Readers’ Column for the week of Oct. 1, 2017

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 am looking for a wheelchair in good condition, no longer able to get around (electric). If you have one, leave your number in this paper. 

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I am a desperate husband in Waverly, N.Y. looking for someone to donate money or get a fundraiser going for my wife who needs to go to Geisinger Medical Center in Dansville the middle of next month for an aneurysm surgery. If anybody could help, please call (607) 222-2665.

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Personally I love Binghamton weather. Cloudy, misty, rainy, yes it’s very soothing and relaxing. Hot and oppressive sunshine? Keep it!

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I’d like to say all the trinkets on the Indian Monument on Cemetery Hill need to be replaced. They’re of value to some people to give their gifts to her and they shouldn’t be taken. It’s wrong that you guys took those trinkets and what must be replaced back, should be. The dream catcher, the little trinket with the feather and all certain little items like that should be returned, replaced at a grave. Those of Native American decent, or black, Hispanic or white, we all tend to her grave. They need to be replaced.

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I read with interest the Old Coot’s column in last week’s Pennysaver. I cannot understand why you would have a cat in your home that may cause you such injury. A hundred percent way to cat proof your home is to get rid of that cat! No way would I have such a hazardous, flea covered, dirty, smelly pest in my home. I hope my suggestion helps. 

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Seizing marijuana on an island? I think State Troopers really have better things to do like fighting serious crimes. Other states are legalizing marijuana, freeing up the police, unclogging the courts and avoiding people having records. Marijuana is not a gateway drug when it is legal, only when it is in the hands of the underworld. New York State would also benefit from more jobs and increased taxation if it were legal.

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Wow, Owego’s big bust on marijuana on Hiawatha Island. It wasn’t Hiawatha Island, I know the island it was, it’s down below the mouth. If you look at those leaves that they show on TV you can see that it was already harvested, so what they got was a bunch of stalks and leaves. Wow, big bust! Marijuana is going to be legal soon, so there are other concerns coming into this town other than marijuana. It’s the heroin; get off the petty crap!

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I’d like to congratulate the Waverly police and the surrounding cops for the big drug bust on Providence Street. I hope that money is kept here in town and put to good use. You guys did an excellent job. 

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There was another beautiful day on the football field in Newark Valley with a large crowd of several hundred in attendance and once again a very noticeable absence of any representation of the music department in the stands. For many years and over several generations the Newark Valley Pep Band has had an important role in the stand by encouraging fans and supporting their team. I realize the marching band is too expensive to maintain but four or five kids with instruments in the stands, really? The Newark Valley music department can’t even manage that? Now that is a sad day.

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There are a lot of people out their struggling. I sure don’t think it’s right for the ones who think they’re better to bully the poor. After all, we are all God’s children. Signed, Snowmobile fan.

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Someone called in about box tops for education and wants to know where to take them. Apalachin Elementary takes those and the Campbell labels, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Owego Elementary takes them. You can give them a call. 

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Someone wrote in looking for a Fuller Brush rep. I am interested in that also, so if somebody knows who sells Fuller Brush other than going on the Internet, please write into the Pennysaver. 

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Here’s a question for our Owego Village Board. Do you really think the sheriff or the state police could adequately patrol our village and respond to emergencies on various side streets? Will they know all the high crime spots; will they know the local problem people? Will they care as much about our village as the Owego Police Department does? I really don’t think so. If they are determined to get rid of some village operation why not consider eliminating the street department? Go out some night and notice all the burned out streetlights, watch out for the sunken sewer grates on Erie Street and after a hard rain check out all the plugged street drains. 

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Why do people, and especially businesses, not return messages? If the business wants more business, answer your messages or hire more people! I am really frustrated with a couple of businesses.

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I would just like to let the public know, I’ve tried to reach the supervisor for the Town of Owego, but back in the 50’s, that’s kind of telling you my age, I was stationed at a strategic air command. I had a secret clearance. I could get the Pentagon easier than I can get the supervisor.

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I hope that the Owego road supervisor who in the spring made a comment he was going to blacktop all the dirt roads in Owego, I hope they did not forget Haus Road. There’s still time before the snow flies.

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I’m calling to inform people the Mission needs plastic bags; plastic grocery bags and leftover bags that you would normally drop off at the store. They had to buy small garbage bags in order to package the purchases. You could check with the Mission first before you recycle them.

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I’m calling about the noise in Owego, especially on Fox Street and North Avenue. There are so many cars and motorcycles with loud mufflers. Some of the trucks, when they go to stop, they know it’s a yellow light, they know what’s coming next, why can’t they apply the brakes when they first see the yellow light, especially when they know they’re not going to make it through? I thought there was a law against loud mufflers, cars, trucks and things of that sort. I don’t think the police are doing their jobs like they should. They’re out sitting, hiding in certain areas and they’re not right here listening to this. If it’s not a law there should be one. 

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Pantry Pig no longer collects scrap metal. Is there anyone in the Newark Valley area that does collect scrap metal?

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More police patrol is needed on Route 96 from Candor to Turners Bridge. There’s lots of heavy truck traffic and they don’t slow down enough. 

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Now this one really gets me. In the paper last week, it was shaming Waverly for having the least smart children in the whole area and in the paper today it says the teachers are getting a raise! What the hell is wrong with this picture? Oh my!

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I live on Browns Lane and I’m an Owego taxpayer. I’d like to know if anybody out there could tell me how to get a hold of a dog warden to take care of about ten dogs. You never can sleep at night. It’s barking from morning to night constantly. Please leave your number in the Pennysaver.

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Anyone in Owego or in the village that puts metal in the cans in the recycles, you’re supplying the drug problem here in Owego. If you don’t want to supply the drug problem in Owego don’t put them on the curb.

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The NG compressor station in the Chenango Valley School District seems to be ‘damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’. I think that is wrong. To start with, NG has four very noisy compressors and plans to TRIPLE the noise to 12. They ‘estimate” up to 125 trucks a day will draw gas. If there were more compressors it would appear they would need more truck traffic. Now if they deliver only 125 trucks a day, that means for 125 to go out that 125 have to go in; so we have 250 trucks in 24 hours or about one every six minutes, 24/7. This was about the rate on route 220 in Pennsylvania, in the Towanda area. That was a real traffic jam with high accident rates and deaths. Do we really want this on the I-81 and I-88 corridors? I think NOT! So let’s back up CVSD before it is too late.

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If you did not see the notice from Suez, wake up! They are proposing to raise water rates an unheard of 33.4 percent, PLUS other fees for “system improvements”. So there could potentially be a 40 or 50 percent increase in each bill forever forward. Do you want your water bill to go up hundreds of times the rate of inflation? Did you get a 33 percent raise at your job this year? My question is this, is there an agency we can contact to fight this? If so, please post in this column and let’s all see if we can stop this nonsense before it is too late.

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I would like to give a shout out to Coach John Heath of the Owego Free Academy Cross-Country team. He put on a Cross-Country Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 23 at Pheasant Hill Golf Course. It was quite a beautiful athletic event. Teams from all over New York and Pennsylvania participated. I loved witnessing true sportsmanship at its finest. The Meet was so well run and organized. Owego Free Academy can be so proud of such a wonderful Coach who has all the kids’ interests at heart. You should attend a cross-country meet and see what it’s all about. So awesome to see all the athletes start out at the starting line with all the beautiful colors of all the different school uniforms. It’s a sight to behold. Thank you Coach Heath for all your hard work. You are so appreciated.

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To the person looking to donate box tops, my children attend OES and would love to have the box tops.

National Political Viewpoints

News for other veterans, Donald Trump never served during Vietnam horrors, he got a deferment that he sought vigorously. 

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Republicans wake up. There’s no healthcare in the Appeal Obama Healthcare bill in Congress. Coverage for preconditions will be gone; Medicaid funding will be eliminated for the sick and disabled now in nursing homes. It is a complete travesty. The millionaires who want their never-ending tax cuts are pushing this bill. Wake up Trump supporters. Call you congressman and ask for the truth.

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This situation with North Korea is serious. You’ve got two lunatics flexing their muscles. Anything can happen. We have to pay close attention. Be aware, we’ve got a lunatic in the house and we’ve got a lunatic threatening another lunatic.

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So happy the NFL ratings are falling. They have Colin Kaepernick to thank. I still don’t understand taking a knee for our National Anthem, but these overpaid so called athletes need to right a wrong. Why wouldn’t they take a portion of the millions of dollars and work toward a cause that would do some good? I guess they don’t realize they are doing nothing but making fools of themselves and I hope those ratings continue to fall.

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Senator Mitch McConnell has spent 9 million Republican dollars on the Alabama Primary and is pressuring President Trump to support Senator Luther Strange in return for McConnell’s inept handling of nobamacare and the tax decrease. Let’s all hope Judge Roy Moore wins the primary and starts the swamp draining. 

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Why don’t you people stop bashing Hillary and Obama? You got what you wanted, now just leave them alone!

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Let it be said that our soldiers died in vane in Viet Nam knowing it was an unjust war that couldn’t be won. We should have never entered that war; it was a communist war and looked what happened, it became communist anyway. So it shows we should have never got involved, we should have never sent our men and it shouldn’t repeat itself. So hopefully with what’s going on with Korea now, we have learned from our mistakes and this time when we go into something like Korea or Viet Nam, we will be there to win and not to die on a losing cause to start with. 

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This is to our high priced athletes; you’ve never had it so good in your life. If you do not want to stand for the National Anthem, stay the hell in the locker room until it is all over. If you don’t like it get the hell out of here!

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I totally agree with Donald Trump, if you kneel during the National Anthem you should be deported and at the least fired, if you are in a sports arena. Go Donald Trump!

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Why are some of the NFL players protesting before the National Anthem on the sidelines? Why are about 90 percent of the players protesting black players? Trump never said anything about singling out black players. I think some of them would protest over anything. If these players do not love our country, you have a right to move to any country you want. I’m a veteran and respect and love this country and our president.

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Please tell me this isn’t so. Jared Kushner used a private email account to communicate back and forth with the White House? Oh my gosh, how does that saying go? Lock him up, lock him up, lock him up! I can do it but you can’t, that’s what the saying is for the Republican Party.  

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I am amazed at the lack of knowledge about Hillary Clinton. At 20 years old she strived to make American better! She was the best New York Senator we ever had, after being a wife in the White House and as Secretary of State worldwide. Her knowledge is surpassed by none! When Trump got out his witch-hunt rage to put her in prison, it was like a bully group from history! It is so sad because she wanted equality and acceptance of all and health insurance for all. Many, even now, use their private servers, when then she did not even realize it was not good. Why do all the angry, swearing, bully supporters keep groveling at Trumps feet?

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I think President Trump needs to stay out of the NFL business. He does not pay their salaries. I think he has enough to take care of in the White House, besides when he took office he would be too busy to take vacation so surely does not have time to watch a football game and boycott it.

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My, my, isn’t our President Trump generous! He says he is worth $10,000 million dollars, an impressive way of saying $10 billion. Imagine, donating $1 million for hurricane relief, which would be like a lucky fellow with $10,000 in the bank giving a dollar.

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To the caller who said Las Vegas says Trump is going to go to prison. Are you willing to bet with me the same bet? Put up or shut up.

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The NFL should stay the hell out of politics. The players who refuse to stand for the National Anthem should either be booted off or fined.

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What a photo op Trump had Monday right after he used foul language, S.O.B. with the NFL. There he was, Trump, with school children of all things asking them about their science courses as if he really and truly cared. He should have shown them the film he made when he was golfing and aimed at Hillary Clinton’s head and she fell head first in a plane. That was sick, sick, sick. Trump’s loose lips that sink ships are affecting so many people. His hostility, arrogance and divisiveness are bad for all of us. He is not a uniter, but Trump is a divider. I respect the flag, but now I approve of the NFL players that were kneeling and Trump deserves it. He is an unstable president. Mr. Kelly please take Mr. Trump’s phone away before he puts our country at risk with his tweets. God help us all from this man!

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So now the letters NFL stand for no fans left. What did the players expect when they’ve shown such disrespect for our country and our flag. I’d like to see them earn their overpaid salaries in North Korea. The players should be kneeling in front of our veterans, those who have been severely injured fighting for our freedom. These football players are a disgrace! We will no longer be watching football in this house. 

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The spoiled brat NFL millionaire players who take a knee during our National Anthem are a total disgrace. The Jaguars and the Ravens who kneeled to the U.S. Anthem on foreign soil, which stood for “God save the queen”, should be shunned wherever they go and should hide their heads in shame. President Trump is absolutely right about these disgusting traitors. 

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Chucky Schumer can’t tell the truth. Dems raised the corporate tax rate to 35 percent, right? Wrong, smoke and mirrors! Chucky, Hillary, and cronies created so many loopholes that the effective rate is 23 percent. Trump is trying for 20 percent, not much difference. However, once Chucky and the rest of the Swamp mobsters create new loopholes for their donors it will be even lower. Understand why Obama is now a lackey dog for Wall Street? 

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It is apparent to me that Republicans in congress all flunked basic economics classes. The only way to increase economic growth is to increase the population, which leads to increased spending, which leads to increased demand, which leads to increased production. It is as simple as that. No nation has ever-increased economic growth with stagnant population growth. So open the immigration gates, Donald!

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In case you did not know it, Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Puerto Rico is an American protectorate. The island was completely destroyed. Trump is worrying more about NFL players bringing light to inequality in America than helping millions of citizens stuck in the middle of devastation. What is congress doing? Nothing. The senate spent weeks threatening the ACA again. Hillary Clinton had to tell Trump to send the Naval hospital ships for crying out loud.

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While President Trump is angered by those who do not stand for the playing of the National Anthem, Thomas Jefferson would be proud. This shows how little respect the President has for the Constitution he has sworn to uphold.

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Please tell me what you lefty Socialists want? I don’t understand your end game. You want us all to be equal so nobody stands out? Don’t you realize if you’re not rewarded for doing outstanding things, nobody will do anything outstanding? It’s human nature, where has socialism ever worked? We are a competitive species. Can you imagine playing sports and not keeping score? That’s just stupid. I can see it now, the Olympics; everybody gets a gold medal for participation. You guys just don’t understand the fundamentals of human nature. I can understand you’re filled with envy of the rich. But all of Hollywood wants this? They are the rich! I can’t believe that they want to cut their own throat and not get paid a ton of money for their movies? As we would all make the same amount of money, right? Maybe they have a guilt complex; knowing there are hundreds of people that could do their job just as well, even better, but due to dumb luck or nepotism, don’t have that chance. Clooney! So, please come up with a theory that makes more sense then mine: envy and guilt.

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Why NFL owners, coaches and refs turned their back on their own rule book, the National Football League’s rules, found on pages A62-63 of the league’s game operations manual: The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses. President Trump may have been wrong in claiming the player should be “fired” for noncompliance under these rules, but he was certainly right about being taken off the field and suspended.

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One of the unintended consequences of Obamacare is much greater opioid addiction and death. Under Obamacare, states that expanded Medicaid suffered an explosion in opioid abuse. Opioid deaths increased at rates of 10 to 20 times that of states that didn’t expand Medicaid. This is crowding out the working family’s access to hospitals and emergency rooms. Worldwide socialized medical care always substitutes real care for cheap drugs.

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NASCAR owners got it right. “You WILL stand for the National Anthem, or you WILL be on a Greyhound bus out of here!” Why these NFL players think spectators and fans need to be treated to a display of self centered, spoiled bad behavior, I have no idea! If they’re so upset, give their $2 million salary to the poor, and put in time, effort and money to a solution to the problem! Stop seeing EVERYTHING in terms of race! I don’t give a rip if you’re yellow, orange or purple! PLAY the game you’re paid big bucks to play, get over yourself and your self centered nonsense, or get on the Greyhound bus!

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Foundations are created for a stated purpose. They can’t just go doling out money for whatever strikes their fancy. So if the stated purpose is, for example, education in Africa, it cannot donate to disaster relief in the U.S. or Mexico. And we don’t know what many individuals have given to hurricane relief because their egos don’t need the stroking that would follow publicity. How much did you give?

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Ya gotta laugh! So far, Hillary has blamed 26 people, entities or situations for her having lost the election, not one of them Hillary Clinton! President Trump stated he was wire tapped. The Liberal media fell all over themselves making fun of that, and turns out to be absolutely true! From James Comey to Hillary Clinton, to Chucky Schumer and Gillibrand, they all act so high and mighty, lie through their teeth and seem to think we will never find them out. Along the same line, all this compassion, etc., for the DACA bunch has absolutely nothing to do with compassion, it has everything to do with “buying” votes for the Liberals!

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Hillary Clinton received three million more votes than Trump. If she wants to write a book, and discuss it on TV, that’s fine with me. Don’t like her? Don’t watch. Don’t buy her book. See how easy that was. She did not write the book for you. Repeating years of lies about her is not an argument. You are free to return to picking your nose waiting for the light to change.

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It has become undeniable. Russia struck a blow against our democracy. Mueller is getting ready to drop the hammer on that cadre of traitors. The republicans in the congress and senate do nothing like the cowards they truly are. The rubes watching fox to get their daily dose of propaganda are too stupid to realize they have been conned. As that dotard high steps across the world stage Americans face palm while the world points and laugh at the fool and by extension at us. They are not laughing because it is funny. They laugh because we are no longer respected nation. Well done, rubes!