Readers’ Column for the week of Nov. 19, 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 would like to get in touch with the person who wrote in the Pennysaver last week about the experience they had taking their cat to the veterinarian. As I was reading that, it sounded as if that was something I had written myself about what I had encountered recently. I am leaving my phone number at the Pennysaver and if you would please give me a call I would love to discuss both of our issues we have recently encountered. 

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On Thursday night, today is Friday, I was on my way home on 38B coming from Endicott towards Newark Valley and I encountered a car in front of me trying to avoid hitting a deer, it was very dark. To avoid hitting that person or the deer that was crossing over towards the right hand side of the road, I veered left only to discover there was a female deer right there and there was nothing I could do, I hit it. I called the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department and they came to help me out. They got things straightened out; he was very kind, very generous and very helpful. I did not get his name but I think he was an angel. I would just like to thank him for all of his help.

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Will someone in this column please respond to help me understand how we are cutting funding for our special needs population yet increasing funding for our heroin addicts?

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Here are some reasons why the pet of the week is a cat. Number one, Maddie’s Meadows is a cat only shelter. Number two, a litter of kittens has a slightly better chance surviving being dropped in a farm field than puppies because they may be able to find a mouse or two, enabling them to survive until they are found by a kind human. Number three; people love kitties enough to make an effort to find a home. 

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Is there anyone who could teach me how to dive off a diving board?

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To the young people that stopped in the middle of the night to tell us that our tractor was on fire and put the fire out; we want to tell you we appreciate that very much and God bless you!

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I’m an elderly person who’s hearing aid quit. Is there an organization out there that could help me out in getting me a new one? If so please respond to this column. It’s an awful life to live when you can’t hear.

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Remember, Black Friday bowling is coming up the day after Thanksgiving. It’s free pizza, soda and bowling for all school-aged kids.

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I felt bad for the person who had all those problems with their cat and the situation with their vet. I take my cat to Day Hollow Animal Hospital. I love taking him there because they are caring and compassionate. They are not all about the money. They are fine people at Day Hollow.

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If you have problems with tailgaters, chances are you are not going the speed limit.

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To the person looking for lawnmower parts, I have two old mowers in rough shape, but if interested please put your number in this column again.

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After all the money and time recovering from flood damage in 2006 and 2011, you’d think that common sense might sink in and not allow building in a flood area. But now an out of town developer comes in and wants the state to give them millions of dollars to build in a seasonal swamp at 610 E. Main St. I doubt that the village is foolish enough to approve this but if they do I’m selling canoes to the residents! 

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I would like to give a huge vote of thanks and appreciation to the Town of Owego crew that takes care of the Hickories Park. I’m there almost every morning, doing my laps and roadwork, and the Town of Owego crew is always there cleaning the facilities, leaf blowing the pavilions, emptying the dog poop bins, picking up every scrap of paper, and mowing and trimming as needed. We should be proud to have and have access to such a beautiful park. Thanks guys and gals. Great job!

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The proposed plan to build 40 apartments on the swampland next to Division Street is a terrible idea and I hope that the planning and zoning boards for the village and the county both see it as such and prevent major construction in a flood plain. That plot turns into a pond in the spring due to ground water alone, not to mention the risk of another 100-500 year flood from the river itself.

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I heard that they are trying to build low-income housing in the village. We have enough problems with drugs already. Whose bright idea is this?

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What are our officials thinking, letting some hotshot out of town developer come in and try and setup a bunch of subsidized housing in the village? I thought they were trying to make the village a better place, not let in the riff raff. Is this some push from the liberals to integrate the village by handing out state money? Albany doesn’t get to decide who lives in my village.

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OPD will be working overtime if those low-income apartments are approved, we don’t need no more meth and heroin in the village. Just build your section 8 housing next to the jail if you are looking for empty lots.

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I agree with Patricia Williams’ letter to the editor concerning the IDA’s decision to accept the application to build a 40 unit apartment structure in the FEMA AE flood-rated area in the village. Why not consider the vacant property located on the west side of the Hallstead development above the bridge?

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Just want to shout out a thank you to Mark Clark, Owego Highway superintendent, for paving Upper Chestnut Ridge. It is such a pleasure to drive on a smooth surface after years of driving over patch that felt like you were driving over railroad tracks. Thank you, Mark!

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We don’t need a bunch of New York City folks invading the village. Those brick pond apartments are going to be haven for them.

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Two items of very good outerwear clothing were found on W. River Road near the Nichols Cemetery, in Nichols. If you can describe either item it is yours. Call (570) 247-7003 to claim either item.

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Thank you to everyone that came to the Tioga County Planning Board meeting last night. Many residents were in attendance to voice their opinions and concerns regarding the proposed apartment complex at Brick Pond. It’s becoming even clearer to me that this company from Syracuse is only interested in making money and has not concerned themselves with Owego, the neighborhood or Brick Pond at all. They make it sound as if they’re trying to help provide housing for residents of Achieve, but in fact are recklessly putting them in the middle of a known flood zone with no evacuation plan. They are simply using them for financing and tax breaks. The “changes” they have made since the last meeting only clarifies that building these structures will cause more flooding to the surrounding homes and have a devastating impact on Brick Pond and the wildlife there. It seems like some of the “improvements” they would need to make for drainage around the area would actually be the financial responsibility of the Village. Your voice made a difference at this meeting! We need to continue to not let this out of town company use Owego for their financial gain. The next meeting is even more important! Please plan to attend and bring a neighbor. It is Tuesday, Nov. 21, at 6 p.m. at the DPW building located at 20 Elm St. in Owego.

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We live across the road from the proposed housing project at 610 E. Main St. We watched the holes being dug on Tuesday and they said they didn’t find any water? It’s November! Perhaps they should hold until spring and dig again! We have three sump pumps in our basement that run from the beginning of spring until June, sometimes even into July, every year. We watch geese swim in that field during that time. Our house is slightly higher than the field; during the 2011 flood we had seven and a half feet of water in our basement; with the exception of one home on high ground, every house on both sides from the corner of Division to the tracks was flooded, many with two to three feet of water on the first floor. At 6 a.m., the water was coming across the field; by 7:30 a.m. water was pouring into the basement windows. And the water continued to rise up our front steps. Those who hadn’t already evacuated stayed on their second floors for many days. Building a housing project on a known flood plain is insane.

National Political Viewpoints

Statues of George Washington, Christopher Columbus, Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jefferson are not politically correct and must be removed, say the Looney Democrat Liberals. Oh wait, they are putting up a statue of crack smoking Mayor Marion Barry. Where you say? Why outside of the Washington D.C. City Hall. This proves the inmates are running the asylum.

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I’ve come to the conclusion that the wacky left and others just do not get it. They take down all historic statues, they change names of schools and churches, they kneel before the flag and the singing of our National Anthem, they flood us with gun laws that do not help. All this accomplishes is a big fat zero. The hearts of the people must change before anything else. I hope it’s not too late.

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I’m a Republican and I can’t see where this tax plan is going to help the poor. A family of two, making $25,000 a year will not be paying any tax, but they will not be receiving any savings either, zero savings. Retired seniors making $20,000 a year will not be helped at all. What a shame about these retired seniors making $20,000 or less. They are the forgotten in this tax plan. The Republicans think there are two classes, the rich and the middle class. We do not have a poor class and these are the forgotten in the rich tax plan.

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Why doesn’t the United States recognize there are three groups of taxpayers – the rich, the middle class and the poor? They lump the poor in with the middle class. How many times have you heard them mention the poor class? Hardly ever! There’s quite a difference in this world between the poor and the middle class in wages. I think they ignore the poor because they think the poor are eligible for a lot of free things so they don’t worry about them.

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The food and drug administration has done it again, limiting our freedom to obtain compounds from a homeopathic laboratory. According to a new ruling non-publicized to the general public for debate, you now need a medical doctor’s prescription to obtain such. Fat chance! With homeopathy there are no side affects such as stroke, heart, liver or kidney failure like with medical prescriptions. It either works or it doesn’t and Mother Nature knows you just excrete what it doesn’t need.

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So now we have four women who supposedly don’t know each other making accusations against Judge Moore just before an election. Doesn’t anyone smell the rat of dirty politics? 

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The difference between the Democratic and the Republican Party is that the Democrats will circle the wagons to protect a crook and the Republicans turn tail and run in the other direction. No support there.

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Again we have priorities that are not correct. Why is Medicaid coverage 100 percent, but Medicare for our retired once hard working seniors only 80 percent coverage? For a senior to have 100 percent coverage they must buy a supplemental plan, which can be very costly. This is not correct. It really should be the other way around. Medicaid recipients should be paying something. Our seniors who have worked hard deserve more than 80 percent coverage!

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Tax reform. Call Congressman Reed to tell him no on tax reform. Who pays? You pay. The millionaire tax win fall is being paid for with deductions in Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. 

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Do you think Obama could have accomplished in his eight years what Mr. Trump has accomplished in one year had Obama had not been golfing and attending baseball games all the time? Somehow I don’t think so, but I see the Democrats continue to divide this country.  

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The military enlistment oath is to “support and defend the Constitution”. The word “flag” is not in it. The Constitution includes the first amendment, which covers freedom of speech and the right to peaceable assembly and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

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Finally, after decades of criminality, there is at least the threat of a special counsel to investigate Hillary. This, while the rest of us wonders why she hasn’t been in jail already. About time the law was applied equally to EVERYONE, regardless of name, rank or serial number as it’s supposed to.

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The relationship between President Trump and Hillary Clinton is a mystery to me. He was a strong supporter of both the Clintons when they ran for office. They were close friends on the New York City social circuit. Now he blames Hillary for most of the world’s problems. He accuses her daily of some unfounded crime. Considering his reputation as a womanizer, I wonder if his fixation on Hillary may just be more personal than political.