ried for six years. When I met
my wife, we decided she’d move
into my home with her teenaged
boys. I told them upfront how
important it is to me to keep a
clean home. When they come
home from college, they leave a
mess in the kitchen, and it drives
me crazy. This has been going
on since we married, and I’m
ready to tell my wife they are not
allowed back into my home.
I have reminded them many
times about cleaning up after
themselves, but their mess con-
tinues. I’m close to losing my
temper over it. It angers me to
see grown men in my home do
this. It feels like they are bla-
tantly disrespecting me. When
I was away for a year, my
wife constantly complained to
me about their lack of clean-
liness as well. Am I in the
wrong? — TASKMASTER IN
CALIFORNIA
DEAR TASKMASTER:
You are not wrong. Remind the
“boys” — without exploding —
that you have asked them repeat-
edly not to leave the kitchen in a
mess after they use it. Then tell
them — without exploding —
that if it happens again, they will
have to arrange for other accom-
modations when they visit.
It goes without saying that
your wife should back you up on
this. They should also ask their
mother if there is anything else
they can do to be helpful when
they visit — like wash the towels
they have used and make up the
beds with fresh linens before
they return to school.
US tracking of virus variants has improved after slow start
probably already here and
will be picked up by the sur-
veillance system soon. But
the question is, then what?
University of Wisconsin
AIDS researcher David
O’Connor noted: “We don’t
have the sorts of interstate
travel restrictions that would
make it possible to contain
the virus in any one place.”
Instead, genomic sur-
veillance will tell officials
if omicron is spreading
unusually fast somewhere
and whether more resources
should be sent to those
places, he said.
When omicron does sur-
face, public health author-
ities will have to consider
other variables in their
triage efforts, such as the
level of infection already
present in that community
and the vaccination rate.
Serious outbreaks in highly
vaccinated areas would be
particularly concerning.
Still, the University
of Minnesota’s Beckman
sees little upside in vastly
ramping up sequencing.
“You don’t need to
sequence more than a few
percent of positive cases to
get a feel for how quickly
it’s growing,” he said.
Unlike in some other
countries, U.S. government
officials haven’t exercised
the authority to force people
to quarantine if they test
positive for worrisome vari-
ants. Given that, sequencing
is mainly a surveillance
tool for tracking mutations’
spread.
“I think it’s important to
track variants, but I don’t
think it’s practical to think
that we’re going to be able
to sequence quickly and
broadly enough to stop
a variant in its tracks,”
Beckman said.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON —
After a slow start, the
United States has improved
its surveillance system for
tracking new coronavirus
variants such as omicron,
boosting its capacity by tens
of thousands of samples per
week since early this year.
Viruses mutate con-
stantly. To find and track
new versions of the corona-
virus, scientists analyze the
genetic makeup of a portion
of samples that test positive.
They’re looking at the
chemical letters of the
virus’s genetic code to find
new worrisome mutants,
such as omicron, and to
follow the spread of known
variants, such as delta.
It’s a global effort, but
until recently the U.S. was
contributing very little.
With uncoordinated and
scattershot testing, the U.S.
was sequencing fewer than
1% of positive specimens
earlier this year. Now, it is
running those tests on 5%
to 10% of samples. That’s
more in line with what other
nations have sequenced and
shared with global disease
trackers over the course of
the pandemic.
“Genomic surveillance
is strong,” said Kelly Wro-
blewski, director of infec-
tious diseases at the Asso-
ciation of Public Health
Laboratories.
Contributing to the effort
are nearly 70 state and local
public health labs, which
are sequencing 15,000 to
20,000 specimens each
week. Other labs, including
those run by the Centers for
Disease Control and Pre-
vention and its contractors,
bring the total to 40,000 to
80,000 weekly.
Charles Krupa/The Associated Press, File
James Robson, a biomedical engineering graduate student, holds a swab and specimen vial in the new COVID-19, on-campus testing lab,
Thursday, July 23, 2020, at Boston University in Boston. The United States has improved its surveillance system for tracking new coronavirus
variants such as omicron, boosting its capacity by tens of thousands of samples since early 2021.
Nine months ago, about
12,000 samples each week
were being analyzed in this
way.
“We’re in a much, much
better place than a year ago
or even six or nine months
ago,” said Kenny Beckman
of the University of Min-
nesota, who credited fed-
eral dollars distributed to
public and private labs.
He directs the universi-
ty’s genomics laboratory,
which now sequences about
1,000 samples a week from
states including Minne-
sota, Arkansas and South
Dakota. A year ago, the lab
did no sequencing.
Relying on $1.7 billion
in President Joe Biden’s
coronavirus relief bill,
the U.S. has been setting
up a national network to
consistent so we ensure
there are no genomic sur-
veillance deserts where we
could miss the emergence of
a variant,” Febbo said.
Aiding the surveillance
effort, standard PCR tests
that use nasal swabs sent
to laboratories can detect a
sign that someone probably
has the omicron variant. If a
PCR test is positive for only
two of the three target genes
— a so-called S-dropout
test result — it’s a marker
for omicron even before
the extra step of genetic
sequencing to prove it.
“It’s fortuitous,” said
Trevor Bedford, a biolo-
gist and genetics expert at
Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center. “If you
need to do sequencing to
identify the variant you’re
better track coronavirus
mutations.
Still, about two dozen
countries are sequencing a
larger proportion of positive
samples than the U.S., said
Dr. William Moss of the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health.
Omicron’s emergence could
“stimulate the United States
to do this better.”
“I think we still have a
long way to go,” Moss said.
Some states are
sequencing only about 1%
of samples while others are
in the range of 20%, noted
Dr. Phil Febbo, chief med-
ical officer for Illumina,
a San Diego-based com-
pany that develops genomic
sequencing technologies.
“We could be more sys-
tematic about it and more
weather
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always going to be lagged a
bit and it’s going to be more
expensive. If you just rely
on this S-dropout as identi-
fication then it’s easier.”
He said other variants
also have sparked this quirk
in PCR test results, but not
the delta variant. With delta
so dominant in the U.S.
right now, an S-dropout
result will get noticed, Bed-
ford said. (Bedford receives
funding from the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute,
which also supports The
Associated Press Health and
Science Department.)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the
nation’s top infectious dis-
ease expert, said it is “inev-
itable” that omicron will
make its way into the
United States.
Many experts said it’s
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
37/48
Kennewick
36/45
St. Helens
37/49
TIllamook
Hood River
36/50
36/48
Condon
38/50
38/49
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
Low clouds
Times of clouds
and sun
Brightening,
mild
Increasing
cloudiness
Cloudy with rain
possible
47 26
44 28
40 27
Eugene
5
4
3
37/51
52 38
50 38
48 35
5
5
3
Comfort Index™
La Grande
5
35 51 40
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
7
7
5
32 48 37
Comfort Index™
7
45 38
44 36
6
5
5
7
ALMANAC
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Tuesday
Low Tuesday
High: 91°
Low: 6°
Wettest: 2.84”
42°
21°
51°
29°
49°
33°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Tuesday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
0.00
0.66
0.73
5.01
8.21
Trace
1.58
1.94
9.98
15.52
0.12
3.53
3.15
22.04
22.18
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
55%
S at 6 to 12 mph
1.9
0.04
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
42/62
N.A.
15% of capacity
14% of capacity
11% of capacity
10% of capacity
7% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
1000 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
0 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
16 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
108 cfs
Minam River at Minam
141 cfs
Powder River near Richland
8 cfs
Palm Springs, Calif.
Angel Fire, N.M.
Quillayute, Wash.
OREGON
High: 68°
Low: 18°
Wettest: 0.12”
Brookings
Lakeview
Astoria
The West was wintry, and the East was
balmy on Dec. 2, 1982. Buffalo, N.Y.,
reached 66. Heavy snow fell in the West,
from the central Rockies to the Upper
Midwest.
SUN & MOON
THU.
7:13 a.m.
4:11 p.m.
5:03 a.m.
3:08 p.m.
FRI.
7:14 a.m.
4:10 p.m.
6:27 a.m.
3:43 p.m.
MOON PHASES
New
Dec 3
First
Dec 10
Full
Dec 18
Beaver Marsh
43/56
Last
Dec 26
Burns
Jordan Valley
Paisley
Frenchglen
35/59
City
Astoria
Bend
Boise
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Council
Elgin
Eugene
Hermiston
Hood River
Imnaha
John Day
Joseph
Kennewick
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
Hi/Lo/W
48/39/c
59/44/pc
50/35/pc
59/45/s
52/27/pc
55/41/pc
49/37/pc
46/32/pc
48/37/pc
51/39/pc
46/36/pc
50/33/pc
54/45/c
57/43/pc
49/38/c
48/39/c
54/26/s
58/23/s
Hi/Lo/W
51/40/c
55/37/c
53/32/c
57/44/pc
55/23/pc
57/42/c
52/36/c
46/29/c
51/40/pc
53/37/c
49/39/c
53/40/c
54/41/c
54/33/pc
50/34/pc
53/39/c
53/25/pc
56/22/c
Grand View
Arock
28/48
26/53
29/59
Klamath Falls
25/54
Lakeview
22/58
McDermitt
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs.
SAT.
Diamond
34/55
Fields
41/56
FRI.
Boise
31/54
29/58
25/53
Medford
Brookings
32/49
35/50
41/59
44/59
Juntura
26/52
Silver Lake
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
Ontario
32/49
26/59
26/55
RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
32/53
25/54
Roseburg
Powers
Brothers
39/62
Coos Bay
Huntington
32/52
38/59
Oakridge
34/46
33/46
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
Council
28/49
37/57
34/57
Florence
TUESDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
34/48
John Day
34/55
Sisters
39/55
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.
32/46
Baker City
Redmond
37/50
39/54
Halfway
Granite
34/49
Newport
39/56
52 37
35/50
38/58
37/50
Corvallis
Enterprise
32/48
35/51
Monument
36/51
Idanha
Salem
TONIGHT
28 49 29
35/48
La Grande
35/47
Maupin
Baker City
Elgin
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
41/49
38/46
35/45
35/52
Lewiston
Walla Walla
39/48
Vancouver
36/49
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
FRI.
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
SAT.
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
49/41/c 51/40/c
45/38/c 50/40/c
47/38/c 50/38/c
56/39/pc 53/37/c
50/41/pc 51/41/c
45/35/c 46/35/c
49/33/c 50/30/c
48/37/c 55/36/c
45/34/pc 47/40/pc
49/38/pc 51/41/c
62/42/pc 62/41/c
55/40/c 59/32/c
56/40/c 58/39/c
50/39/pc 53/39/c
42/35/c 44/31/c
50/37/pc 53/38/c
51/35/pc 48/34/pc
46/38/c 49/38/c
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
Clouds and sun
Clouds and sun
37
31
49
31
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Clearing
Variable clouds
42
40
51
35
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Inc. clouds
Periods of sun
38
28
44
32
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Decreasing clouds
Some sun; cooler
49
38
46
38
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Inc. clouds
Clouds and sun
49
29
51
40