Readers’ Column for the week of Feb. 25, 2018

I am absolutely livid. The current village administration, prior to the last election, promised to fix the unfair sewer billing scheme, where small one bedroom apartments pay the same as the 10 bedroom, 10 bathroom mansions. They lied, and to add insult to injury, now just “fixed” it by raising it another whopping 40 percent with no regard as to how the now even worse hardship will be to all these people! How can they think this is ethical or acceptable? Political billboards in town imply everyone’s’ voice is heard by this group. What about all the landlords, small shop owners, and small apartment dwellers? Their voice apparently does not matter to those men as they drive residents and business out of the village. Does anyone know if the other party has any plans to implement some semblance of fair billing?

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Has the town board of Owego filled the budget hole yet? The hole where money was misappropriated. I saw the sign begging for money at the town offices. How much is still missing?

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The Historical Society and Museum in Owego would like to borrow military uniforms from after WWII to present for their upcoming exhibit, “Two Centuries of Serving our Country.” Uniforms maybe brought to the museum Wednesday thru Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. prior to March 17 for the display. Please bring any related memento and photographs so we may tell the whole story of the uniform. The exhibit will run from May 19 to October. Questions may be emailed to Curator@TiogaHistory.org.

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After 75 it should be mandatory for all drivers to have an eye test and a road test, you would not believe, NOT BELIEVE what I just saw! I am going to go home and hide!

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I see in an article in the Binghamton Press this morning there is an article on Spectrum. Oh my goodness! They are supposed to notify us every time they take off a channel and they haven’t. They are supposed to give us 30 days notice and they haven’t. They are supposed to put it in the newspaper, they haven’t. Is anybody going to do anything about this? Where’s our government officials, where’s our attorney general? Where’s our federal government? Oh, wait a second; they probably have some stock in Spectrum! Let’s let them get away with everything they want, and do what they want. Fox has been off the air for what, three weeks now? Do we get a rebate? No, probably not. Somebody needs a bonus; somebody’s got to go on vacation.

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One of our readers is looking for the address of the History channel. The History channel has gone over to A&E network television; their address is 235 East 45th St., New York, N.Y. 10017.

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The main road through Berkshire needs to be paved, it’s been bad for the last three or four years. I’ve been on back roads that are smoother than that bumpy road.

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There’s a good size pothole just east of where you get on the entrance of 17 at exit 61 in Waverly. There’s another pothole just where you get to the rest area; they jar your teeth.

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We would like to say thank you to the Weltonville Emergency Squad; they literally saved my husband’s life on Saturday, Feb. 17. You guys and gals are great! 

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I found a large cat on Dean Creek Road in Lockwood. Please respond to this column if this is your cat.

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To the person who does not like the political comments – I suggest they do not read them. 

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Ever since the new company took over from Time Warner we have been lied to, and now Fox is off the air. We’re paying for Fox and they are not going to refund us the money, which they should. Now that the government deregulated the cable companies they can do whatever they want. Every time I turn on a station it’s not there. Somebody needs to do something. Where is our Attorney General? 

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Village Mayor, you know that Halstead Development is part of our village? Maybe you could come around on some of these nice days that we’ve had and fill in some of these craters, and you could come in here and put some salt on top of the ice up on the top of the hill, not just at the bottom. Don’t forget, we pay taxes too, a lot of taxes. 

National Political Viewpoints

Being Florida, the cowardly 19 year-old Cruz only needs to establish that, at the time of the massacre he felt threatened, and all will be forgiven. What a country!

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Mr. Trump is acting like Wyatt Earp, wish he could gather his posy, take his trigger finger off the tweet button and start working together as a country.  Not everything is someone else’s fault. Grow up, look forward and guide the country!

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What the media is NOT telling you. In 2002, in Germany, there was a school shooting, almost the mirror image of the shooting in Parkland, Fla. There was a second school shooting, Germany, same year. The significance, Germany has one of the most restrictive gun laws to be found anywhere in the world! Conclusion, restrictive gun laws have little or no affect on school shootings! Let’s try something new. Let’s allow religion back in the classroom! For those offended, get over yourself, suck it up and move on!

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When and where is our next “shutout” going to occur? It is a certainty. It could be in the planning stage right now. Unless something is done about gun control and mental cases, it’s going to happen. Countries like Norway, Japan, and Australia have stepped up to the problem. They have been able to eliminate school shootings and still keep their hunters happy hunting and their target shooters happy target shooting. A good start for our country would be to ban, yes ban, automatic weapons. Automatic weapons serve no purpose except to kill, kill, kill.

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If stupidity qualified for impeachment, Mr. Trump would be long gone!

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In the wake of another school shooting, the blame game begins anew. Many refuse to admit that the easiest way to prevent such tragedies is to simply make it impossible for any one to obtain an automatic weapon. To do so would no more violate ones constitutional rights to bear arms than barring child pornography violates freedom of the press. The only ones who would suffer are those making obscene profits importing and selling these guns, the only people the NRA has ever been concerned about. To work, the law would have to be broad and strict. Owners, including law enforcement personnel, would have 30 days to surrender their weapons for destruction after which they would be subject to a heavy fine and imprisonment. Will such a law ever be enacted? Doubtful, as long as men like Tom Reed live in mortal fear of losing their seat in congress. It is, I realize, a drastic step; but we must ask ourselves, do we really want our children growing up afraid to be children? 

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So, the FBI missed an opportunity to save the lives of 17 teenagers in Florida, because of what? They were too busy with “gotcha” politics, trying to fabricate information in order to impeach a duly elected President? Here’s an idea, DO YOUR DANGED JOB! Forget about the politics angle, protect the citizens who pay your salary!

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Here we go again. Another shooting in schools and the democrats and movie stars are blaming it on President Trump. These shootings have been going on for years, why didn’t they blame Obama? Why don’t these stars, instead of having their very expensive award shows, spend that money on retired veterans, police, and security persons to protect our kids while they are in school and put metal detectors in all schools. The blame can also be put on all these video games that the goal is to kill or hurt people to win the game, violent movies and TV shows showing brutal killings and injuring innocent people. Instead of worrying about trying to get Trump out of office, why don’t they all work with him as far as mental health and use some of their own money to help see that people get the right kind of meds and that they stay on them. Better gun controls won’t solve the problem. The Internet and all these electronics are the ruination of the country. Call me old fashioned, but I like talking one on one on the phone or face to face with someone. I am 65 and I only have e-mail to send my opinion into this column. I don’t Facebook, Twitter or text. If the Internet would go away tomorrow, that would not bother me. When my kids were young, my husband (God rest his soul) and I would play board games, shoot hoops, take walks, go to the zoo, take them to baseball games, even took them up to Niagara Falls before he was struck down with Chronic progressive Multiple sclerosis and could no longer do any of these things. Another thing, all the movie stars and politicians have their own security protection, so why not help give our schools and kids protection? Thanks for letting me vent.

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We can stop the mass murderers by stopping all the coverage of these events. A simple Tweet like a statement should suffice – “17 murdered in a shooting in a Florida school, many wounded.” That’s it! I blame the media; they are like buzzards hovering around a rotting carcass. The story is too easy – the interviews of the traumatized kids, the parents, the candlelight vigils. Stop that coverage, all of it! Quit giving all the attention to these murderers, that’s exactly what they do it for! Never show their pictures and never give their name. Quit making them a rock star. Maybe ridicule them? I am not going to watch any of that stuff. Until we make the media realize this is not a soap opera. Their insane amount of coverage should be illegal. In this type of case, freedom of speech should take a back seat to our safety, or these events will continue.

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The media blathers on about the NRA, the need for gun laws, etc. What they DON’T tell you is when these shootings started. Do your own research. God, religion and prayer were taken out of the classroom; while they were IN the classroom, there were not the school shootings there are now. Is it possible that we don’t need more gun control laws, but lack of religion control laws? Is it possible it’s time for people to get over being offended about religion, suck it up, get over themselves and get behind a resurgence of religion in our schools?

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When I called in last week I was misquoted on what I said, and what I said was I have never heard or seen such goings on in the White House, like the immigration issue and the sex issue and everything else that’s going on there. Let’s think about it. Aren’t all ancestors immigrants? Where did they all come from? They come from other countries, did they not? Think about it.

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This is the third time I’ve called the readers column to voice my opinion on this and it doesn’t get printed. Jeanine Pirro from Fox News, who was going 119mph in Nichols should serve time in jail or a good month of community service in Nichols, N.Y. It would be a good lesson to her. She is supposed to be a so-called judge and doesn’t know or respect the law like everyone else has to do. Thank God my loved ones weren’t on the road that day. If she wasn’t stopped, who knows who she would have hit or killed. Can anyone give an update on that case? 

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I don’t want to get spooky, but I think the devil is behind all these school shootings like the one in Florida. Same as the real culprit. Whether you believe it or not, he is.

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I really think the American people should dump Trump, but in order to do so we will need one hell of a big dumpster because he has so much bull crap.

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I don’t know about you but I sure don’t want a 94 year old swinging a hammer around me. Mr. Trump is well on his way to making America great again. I’m loving my 401!

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Mr. Trump made his statements that Mexico would pay for the wall. I cannot believe some people thought he actually meant Mexico was going to write out a check. I was so glad to read last week’s column and see someone else gets what Mr. Trump really meant. Mexico is losing in very big ways with the vanishing businesses. 

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We need to stay the course and you’ll do great and so will your 401K as long as Trump is in office. Mine is looking real healthy!

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So no Democrat voted for the tax cut, no Democrat wants to solve the DACA issue, as the Democrats were not interested in the recent proposal put forward, they embrace government shutdown. I am now convinced the Democrats are protectors of status quo. 

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There’s absolutely no reason a member of the general public should own an assault type weapon, only the police and militia should have access to such fire power, period! 

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This is concerning a CBS cable news channel; how can they allow anyone like that Joy to get on national TV and bash somebody’s religion? She should get down on her knees and pray to God we have a Vice President like Michael Pence. I think he’s one awesome person! Also, to let Joy know, I’m a religious person and my faith means the world to me; but I think she should never be allowed to speak on public TV again!

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I’d like to make a correction. A week ago in the Pennysaver, a comment said Obama was raising the national debt terribly. Well I’d like to go back a little bit. George W Bush with his Iraq raised it billions and billions! The truth is better. Besides, he was a draft dodger too!

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I don’t care what the constitution says or what the NRA wants. Nobody on the streets of America should have an assault weapon.

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A few years ago some Palestinians shot up an Israeli school bus and killed some Israeli students; Israel said that’s it, and now every teacher, man or woman, is required to be armed with a firearm in their classroom. They are required to take a firearms course. Israel takes care of their own problems.

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I cannot believe what I’m hearing, and please quote this because it’s getting to the basis where we are in such jeopardy; our presidency is almost a comedy. Right now Donald Trump makes President Clinton look like an angel! Can you believe it? And we all thought he was too, so don’t back off now because Clinton makes Trump a dope.

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Put law enforcement substations in our schools!