Dear Abby - The Durango Herald

Disagreement progresses to estrangement

DEAR ABBY: After several years of worsening arguments, I told my father I was tired of fighting with him, and we needed family counseling. He was deeply, explosively offended and not only re...

DATE: Aug 1, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Secrets still held as union ends

DEAR ABBY: After many years of trying to keep our family together, divorce is our final option. My husband has had two affairs that I know of during our 30-year marriage. They hurt me deeply...

DATE: Jul 30, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Man has long endured insults from wife

DEAR ABBY: I'm a 50-year-old man, married for 17 years with two kids. I have a mostly good marriage, but I have been noticing things that bother me. Almost daily, my wife seems to insult me ...

DATE: Jul 27, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Mom uses social media to disparage kids

DEAR ABBY: My mother is toxic. She had a terrible childhood, and she takes it out on me and my younger siblings. I live far away; they live in the same town as she does. If they don’t drop e...

DATE: Jul 25, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Room assignments unclear for ‘throuple’

DEAR ABBY: My 25-year-old son lives with his two girlfriends, who are also romantically involved with each other. They share a single bedroom. One of them has a baby due this week, and the o...

DATE: Jul 23, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Dad’s new wife offers sketchy advice

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I had a baby right around the time my father remarried. I didn’t know my new stepmother very well when she started giving me parenting advice. The issue is, her con...

DATE: Jul 20, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Troubling memories about dad haunt daughter

DEAR ABBY: When I was young and even as I grew older, my father touched me inappropriately. It made me uncomfortable even as an adult. I feel like when I was very small, something more may h...

DATE: Jul 19, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Son feels like the only adult

DEAR ABBY: I’ve been having an issue lately involving my mother. It feels like she isn’t really my “mother” but someone who thinks we’re best friends. It’s like she never really grew out of ...

DATE: Jul 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Co-worker weighs wisdom of being side piece

DEAR ABBY: I met this guy at work. He was everything I’m looking for in a guy. During a lunch walk, he told me about his breakup with his ex and how he moved out and bought a house. He lives...

DATE: Jul 16, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Overeaters Anonymous still doing hard work

DEAR ABBY: I recently watched a video of the founder of Overeaters Anonymous, Rozanne S., telling the story of founding the program and her own struggles with food. In it, she mentioned that...

DATE: Jul 12, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Handsy male friends thumb noses at fiance

DEAR ABBY: My fiancee has a number of male friends she has known for years. One of them stops off at her work, brings food and gifts, and may go out with her after hours. Another called her ...

DATE: Jul 9, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Aging father has made plans for assets

DEAR ABBY: I'm a single retired grandfather in the South. My daughter, 50, has hitched her wagon to an alcoholic. She’s circling the drain and going down with him. My grandsons are adults an...

DATE: Jul 6, 2024 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

‹ Prev
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Next ›

Photos: Wrestling at Durango High SchoolDurango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Durango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Photos: Where there's smoke there's firefightersDurango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Durango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Photos: Durango plays Montezuma-Cortez in boys, girls high school basketballDurango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Durango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Year in photos: A look back at Southwest Colorado in 2024Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is the people, their emotions, different cultures and varied forms of entertainment that make for impactful images. Add to that Southwest Colorado’s gorgeous scenery, abundant wildlife and range of weather events, and you have the makings for stunning photos. We hope you enjoy Photo Editor Jerry McBride’s photos from 2024.

Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is...

Montezuma County DA Christian Hatfield charged with DWICharges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New MexicoMontezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield was charged Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield.The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office charged Hatfield, 59, with petty misdemeanor charge of DWI and an open container in connection to the Aug. 30 single-car crash.The charges come after results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.

“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.Two vials of blood were taken from Hatfield at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 30, which was more than 12 hours after the crash occurred about 1 a.m. Those vials were received by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory at 10:26 a.m. Oct. 11, which was six weeks after the crash, according to records from the lab.An investigation into the blood warrant by The Journal newspaper in Cortez, Colorado, showed that the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office until Oct. 3, because paperwork to send it to the state laboratory was not processed.“I think it’s a non-prosecutable case because of all the errors made by law enforcement,” said Arlon Stoker, a high-profile defense attorney secured by Hatfield to fight the charges.

The charges made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are “based on the observations made by law enforcement officers on scene and the presence of intoxicating drugs and liquors in Christian's blood,” according to the report that was given to The Journal by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.Amanda Lavin, legal director for NMFOG, assisted The Journal in accessing public records from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Aztec. The records had been redacted, leaving out Hatfield’s name and information about the blood warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.Public records requests by The Journal and the Tri-City Record went unresolved for 14 weeks.The Journal requested body camera footage and lapel camera video on Sept. 3.The Tri-City Record requested any and all warrants, investigative reports and laboratory reports as well as photos, lapel cam videos and dash cam videos on Oct. 23.On Dec. 9, Lavin made the same requests.

The Journal received access to photos and videos in an email on Dec. 19, and Lavin, after making a legal argument for unredacted information, received the full report Dec. 19 and was advised that charges would be forthcoming.The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.The affidavit for search warrant for blood submitted by sheriff’s deputy Avery Killifer states he had an “opinion that the defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.” The deputy “placed the defendant under arrest” at the time, but Hatfield was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, because of “extensive injuries.”A summons was issued for Hatfield, and an arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Charges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New Mexico