Readers’ Column for the week of Oct. 8, 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.

Mark your calendars!  Happy Tails’ biennial book sale is Oct. 19-21 this year at the Owego United Methodist Church. Look for more information in the Pennysaver next week or follow us on Facebook: Happy Tails Rescue, Owego. For questions or to make book donations, call 687-2433.

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St. Pauly Textile (www.stpaulytextile.com) appreciates the many donations to our shed at St. Margaret Mary Church in Apalachin. Please refer to the list on the shed regarding the items that can be donated, and place them in a TIED plastic bag, NOT in a cardboard box. Also, please do NOT put books, household goods, or toys in the shed, since we have to dispose of them. Thank you for your generosity in helping those in need.

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The Family Reading Partnership of Owego Apalachin, a non-profit, is holding a fundraising event on Oct. 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. Psychic Phil Jordan will be at the Owego Elementary School. The ticket cost is $25 and includes refreshments. Please contact Kristin Barton at the Owego Elementary School to purchase your ticket.

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The center double yellow line on Glenmary Drive in Owego really needs repainting in a bad way; especially the curves south of Talcott and up to 17C. At pre dawn and darkness it’s quite dangerous, especially with trucks coming at you. It needed repainting last year.

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Now that Hefner’s gone, where do I apply for his job? 

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I just saw a commercial on television that speaks of a new New York State, where airports are being built across the state and there are lower taxes. I’ve lived here many, many years. Can someone please tell me where in New York State this is happening? I’m willing to move there for lower taxes. Please respond quickly and I thank you in advance. 

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I’m calling about the guy who said he was struggling to make ends meet and he didn’t think it was right for people to bully him or whatever. Try to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes. If you have enough food for today, make use of it. Don’t go borrowing for tomorrow. Just take care of today and that will be that. Praise the Lord and thank you.

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I have a large denim loveseat to give away for free. It’s yours for the taking. It still has a lot of life left in it. It would be good for anybody. If interested leave your number in this column.

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Here is a cooking tip I learned about years ago and I thought I would share it with you. When slicing an onion, do not cut both ends off. Leave the end with the little feelers on until you are done. You will not shed one single tear.

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Did you buy your ticket for an afternoon with physic Phil Jordan yet? I just bought a $25 ticket for the Oct. 22 performance at the Owego Elementary School. It’s a fundraiser for the Family Reading Partnership. I’m sure that if you call the Owego Elementary School they can assist you!

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For the person that left the message this column about needing a wheelchair in good condition, I have one. Call 642-3403.

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God Bless America where mean spirited people are free to call in and comment on a humor column. By the way, the definition of humor is something intended to be funny or amusing. You have succeeded in spoiling the intention of bringing a chuckle and instead expressing your own bias negative view. You have tried to bring everyone down into the dark place where you dwell. Have a nice day.

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It did my heart good to see those people protesting in Nichols with their signs saying abortion is murder. God bless them! Good job, hats off to you. Keep up the good work!

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This is Edith Rypkema from Hullsville Road and I would like to thank everyone who sent cards and flowers to me for my 95th birthday. 

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Riverview Manor in Owego deserves an award for the kindness and professional care a very dear friend and family member received from each department. Our loved one passed away on Sept. 23, and was at the residence for approximately 10 months. It helped knowing he was cared for by such kind and gentle people. Thank you again.

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In response to the Old Coot’s column comment that someone called in last week, if the cat is covered in fleas, dirty and smelly, that’s on the owner not the cat.

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I’d like to see Tioga County get tougher on this meth and heroin law. If you sell tainted dope you should get charged for murder, especially if they OD and die, just like Broome County. They can trace it back and charge you for murder, why can’t Tioga County?

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Seems like every time I look around I see another person is overdosing. I highly recommend they bring back the death penalty for heroin dealers; otherwise the beat goes on.

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I read in the Pennysaver a complaint about the cat and I don’t like his suggestion. Some people just don’t like anything. Cats give love, joy and companionship to many people who care for them. 

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Here we go again! There is important baseball and I’ve got to hit the hay. Too tired to watch. Can we start these games earlier, say 7:00? Why are all the games at night? How about some day games like the good ole days?

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The answer to the bag shortage at the Mission is simple, bring your own bag like you do at many other stores like Aldi’s and Sam’s Club. The Mission should not be forced to buy bags. 

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Here it is, Oct. 4 at 7 a.m. in the morning and I have been trying for two weeks now to get a hold of the Town of Owego Highway Superintendent and low and behold he’s on vacation again. This man can never be reached and we as taxpayers are paying for him? I am so glad there is another man running. It’s time for a change in the Town of Owego.

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With marijuana being illegal, the more important point is that you have one group of people suppressing the rights and pursuit of happiness of other groups of people.   

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I just read in the Pennysaver where someone has taken the trinkets off of the Indian Monument on Cemetery Hill. You should never take anything off of anyone’s grave that doesn’t belong to you unless it’s your family, and you are replacing it. Please take the stuff back to the gravesite as you were asked to. Number one, you never, ever take anything off of an Indian burial site! It is sacred. If you think you are stealing something, you’re going to steal more than what you think you bargained for. You better take it back and say a special prayer asking for forgiveness. 

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All of you Democrat voters in Tioga County are really dumb. You seldom get to vote for any office because no one will run as a Democrat. We Republicans elect the next official in the primaries and he/she is automatically next for that office. It is about time you switched parties and have your vote mean something. There are worse things than being called a Republican!

National Political Viewpoints

I’m calling about the NFL football players. They are overpaid underachiever’s; most of them. If they can’t stand with the American flag and the singing of the anthem, then they should go back to their country under their flag. I lost a cousin in WWII and a brother just before the Korean War and I remember, although I was young, when they brought my brother’s casket back with the American flag draped over it. I knew that was one reason why my brother went to war. 

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I’d like to chime in on the current NFL controversy. What a wonderful country we have that decanters are not arrested and never heard from again. Chinese and Russian jails are filled with people who disagree with the official opinion. My point is that many super brave men and women have made tremendous sacrifices so we could have a country such as America. The Star Spangled Banner represents that great country and great people who have provided us with many wonderful freedoms. Whenever I’m at a public gathering and our anthem is played, I’m standing erect with my hat off with my hat over my heart and I get goose bumps and fight back tears of gratitude. But that’s just me. God bless America!

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So some big time athletes don’t want to stand during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. Let’s show them combat footage from D-Day or Okinawa and maybe they’ll get an idea of how great a price was paid for that song to be freely played. It’s simple common sense that it deserves the utmost respect!

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To the person last week bragging about Hillary, apparently this reader knows nothing about Hillary as our senator. The biggest problem was she did nothing. She promised 200,000 jobs upstate and gave us none. Also, when she was a lawyer earlier she defended a rapist of a 12-year-old girl, and then she had the gall to say it was the girl’s fault, she asked for being raped; so she really looks out for women. When are you people going to wake up?

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It is better to be a rube than a lying, Marxist, Democrat traitor. America, like it or leave it! Hillary’s knowledge is unsurpassed? Surely you jest! Hillary accepted coronation, subverted dumb Bernie and then blew the election with her inane yapping and harping barking meltdown. She had absolutely no programs that advanced the U.S. population. The ersatz economist should know that the best way to grow the economy is to boost productivity and have a tax structure, which makes it advantageous for worldwide investors to invest in the U.S. Economy, period, and end of story! It is amazing what nonsense subversive dimwits foist on the American public. Go Trump and the U.S. Veteran patriots!

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I think the football players that don’t stand for the flag during the national anthem are very disrespectful of the flag. My father was in the war. They need to grow up!

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Thomas Jefferson said descent is the highest form of patriotism. Go Colin Kaepernick. This country is messed up. Cops and the rich should not be above the law. One day!

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I am sickened and saddened by the horrendous mass shooting out in Vegas. Our country, in my lifetime, has really gone downhill. We really need to get back our morality and we need to get back to a sense of God and our land. I think that will really help turn this nation around.

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I’ve got a suggestion that would be good for the country; take Mr. Trump’s Twitter account away from him.

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I think people would be happy to leave Hillary and Obama alone if they would stay out of the public eye, but both of them continue to want to be in the spotlight so they are only asking for the negative feedback that they continue to receive. Now, if that’s not enough, you have Michelle Obama, she’s back. What will it take for them to realize the American people do not want to hear from any of them? We are not interested in anything they have to say, unless of course you are from Wall Street and then you pay thousands to listen. Why? I have no idea!

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Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the horrific Vegas attack. Hillary though, did not offer condolences, prayers or compassion. She went right to gun control. I could not believe it. I can only imagine the media’s response if Trump had said those words. Again, our thoughts and prayers should be and are with those affected by that horrible, horrible attack in Los Vegas. 

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I keep seeing Sean Hannity on Fox News saying all other channels have fake news. I think Fox News has more fake news than the other channels. This man is bias and he is getting scary. He cannot get through a program without blasting Hillary Clinton and he thinks he’s the only person on this earth? Come on, be honest and get over it. You are making the people sick of your fake news. Get rid of Fox News!

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Personally I think there’s nothing like a moving, rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in the beginning of a professional game. I can’t help but stand, as straight as I can, with hand over heart.

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The same people, who say they are boycotting the NFL because the football players are kneeling during the National Anthem, are the same people who say I don’t want gun control after the recent Los Vegas shooting. They say it is my right to carry, but don’t think freedom of speech is okay. Funny how when it affects you and your beliefs it’s all right, but when someone else expresses their rights and you don’t agree, you see it differently. 

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As of mid-September, out of 599 key government positions that require Senate confirmation, Trump had made only 159 nominations, according to The Washington Post. Trump had yet to submit nominations for 320 positions. Why is there only Acting Secretary of Homeland Security instead of a Secretary of Homeland Security? It is one thing to bluster; it is another to govern. Trump is becoming irrelevant.

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Which is the greater threat to our American way of life, the NFL or the NRA?

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For last week’s caller defending the Clinton (Cash Machine) Foundation. Please read the Clinton Cash Machine website. Read it for what it doesn’t say. In 2015 the CF received $337M and donated $249M (net +$90). In 2014 they netted +72M. Thus CF has presently amassed $500M. Compare this with United Way. Charities do not amass a half billion dollars and hold it forever. CF can contribute to our hurricane disasters, but doesn’t. The CF’s Haitian contributions went to a Swedish telecom firm which did not use it for the Haitians. Hillary is now after the 2020 Dem presidential candidacy so she can continue to sell future favors. It should be self-evident Trump’s $1M contribution was both symbolic and real. Did any Dem leader like G. Soros contribute anything? No!

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As a near 80-year-old Republican, I cringe each morning as I check the news to see what new embarrassment Donald Trump has brought to the Presidency. I was not prepared for his behavior in Puerto Rico. Has this man no sense of humanity, no feeling of compassion or common decency? What has my party and my country done to deserve this man?

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Only a white supremacist like Donald Trump would turn a justifiably peaceful protest into a major issue of disrespecting the national flag. He is so unfit to be president.

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I want to send my prayers to all the people who have lost their lives and the ones who have been injured in the latest horrendous act of violence. My thoughts and prayers go out to the loved ones who are grieving. I think President Trump has been doing the best he can for the United States. He did a good job for Texas, Florida, New Orleans and Puerto Rico, and the senseless act in Vegas. Why then, is the news media still calling him a racist because they feel he is only going out to Vegas because he has a casino there, and they even went as far as to say that all the people at the concert are republicans. For pity sake, when I go to see a concert I go for the entertainment, not because of being a republican or a democratic. Wake up people and realize how good you have it here in the great U.S.A.  

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Now that half of our historic statues and monuments have been removed or destroyed, I wonder if the lives of those who forced that issue have been improved?

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I don’t know why it’s being made such a big deal about taking a knee during the anthem. Jehovah Witness’s have been sitting out the pledge for years. Refuse to fight for this country. If it came down to a draft, they would bolt for the Canadian border.