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DILBERT ScottAdams PEARLSBEFORESWINE StephanPastis PICKLES BrianCrane BABYBLUES JerryScott&RickKirkman THEDUPLEX GlennMcCoy ZITS JerryScott&JimBorgman SHERMAN'SLAGOON JimToomey ARGYLESWEATER ScottHilburn BIZARRO DanPiraro DEARAMY»MywifeandI worry about our daugh- ter. She's a sophomore at university. She's made the honor roll for three semesters in a row. Obvi- ously, her academic prog- ress is not our concern. What we don't talk about is her worsening drinking problem. Since she started college, she's been cited twice for underage drinking (Minor in Possession) and broken her wrist in a fall that we all but know was alcohol-related. We don't know how to say anything about our suspicions. Ours is not a family comfortable with open discussions; we tend to go the ostrich route. In my gut, I feel we're heading for disaster. How can we intervene? She has a car and we worry most about her driving drunk. —WorriedParents DEAR WORRIED » Accord- ing to a recent govern- ment study, 39 percent of college students binge drank within the last month. If your daughter is drinking, it makes her vulnerable to legal conse- quences, physical injury, unwanted sexual contact, fractured relationships, hurting or injuring others by driving drunk, and the possibility of graduating from college with a seri- ous drinking problem. I hope you are brave enough to take your heads out of the sand in order to try to be hon- est about your concerns. Intervening now might be most effective. Colleges have a long way to go to control student drinking. Your daughter's school may only fine her and require her to take an online alco- hol education course. But you are her parents. In your gut, you feel you are headed for disaster. I hope you will violate your family's os- trich technique, and open up this topic for a loving parent-to-daughter talk. Expect her to laugh, deny, and even blame you. Tell her your con- cerns are so grave that you don't trust her with the car. A DWI could not only end another person's life, but ruin hers. Expect this conversa- tion to be awkward and challenging. But have it anyway. Realistically, you may not be able to alter her drinking. But your own honesty may eventually inspire her to take her own head out of the sand and be honest with herself, if not with you. The dean's office at your daughter's school might help, and collegedrinking prevention.gov has some helpful information and ideas. DEAR AMY » Respond- ing to the "Upset Wife," whose irresponsible husband was insisting on bringing another dog home, a spouse is infinitely more important than any dog. Bringing a dog into such a family amounts to depraved cruelty to both. This guy should be (just barely) cleared to own a dog, but does not deserve to have a wife. — Dog Lover and Wife Lover DEAR DOG LOVER » I like the way you put this. Parents worry about their daughter's college drinking You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@amydickinson. com and follow her on Twitter @askingamy. Amy Dickinson Ask Amy Sudoku Instructions:Theobjectistoplacethe numbers1to9intheemptysquaresso thateachrow,eachcolumnandeach 3x3boxcontainsthenumberonlyonce. AnswertoPreviousPuzzle CelebrityCipher ByLuisCampos Instructions:CelebrityCiphercryptogramsarecreatedfromquotationsbyfamouspeople, pastandpresent.Eachletterinthecipherstandsforanother. NEACrossword Aquarius(Jan.20-Feb.19) — Don't stop when you should be moving full speed ahead. Set your course and turn your atten- tion toward achieving what you set out to do. Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20) — Do what you do best with- out promising too much. Work quietly on your own until you are satisfied with what you have accomplished. Aries (March 21-April 19) — Share your thoughts and feel- ings, and offer to lend a helping hand to someone in need. Your kind gesture will be met with an unexpected reward. Taurus (April 20-May 20) — An emotional matter will rock your foundation if you believe everything you hear. Take a step back and size up your situation. Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Get into the swing of things. Join an organization that can help you expand your contacts or offer you the experience you need to advance. An op- portunity will surface if you are forthright. Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Stay alert and concentrate on the responsibilities you signed up for. Falling short at work, school or home will lead to unwanted criticism and disappointment. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Share your feelings, make plans with someone you love and look for exciting ideas about places to visit and lifestyle changes. Romance is highlighted. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — A challenge will help you put your life and situation in perspective. Use your intuition to help you avoid problems with partners. Compliments will get you further than criticism. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) — You must use your Libra charm and intelligence to convince others to see things your way. Personal gains look promising, and physical alterations will add to your appeal. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) — Don't feel pressured to make a business decision or change your course of action due to what someone else is doing. Stick to what is most familiar. Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) — Discipline and high ex- pectations and hopes will bring good results, as long as you don't overdo it. Setting param- eters and guidelines will help you stay on track. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Applying pressure in situ- ations that you don't like will not bring the results you want. Diplomacy will be necessary, along with proper incentives and whatever else it takes to get your way. Horoscope By Eugenia Last THURSDAY, FEB. 9 | YOURDAILYBREAK | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2017 2 B