COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
Accepting grandma irked by intolerance of others
DEAR ABBY: My adult
granddaughter, “Kaia,” is in a rela-
tionship with “Jenny.” Jenny’s
stepmom doesn’t believe in gay
marriage or homosexuality. I’m
having a hard time dealing with
the fact that Jenny’s family doesn’t
accept Kaia or allow her in their
home. Kaia is excluded from all
holidays and family functions.
I don’t know what to do or say
to her about this. They are getting
married in two months, and Jen-
ny’s family is still shunning her.
How do I deal with these “holy
rollers” who use the church as a
reason to hate my granddaughter?
I don’t want to die knowing she’ll
have a miserable life ahead of
her. Please help me. — SUP-
PORTIVE IN CALIFORNIA
DEAR SUPPORTIVE: If
Jenny’s family are truly good
Christians, they may not dislike
your granddaughter. They may
be following a misguided direc-
tive to love the “sinner” but hate
the “sin.”
I cannot advise strongly
enough that Kaia and Jenny dis-
cuss the ramifi cations of that fam-
ily’s stance before they marry. I
am surprised Jenny would attend
family gatherings from which
Kaia is excluded. If this con-
tinues after the marriage, it could
WORKERS
REBEL
Continued from Page B1
Continued from Page B1
workers were paid less,
meaning they worked some
fraction of the year.
The state government’s
payroll grew by more than
2,500 workers from the pre-
vious fi scal year, although
some of the number could
represent increased turnover
if more workers left partway
through the year and were
replaced by new hires. State
data does not indicate how
many months of the year each
employee worked.
Most of the increase was at
the Oregon Military Depart-
ment, which had 1,013 more
employees than in the pre-
vious fi scal year. Stephen
Bomar, public aff airs director
for the agency, said fl uctu-
ations in staffi ng numbers
refl ect the numbers of Oregon
National Guard members
called to “state active duty,”
at which time they become
temporary state employees.
Gov. Kate Brown has tapped
the Guard to help with emer-
gencies ranging from wild-
fi res and fl oods to the 2021
ice storm and hospital staffi ng
shortages, including ongoing
support work at the state psy-
chiatric hospital.
The second largest staffi ng
increase was at the Employ-
ment Department, which
increased its staffi ng year-
over-year by 703 as the agency
worked to catch up on getting
jobless benefi ts out to people
who lost work starting early in
the pandemic. Oregon’s public
health agency boosted its
workforce by 308 people and
the human services depart-
ment had 298 more workers
than in the previous year.
Overall, the state gov-
ernment spent $3 billion on
employee pay in 2021, up 7.1%
from fi scal 2020 when it spent
$2.8 billion.
The store’s one-year
anniversary falls on Local
Yarn Store Day, a day
celebrated on Saturday,
April 30, to highlight
unique local yarn stores.
Sager was able to open
the storefront through
the city’s best business
plan competition in 2021,
expediting the process
of switching from an
online format to in-person
storefront.
“It happened pretty
fast and then it was just
about hitting the ground
running,” she said.
Sager started selling
dyed yarn online in 2010,
knitting hats and gloves
during the cold weather in
Alaska. The Rebel Wool-
works owner moved to La
Grande in May of 2020
and was intrigued with
the town’s downtown
area. Less than two years
later, Sager’s business has
become a staple to the
business landscape.
While the trade secrets
of selling online versus in
a storefront can be quite
█
damage their relationship. A
counselor at the nearest LGBTQ
center would be helpful in facili-
tating this discussion.
Be as supportive to your grand-
daughter and Jenny as you can so
they know you’re always in their
corner. Encourage them to culti-
vate their own “chosen family” as
they move into their future.
DEAR ABBY: My husband,
“Jonah,” comes from a large
family. They are rude people
who live in a small, rural town,
and they don’t like outsiders.
Jonah and I have been together
15 years (married for eight), and
I have never been invited to his
mother’s home or some of his
siblings’ homes.
We love to entertain, so they
attend our holiday parties, where
they literally walk in without
greeting me. They eat all our food
and leave without saying goodbye
or even helping with the cleanup.
It’s “pack behavior.” They do this
all together.
I have reached the point that
I no longer want to host these
events. I feel uncomfortable
in my own home. Jonah and I
have started cutting back on
the number of parties we host,
and now they are making rude
comments about it. My hus-
band acknowledges that they’re a
bunch of miserable, rude people,
but that doesn’t help the situation.
I don’t want anything to do
with them, and I don’t want to be
forced to keep inviting a bunch of
ungrateful individuals who don’t
have even the common courtesy
to speak to me. How can I make
Jonah understand how I feel?
Please help. — ANNOYED IN
NEW JERSEY
DEAR ANNOYED: If you
have expressed to your husband
what you have written in your
letter, he does understand, but
doesn’t want to acknowledge it.
The way his family has treated
you is deplorable. If you don’t
wish to entertain them, let your
husband buy and prepare the food
and do the cleanup with no help
from them afterward, while you
go and do something alone or with
people whose company you enjoy.
He can also visit his relatives
without you if he wishes.
diff erent, Sager noted that she is continuing to
conceived during the pan-
catching the attention of
improve the overall ser-
demic, the then-online
passersby in La Grande
vices and quality of the
store utilized e-commerce
resembles catching the
business. Located in a
sales when individuals
eye of an online shopper
prime downtown area in
were looking for a hobby
on an e-commerce web-
La Grande, Rebel Wool-
or new trade to pick up
site — fi rst impressions
works emphasizes local
while quarantined inside
are essential. Settling
connections and return
their homes in 2020.
into a physical location
customers. A large quan-
Online sales of yarn saw
brought about new chal-
tity of the store’s busi-
massive gains, with Sager
lenges and possibilities,
ness is return customers,
shipping off her product
but Sager said she felt
whom Sager often does
all across the country and
fully settled by around
customized yarn dyes for. beyond its borders.
this February.
“COVID
One year into
impacted so many
business, Rebel
businesses detri-
Woolworks has ele-
mentally, but I was
vated its available
kind of a COVID
services as well as
born business,
the overall setup of
because I started
the store. The busi-
this in January of
ness now includes
2020,” she said.
a mercantile on
“I could not keep
—Tara Sager, operator of Rebel Woolworks
the left side of the
the yarn in stock. I
space, off ering
couldn’t dye yarn
teas, coff ees, gourmet
“I think what sets me
fast enough.”
desserts and other goods
apart from a regular yarn
Sager and Rebel
from local stores around
store is that people can
Woolworks have opti-
the Pacifi c Northwest.
come in and get custom
mized the space for pri-
Sager stated that the mer-
items,” Sager said. “I really vate events, which the
cantile serves as a good
like that aspect of it.”
store holds roughly two
resource for customers on
The COVID-19 pan-
to three times per month.
their way to go camping
demic has had nega-
Sager provides necessary
or just passing by on a
tive eff ects to businesses
equipment like sewing
day trip through the area.
across the region and the
machines, as well as
Sager refl ected on her
entire country, but Rebel
wine, charcuterie boards,
growth as a store owner
Woolworks has made the
tea or any other requested
after a year, noting that
best of its situation. Being snacks for groups to
gather in the space.
Serving as the chair
of the promotions com-
mittee within the La
Grande Main Street
Downtown Association,
Sager is aiming for her
shop to assist the city
in cultivating a thriving
downtown. Rebel Wool-
works benefi ts from foot
traffi c on Adams Avenue
from locals and pass-
ersby alike, which is an
objective within the La
Grande Economic Devel-
opment Department’s
strategy plan for 2022-24.
The business also empha-
sizes local connections
with surrounding stores
to improve the overall
local economy and orga-
nize events to draw in
foot traffi c.
“The storefront has
grown more than I
expected it to, which is
really awesome,” Sager
said. “It’s been with the
help of La Grande Main
Street Downtown Asso-
ciation and Taylor Scrog-
gins and having Timothy
Bishop come in as the
new economic develop-
ment director and moving
things forward.”
“It happened pretty
fast and then it was just
about hitting the ground
running,” she said.
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Copyright 2022 Tribune Content Agency.
weather
| Go to AccuWeather.com
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
35/51
Kennewick
33/54
St. Helens
33/56
35/56
32/54
33/56
36/54
30/55
Condon
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
Partly cloudy;
very cold
Cloudy; snow at
night
Cloudy with a
bit of rain
Mostly cloudy
and chilly
Sun through
high clouds
42 21
48 27
53 33
Eugene
0
0
2
29/55
42 24
49 34
54 37
0
0
3
Comfort Index™
La Grande
0
20 44 30
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
0
0
0
15 39 25
Comfort Index™
0
46 28
51 37
0
3
3
0
ALMANAC
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High: 106°
Low: 0°
Wettest: 1.79”
40°
26°
42°
28°
44°
29°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Tuesday
Trace
Month to date
0.17
Normal month to date 0.32
Year to date
0.84
Normal year to date
2.38
0.01
0.16
0.69
2.54
5.31
0.51
1.63
0.98
8.82
8.84
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
45%
SSE at 7 to 14 mph
1.2
0.06
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
10% of capacity
72% of capacity
43% of capacity
74% of capacity
41% of capacity
97% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
2850 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
1 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
5 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
190 cfs
Minam River at Minam
345 cfs
Powder River near Richland
31 cfs
Cotulla, Texas
Daniel, Wyo.
Nashville, Tenn.
OREGON
High: 53°
Low: 14°
Wettest: 1.09”
The Dalles
Crater Lake
Meacham
Powers
32/57
The famous “Easter Blizzard” hit Kansas,
Nebraska and South Dakota on April 14,
1873. A strong gale blew wet snow into
huge drifts; many settlers were lost.
SUN & MOON
THU.
6:09 a.m.
7:37 p.m.
5:24 p.m.
5:35 a.m.
FRI.
6:07 a.m.
7:38 p.m.
6:39 p.m.
5:56 a.m.
MOON PHASES
Full
Apr 16
Last
Apr 23
New
Apr 30
29/55
First
May 8
Jordan Valley
22/41
Paisley
18/45
14/45
Frenchglen
20/42
32/57
Brookings
32/52
City
Astoria
Bend
Boise
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Council
Elgin
Eugene
Hermiston
Hood River
Imnaha
John Day
Joseph
Kennewick
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
SAT.
Hi/Lo/W
51/35/r
49/31/c
48/37/c
50/39/c
41/25/c
53/40/c
53/35/sh
44/29/c
43/28/sh
55/37/c
55/35/c
54/37/c
47/29/c
42/28/c
39/24/sn
54/38/c
45/33/c
42/30/sn
Hi/Lo/W
48/36/sh
43/24/sf
52/32/sh
50/38/c
43/18/sh
52/34/sh
52/33/sh
44/23/sh
42/23/r
52/33/sh
49/32/r
49/34/r
46/32/r
41/24/r
41/21/sn
49/37/r
42/20/sh
45/19/sh
Grand View
Arock
29/50
24/44
26/45
Klamath Falls
16/45
Lakeview
20/42
McDermitt
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs.
FRI.
Diamond
19/40
Fields
Medford
34/50
Boise
29/48
Silver Lake
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
18/44
15/44
27/44
RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
Beaver Marsh
Juntura
12/41
19/42
13/44
Roseburg
Ontario
26/53
Burns
Brothers
25/54
Coos Bay
Huntington
12/38
19/49
Oakridge
23/44
25/46
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
Council
18/43
18/42
18/48
Florence
TUESDAY EXTREMES
High Tuesday
Low Tuesday
14/37
John Day
17/47
Sisters
33/53
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.
21/45
Baker City
Redmond
35/49
36/53
Halfway
Granite
27/53
Newport
32/57
41 23
24/46
28/50
32/54
Corvallis
Enterprise
15/39
20/44
Monument
28/49
Idanha
Salem
TONIGHT
18 43 26
Elgin
18/43
La Grande
27/44
Maupin
Baker City
28/49
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
31/51
29/48
Hood River
27/48
TIllamook
Lewiston
Walla Walla
29/54
Vancouver
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
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
48/32/c
54/33/c
42/30/sh
52/39/c
49/38/c
52/31/r
53/36/pc
55/34/c
48/33/sn
54/39/c
57/37/c
47/28/c
55/37/c
54/38/c
46/29/sn
56/37/c
43/28/c
49/35/c
Hi/Lo/W
46/34/c
50/32/sh
41/23/sn
53/32/c
47/37/sh
49/35/c
56/27/sh
50/34/r
43/30/r
52/38/sh
53/35/sh
45/22/c
55/33/sh
53/35/sh
45/30/r
54/35/r
39/22/c
43/34/r
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
A little snow
A little a.m. snow
19
14
40
27
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
A little icy mix
Morning fl urries
29
23
49
33
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
A little snow
A little a.m. snow
26
15
36
24
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Snow
Rain and snow
39
24
46
32
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Cloudy and cold
Chilly with clouds
43
26
44
30