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Mom Threatens Divorce After Teens Find Their Dad’s Stash

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are going on 19 years of marriage and have three teenage girls. We have had multiple rounds of marriage counseling, mostly with good results, although the benefits seem to be short-lived. Most of our problems have stemmed from my husband’s drinking or smoking pot. He’s not abusive, he’s a good provider, but he just likes to get high. Thank God it’s not often, but I’m not nor have I ever been OK with it. Our girls recently found his pot stash and helped themselves. When I questioned them about where they got it, they admitted they found their ...

Charity Scams

Today’s Sound Off is a warning about Charity scams: Dear Heloise: In this colder weather, many charities will be asking for donations to help the homeless and the needy. Many are reputable agencies whose only goal is to help others. However, it’s also a time when some scam artists try to make their bogus phone calls and emails sound legitimate, but they’re really out to help only themselves. Don’t let them pressure you to give right now. It’s a warning sign that they are scammers. If they request payment in cash, gift card or wire transfer, it’s another sign of a scammer. ...

Pastor Having Affair Keeps His Engagement Under Wraps

DEAR ABBY: A new single pastor was assigned to my church. He asked if I was single and if I had kids. I told him no, and we began having an affair. For two years, it was all in secret. Then I began noticing that a single lady from his previous church would visit. He told me she was concerned about him being alone, so she was stopping by on her way through. Well, I now know she was more than that. While he was having his affair with me, he was engaged to her. When I confronted him, he denied it. They got married in secret, and he didn’t tell the church until afterward. Everyone ...

Being Open, Honest With Adopted Kids

Q: We've always been open with our teenage son about the fact that we adopted him at birth. But recently he's become almost obsessed with the topic — and especially his birth parents. If he gets upset, he shouts that we aren't his "real" mom and dad. This is devastating to us; we love him so much and want him to know we ARE his family. How can we help him? Jim: This is actually a common scenario for adoptive families. All teenagers struggle with identity issues, and that's definitely compounded when the various facets of adoption get thrown in the mix ("my biological parents didn't ...

Hearings With the Social Security Administration During COVID-19

In March 2020, we temporarily closed all of our Social Security Hearing Offices due to the Coronavirus pandemic and are not offering in-person hearings. During the office closures, we are providing two flexible, safe, and secure hearing options: either a telephone hearing or our new option of an online video hearing. Additional information on both of these hearing options is available here: www.ssa.gov/appeals/hearing_options.html What are “online video hearings”? Online video hearings are a secure way to conduct hearings over the internet, using a free platform called ...

The Last Words

Fast cars and even faster boats — Mike Myer loved them all. And over the years, we heard his many stories about both. From his teen years speeding around Wetzel County to his antics in college at West Virginia University, Mike had a story. Maybe that’s what it takes to be a good newspaperman — knowing what stories will interest the readers. And when it came to editorials, Mike had his finger on the pulse of local, state and national issues and delivered them in his unique style. Mike died Wednesday leaving a huge hole in the family of newspaper colleagues and friends who often ...