You may call the Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or e-mail comments to readerscolumn@stny.rr.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message.
I would just like to thank everyone involved that has been so helpful in finding Buddy, the lost dog that from Newark Valley that was put in the readers this column last week. The response was incredible! He has been found, healthy and several miles away. Thank you so much for everyone’s efforts in helping me get Buddy home!
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Does anyone else notice that the lights on the Hiawatha Bridge have not been on for several years? When I talked to someone at the Town of Owego administration building a couple years ago they said the wiring was bad. Whose lights are they? Federal, state, county, town, village? Somebody! Are we still paying NYSEG or somebody for the electricity and maintenance of those lights and getting nothing in return? Money spent that way is not beneficial to the taxpayer. On the other bridge, the lights on the Court Street Bridge have been off on the east side. In regards to energy conservation someone said okay, but the pedestrian walkway is on the east side where there are no lights. Why not turn the lights off on the west side where there are no pedestrians. Doesn’t anyone pay any attention to anything that’s going on around us?
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Obama’s policy of appeasement is providing a Middle East descent into chaos. Saudi King Abdullah has just died and leaves doubt about the oil market and Saudi stabilization. Iran has a new intercontinental ballistic missile and Obama has just gifted Iran with $8 billion and some sort of secret deal. Emperor Obama called Yemen a friendly government last year and now rebels have deposed the leaders of Yemen. Obama’s foreign policy is a total disaster.
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Thank you Martin’s Plumbing and Heating for taking care of my emergency with no question of my financial position. You were very professional, finding the problem immediately. You now have a very satisfied new Candor customer. Thank you so much!
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I would like to put a big thank you out to the people who helped me on Thursday, Jan. 22 after I fell on ice near the movie theater. I appreciate your help and thank you so much!
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I’m just wondering if the job opening for the business manager for the Candor school is full time or part time. I understand that the current business manager is part time.
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My engineering estimate of the affect of the new traffic signal timing in the Village of Owego is that it has slowed down cross street traffic by about 25 percent while producing no discernible affect on the thru traffic transit speed. Is this what DOT had in mind?
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America, we need hope like we need water. We need faith in something that keeps us from feeling like nothing. We punish our addicts by forcing submission. We’d get more in the rehabs if they weren’t mandated by the state to quit smoking. The workers smoke, so that’s a joke. The addicts smell the cigarettes on their shirts. Let the addicts think about recovery and not nicotine withdrawal. Our school systems are failing. High drop out rates. Maybe we should cut the distractions and mandate uniforms and maybe they might feel equal to perform, a sense of belonging like a team where no one is making fun of others – instead they’re hugs and high fives. That will be the new norm. Yes, we like individuals to make decisions but kids can stand out by their manners and their achievements, not their meanness or special attire. If we have inner school problems that live in rural landscapes and adopt the policies of theirs, they seem to walk brighter, and the grades are higher. They seem to fly high in a crucial part of their lives.
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This is in response to the question in this column on how to get rust stains out of a tablecloth. You first apply lemon juice to the stain, put table salt on top of the stain and leave it in the sun for about six hours.
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For six years nobama inanely parrots the phrase “everyone should pay their fair share in taxes”. I agree, yet the super rich got richer under nobama and the middle class lost income, both verifiable facts. Both parties are beholding to big buck lobbyists. There are too many tax loopholes for the super rich and giant corporations but not for small companies or the middle class workers. The republicans should propose a flat income tax. Everyone would pay about 20 percent with no loopholes, no exemptions and one page worth of paper work. For the liberals, that means if you earn $1 million a year, you pay $200,000 federal taxes. For middle class, if you earn $40,000 per year you pay $8000 in federal taxes. This is pretty simple, even for the President to propose.
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This is for the person who wanted to get rust out of a tablecloth. Apply a commercial rust remover, testing first in a hidden area. If you don’t have a remover, apply a paste of white vinegar and table salt. Gently dab it into the mark, let it sit for 30 minutes and flush with warm water.
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If Cal Harris is innocent why isn’t he spending his money to find out what really happened to Michelle and get himself off the hook?
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I live in Nichols and I’m calling to see if there is anything about the yield sign at the end of Cady Avenue. I live on Dean Street, and I have had to come to almost a complete stop at least twice this week. Somebody’s going to get hurt there. The rest of the places all have stop signs except for there. They have people coming and going from down there to the establishment at the end of the street and they probably could have a deputy here and give out some DWI’s. Something’s got to be done. Somebody’s going to get hurt there or a child is going to get run over.
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I left this statement last week and for some reason it didn’t get printed so I am leaving it again. I too am proud of the community of Newark Valley. Our volunteers, our historical society, our fire and emergency department, our village workers and yes, even our mayor. I object to our mayor’s focus on sidewalks when there are so many other issues that could be addressed. It might be time to look into any landlord that evicts its tenants because they are unable or unwilling to repair heating and plumbing problems. It might be time to make some much needed improvements to the Trout Ponds like upgrading the bathrooms and the playground; so they showed there was little interest in sidewalks, yet sidewalks appear to be a priority for our mayor. In Upstate New York it is difficult enough to maintain the streets. Many of the newer sidewalks have already buckled and cracked and now are in need of repair.
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I’m calling about the driver that does Turkey Hill and Howe Road. He only had good sand on after a truck went off the road when it was icy in a ditch. Now he goes so fast he can’t even get any sand on the road. I think he needs to slow down and do the job right or get another driver to do it for him.
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One percent of workers earn the minimum wage, 55 percent of that 1 percent are under 21 years old. The minimum wage is often tied to union wages. That means more union dues to support obamacrats. See the pattern? Nobama has an approval rating of 50 percent. About 50 percent of eligible workers pay zero federal taxes. Obamacare is now costing $50,000 per person. Guess who pays for that. Maybe we need more taxpayers. Don’t hold your breath. When will this madness stop? Not soon enough!
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I was wondering if anyone has ever used the PC Clean that’s advertised on TV and what their response is. Please respond to this column as I read it every week.
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Aren’t you glad you have warm hats, gloves, mittens and scarves these cold days? Do you think of those adults and children who don’t have those things to keep them warm? If we at Tenderfoot Knitting Circle had more yarn we would be happy to knit or crochet these items for them. Call 687-2468 or 659-5739 for directions to us or to you. So many will thank you.
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It makes one wonder why we spend so much money trying to decide if there was ever life on Mars. We can’t even predict weather the day before it’s going to happen.
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This message is for the person who put a post in this column a couple weeks ago looking for a missing glove. I think the one you’re looking for might be perched upon a post at the corner of Main and Spencer Streets.
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Oh my, another trial for Cal Harris! Surprise, surprise. Why bother, they will let him off with time served if anything. The paper and People Magazine reported is $4.5 million. The lawyers and judges love that. Now a new small town can get on the map. They can’t wait for all the income to put this on the map. He has been a free man, and let’s not forget the Taylor’s, or don’t they count? Their money and love for their children can’t even match. They lost so much for no justice. Cal should have been in jail like all the rest of the criminals until free. Like I said, he will get off free or time served. He’s been a free man, why convict him now. Why waste the money and the people’s time.
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What’s worse? Stealing from your own business where you are known and trusted or stealing from someone else’s business?
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Regarding the underinflated footballs in the Colts/New England game. If the elements caused the Patriots’ footballs to deflate, wouldn’t the same thing happen to the Colts footballs? Don’t think you have to be a scientist to answer this one!
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Obama’s conniption about Congress inviting Israel Prime Minister “BiBi” Netanyahu to speak before the joint house is ludicrous if it were not for the hypocrisy. Was it not just a few weeks ago Obama had England’s Prime Minister David Cameron speak from Obama’s dais about placing phone calls and his lobbying efforts to contact key congressional representatives to oppose new sanctions on Iran and to support Obama and Kerry in their Iran policy (or lack thereof). Obama and his crew’s outrage on Netanyahu speaking in Congress are a bit too much in light of that. As it is, Obama is utilizing his political fund raising and backing a lobbying group 270 Strategies, and it’s director Jeremy Bird, Obama’s former campaign adviser to work in Israel and assist alongside V15, an “anti-BiBi” and anti-Semitic political action group, in their try to replace Israel’s government and defeat Netanyahu in his upcoming reelection. The sheer arrogance of Obama and his syncopates is insulting.
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Mr. Mayor, Could you please state your intentions for the Owego Fire Department and Owego EMS. There are rumors going around that you are trying to disband the Fire and EMS in Owego and consolidate it with the town. Please state your intentions to the public so everyone knows what you are thinking.
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“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong we may begin to use it with love and respect.” — Aldo Leopold
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Year ago we undertook to vaccinate everyone against measles. For at least the last ten years, we thought measles had been eradicated. All of a sudden, we have a measles epidemic in California. Gee, guess what, there’s been a measles epidemic in Mexico recently. Can anyone say illegal aliens and a porous border? You think there might be a connection? No, couldn’t be.
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Our president has been hooting and hollering about how the economy is just roaring along. He touts declining unemployment numbers, which is good. You know one of the reasons unemployment numbers have declined? Unemployment compensation, 99 weeks with no extension, has run out for many. Guess what? Magically, voila, they found employment! Amazing, isn’t it? Gee, if unemployment compensation was only for 20 or 30 weeks, I bet they’d have magically found work sooner, you think?
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To the person who wants to build a tiny house and said, “There is a lot of land available now that gas drilling has been banned,” don’t count your chickens yet. That land is needed by the state for the solar and wind farms to create all the “Green Jobs” they promised. NIMBY’s stopped the fracking from ever happening so let’s see if our environmentally sensitive citizens who want “Green Jobs and Green Energy” allow acres upon acres of solar panels to be built in addition to the 200 to 300 foot tall wind turbines in their backyards. They all hate fossil fuels and praise green energy so why wouldn’t they be the first in line to give up their land for 200-foot tall wind turbines?
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The growth of the solar industry has been huge in the past five years. In the past two years, the vast majority of new power plants installed in the U.S.A. have been solar power plants. Recently a 550 MW solar power plant came online in California. That’s enough to power 160,000 homes! To accelerate the adoption of solar power, state governments have instituted various incentives. These include tax credits, grants, production credits, and net metering. Thanks in large part to Governor Cuomo’s NY-SUN initiative, this year New York finally got into the top ten (for solar installations). There is new legislation in progress in New York that would enable residential customers to “remote net meter” with a central solar power plant. Since not all residences have a suitable place to put solar panels, this will allow many more people to go solar. The bottom line is more solar power means not only cleaner energy, but also more local jobs!
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The new Firehouse Cafe on Mill Street in Candor is great, really an undiscovered gem. Fresh brewed, locally roasted coffee, freshly made locally baked goods, fresh locally made soups and stew and more. Breakfast sandwiches are made while you wait, instead of being made who-knows-when, and just heated up. They open at 6 a.m., so if you’re on your way to work you can stop by and get back on the road quickly. No drive-thru, just good old-fashioned personal service with a smile at the counter. A couple local artists are showcasing their wares near the counter, so you can browse while you wait, although you won’t be waiting long. Get there before 2:00 p.m. for breakfast or lunch in a pleasant, cozy cafe atmosphere. Stop and go, or sit a while. Support this local business and help the owner support several other local businesses in the process. I am not related to the owner or involved in any way with this business, except as a satisfied customer.
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There are usually several messages of support for the OPD in this column. They all go along the lines of “Every time I call them, they show right up. Good job!” How often are you calling the police? Perhaps it is not that we need a stronger OPD but that we need more people who do not call the police to find a lost cat or free a stuck kite as have been previously reported in this column.
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Obama is now pandering with the fresh new freebie of college education. As all things Obama it is devoid of thought. Downsides must be considered. In order to qualify for free education students must maintain a 2.5 (C+) grade point average. Many of our community colleges are remedial high school. A “C+” means you attended most of the classes. How quickly is forgotten Vietnam, where college draft deferment began the dumbing down of American education. No male student flunked as that meant, “Vietnam here I come”. There are many reasons the same thing would happen in the bureaucracies of community colleges, an F would transform into a C+, and everybody passes! A lower bar would hurt everyone. A huge number of our high school graduates are not college ready. What is the real problem, which needs fixing?
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The Campville Fire Department has a five bay station in Campville with a large banquet/meeting hall and kitchen and another station on Gaskill Road. Why do they need another big four bay station with a large banquet/meeting hall and kitchen on the North side of Owego when Owego, Weltonville, and Newark Valley are so close and have covered this area since the beginning of time. They cancelled a reasonable contract with Owego; they raised the cost for coverage with Apalachin so they would have to cancel the contract with them. They control the Commissioners and the Coordinator is from Campville. There is a major power coming out of Campville and nobody has the power to stop them. Taxes are going to go through the roof and they don’t seem to care because there ego’s tell them we are right no matter what the taxpayers say. Oh, I forgot, the taxpayers don’t have a say. Good luck Owego – I hope you get your money’s worth.
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Remembering Mario Cuomo’s 1992 Democratic Conference much quoted speech about our country consisting of rich and poor cities. He said this to contradict Reagan describing our country as a city with a light on the hill that attracts the world’s people to it. After living in New York for over 50 years, I understand Mario’s comment as describing his New York State. This State’s ruling wealthy suppresses businesses with large taxes creating poor cities (triple cities). Their rules also attack our religious freedom, morality and individual rights. The world’s people strive hard to come to the USA for this eroding unique individual freedom. There is a portion of America that remains a light on the hill for people who do not want hand outs, but want to gain rewards for work. You witness this via. New Yorkers moving south, where the light on the hill continues to burn. FYI, this is similar to an article written by a 1950’s philosopher, Eric Hoffer. The article was that of a California math professor’s answer to a Japanese man’s question of, “what is America like“. He answered by describing the ugliness of his math department not America. Mario used his State.
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