COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, MARCH 3, 2022
Drug abuse, bad finances derail caregiver’s life
I have since gotten sober, while
Martha is still strung out. She
threatens to destroy my life if I
won’t do what she wants, and I’m
scared to quit because we have
loans together.
How do I start having a
healthy balance with her and my
life? Now that I’m sober, I realize
how badly she has been treating
me the whole time. Can you
please advise me how to distance
from her? — SOBER WOMAN
IN GEORGIA
DEAR SOBER WOMAN:
For the sake of your sobriety,
your relationship with Martha
must end. Do not allow your-
self to be blackmailed into con-
tinuing one with her. She needs
DEAR ABBY: I’m conflicted
about a relationship I have devel-
oped with a 77-year-old lady I’ll
call “Martha.” I have been acting
as her caregiver.
For the first three years, I was
addicted to pain pills, which
Martha and I both get. I was so
strung out I didn’t realize what
kind of person she was. She
expects me to be there every free
minute, which, under different
circumstances, would be fine.
But I have a husband and a dog.
to find another caregiver, and you
need to find another job. Because
your name is on those loans, you
may be obligated to pay them off
if she doesn’t. This is why you
should discuss this mess with an
attorney. That Martha still abuses
her meds means you may have
some leverage.
DEAR ABBY: My husband
and I argue about returning
gifts his parents give us. They
are well-off and buy excessively
for their grandkids throughout
the year, especially at holidays.
They also buy multiple gifts
for my husband and me. We are
drowning in too much stuff and
constantly battling clutter in
our home.
though he fundamentally agrees
with me. How do I help his par-
ents understand that what they
are really giving us is a fight?
And, if none of them care about
my wishes, how do I get past
feeling disrespected and disre-
garded? — BURIED IN STUFF
DEAR BURIED: By now
you should have realized that
your mother-in-law, “Lady
Bountiful,” isn’t going to
change. You will spend less
time being frustrated if you let
go of your resentment about
her spending sprees. My heart-
felt advice to you is to develop
a sense of humor where she’s
concerned. If you can’t use her
gifts, donate, regift or sell them.
None of these gifts are from
our family’s wish lists, nor are
they particularly thoughtful.
In years past, I have asked my
mother-in-law to limit her pur-
chases to three gifts — one
toy, one outfit, one book —
with no success. I also have
pleaded with her to stop buying
me small knickknacks, and
have suggested more experi-
ence-based gifts. Still, year
after year, we come home with
a bunch of stuff we neither need
nor want.
How can I get my in-laws to
respect our wishes? To make
matters worse, my husband
becomes defensive of his par-
ents when I get frustrated, even
national back orders on
those, and other parts as
well. I think it has to do
with the fact that they’re not
being able to come up with
the (computer) chips.”
Silicon computer
chip manufacturers have
been in the spotlight for
their inability to keep up
with the ever-encreasing
demand, leading to short-
ages in everything from
game consoles, cellphones
and even new vehicles.
“We’ve always been
really busy,” Horst said. “I
think a lot of it has to do
with the fact that buying
new cars isn’t as easy as
it has been, so people are
fixing their old ones.”
The chip shortage
has affected the manu-
facture of new cars, and
the used car market has
flourished, according to
numerous media reports.
In some instances, cars
have actually appreciated
in value due to the relative
scarcity.
Repair shops have
been inundated with an
increased demand for ser-
vices, which is only exac-
erbated by the still lin-
gering nationwide labor
shortage.
REPAIR
Continued from Page B1
“There’s definitely been
an increase (in demand)
especially with the other
auto body shops on 10th
Street in Baker City
recently going out of busi-
ness,” said Tabbitha Jensen,
manager at Eagle Valley
Collision Rebuilders, Baker
City. “I heard that Joe’s Pre-
mier Auto Body over on
Broadway Street is seeing
the same. There’s definitely
an increase in demand that
is higher than usual.”
Jensen said that her shop
has had an increase in busi-
ness and repairs, but didn’t
want to point fingers at the
general public’s driving
habits. Instead, she said
that a local auto body shop
closing meant that Eagle
Valley Collision Rebuilders
was taking on a lot more
clients than before.
So many, in fact, that the
shop has a backlog of work
extending well into this
spring.
“Right now, for body
work, on a regular schedule
we’re booked out to May,”
Jensen said. “My next job
(availability) is May 2. This
MEAT
Continued from Page B1
• Plants operating under
USDA inspection that are
planning to increase meat
processing from animals
raised in Oregon.
ODA anticipates its
inspection program will
begin in July, pending
approval from the USDA
Food Safety and Inspection
Service.
Andrea Cantu-Schomus,
ODA spokesperson, said the
program’s first set of draft
rules were evaluated by
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Carl Severtsen, a mechanic at La Grande Auto Repair, on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, replaces the starter in a customer’s vehicle.
is the furthest that we’ve
ever been booked out.”
Jensen noted that the
shop can still perform rou-
tine and basic repairs to
help get cars street legal,
such as replacing head-
lights or tail lights. As
well, Jensen said she hadn’t
noticed shortages on basic
car parts.
Still, certain parts
are difficult to procure,
according to Joe Horst,
owner of La Grande Auto
Repair. Horst said that his
the federal government in
January.
“We are in the midst of
making necessary changes
to meet their program
requirements,” she said.
Oregon has not had a
state inspection program
since 1971, when it was
eliminated due to budget
cuts. In 2020, the Legisla-
ture allocated $926,195 and
three full-time employees
to re-establish the program.
Currently, Oregon has
13 USDA-inspected meat
plants that are either at full
capacity or require ranchers
to drive long distances —
what are known as “pro-
cessing deserts.”
By expanding processing
capacity, ODA says it can
reduce transportation time
and costs; support direct-
to-consumer meat sales;
reduce processing bottle-
necks; provide wholesale
options for value-added
processors; and give pro-
ducers greater control over
the price they receive for
livestock.
The $2 million Oregon
Meat Processing Infra-
structure and Capacity
Building Grant is meant to
help spur this work.
weather
| Go to AccuWeather.com
shop, which he opened in
1993, is currently averaging
about a week for repairs,
but that all depends on what
parts are needed. Certain
electrical parts are on back
order for months according
to Horst, which means some
repairs may be stalled for
extended periods of time.
“There are some things
that are getting more and
more difficult to get,” he
said. “One good example is
modules from the dealers.
There seems to be a lot of
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
40/50
Kennewick
42/52
St. Helens
40/55
33/56
37/58
40/54
38/53
Condon
Baker City
29 42 30
Comfort Index™
La Grande
0
0
MON
Rather cloudy
and chilly
Mostly sunny
and chilly
Mostly sunny
40 27
43 19
45 22
Eugene
37/49
0
1
39 29
42 27
49 29
0
1
6
38 23
43 28
1
2
5
0
ALMANAC
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High: 93°
Low: -16°
Wettest: 0.63”
51°
32°
55°
39°
60°
37°
0.01
0.01
0.02
0.40
1.31
0.04
0.04
0.05
1.91
2.95
0.54
0.54
0.09
6.09
5.70
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Tuesday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
55%
NNW at 8 to 16 mph
0.0
0.05
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
3% of capacity
34% of capacity
23% of capacity
44% of capacity
27% of capacity
53% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
2790 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
1 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
7 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
606 cfs
Minam River at Minam
381 cfs
Powder River near Richland
30 cfs
Palm Springs, Calif.
Clayton Lake, Maine
North Bend, Ore.
OREGON
High: 69°
Low: 25°
Wettest: 0.63”
Hermiston
Ruch
North Bend
On March 3, 1994, as much as 30 inches
of snow buried central Pennsylvania, push-
ing season totals to record levels.
SUN & MOON
THU.
6:27 a.m.
5:42 p.m.
7:20 a.m.
7:03 p.m.
FRI.
6:25 a.m.
5:43 p.m.
7:40 a.m.
8:14 p.m.
MOON PHASES
First
Mar 10
Full
Mar 17
Last
Mar 24
Beaver Marsh
40/48
New
Mar 31
Jordan Valley
Paisley
Frenchglen
35/47
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
50/40/c
47/37/pc
52/36/pc
48/40/c
48/28/sf
48/41/c
49/35/sh
46/30/pc
45/31/pc
49/35/sh
53/33/pc
56/36/pc
46/35/sn
45/32/sf
38/30/sn
54/33/pc
43/29/sf
46/27/sf
Hi/Lo/W
51/36/pc
50/33/c
48/32/c
52/37/pc
45/23/c
50/37/c
52/33/c
43/26/c
41/27/pc
52/34/pc
56/30/s
59/37/pc
44/31/c
39/29/pc
35/24/c
55/30/s
44/21/c
44/22/c
Grand View
Arock
37/52
36/51
38/50
Klamath Falls
32/43
Lakeview
33/46
McDermitt
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs.
SAT.
Diamond
34/43
Fields
38/48
FRI.
Boise
34/50
32/43
30/41
Medford
Brookings
33/50
36/52
38/47
40/48
Juntura
32/48
Silver Lake
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
Ontario
38/55
Burns
28/40
37/52
RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
35/41
26/37
Roseburg
40/47
Brothers
33/47
Coos Bay
Huntington
28/41
34/47
Oakridge
Council
32/46
36/50
Seneca
Bend
TUESDAY EXTREMES
High Tuesday
Low Tuesday
32/45
33/47
Elkton
Powers
30/44
29/42
John Day
30/47
Sisters
Florence
40/49
Halfway
Granite
25/41
Baker City
Redmond
40/48
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.
27/39
36/49
Newport
39/50
36 25
30/46
33/51
39/54
Corvallis
38/47
0
1
27 39 32
Comfort Index™
SUN
Enterprise
32/44
Monument
34/53
Idanha
Salem
SAT
0
32 44 33
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
0
Elgin
29/45
La Grande
32/44
Maupin
Late-night snow, Partly sunny and
1-2”
chilly
35/46
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
Lewiston
37/50
Hood River
32/47
39/53
FRI
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Walla Walla
32/54
Vancouver
40/53
TIllamook
TONIGHT
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City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
FRI.
SAT.
Hi/Lo/W
50/37/c
52/37/c
42/31/c
48/37/c
47/40/sh
49/32/sh
55/38/c
56/31/pc
47/33/pc
54/38/c
47/42/c
47/29/c
48/42/c
54/38/c
48/30/c
58/35/pc
42/27/c
46/36/c
Hi/Lo/W
49/33/pc
55/34/pc
40/28/c
53/32/c
48/37/pc
50/31/pc
53/38/c
57/31/s
48/29/pc
53/36/c
49/38/c
48/28/c
51/37/c
54/36/c
46/28/pc
59/37/pc
37/25/c
48/33/pc
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
Snow, 1-2”
Morning fl urries
24
19
43
28
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Cold
A little a.m. snow
34
27
47
33
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Snow, 1-2”
Cloudy and chilly
32
21
39
27
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Snow, 1-2”; chilly
Periods of sun
38
30
45
32
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Snow, 1-2”; cold
Partly sunny
42
30
44
33