Readers’ Column for the week of September 30, 2018

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. 

Perhaps some of you can help me understand a situation I have encountered this year. My apple trees have shed their leaves in August and the apples are very small. This has never happened in the past. Is this due to hot and rainy weather, climate change or pollution? Have the commercial apple growers faced the same problem? Your response in this column would be appreciated. Any remedies? 

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The majority of officials in Tioga and Broome County tell how great the job picture is. There are about three or four big factories in Broome or Tioga County. If you can get a job there you have it made. Then there are these small factories and shops that are low paying, less than 40 hours weekly, so you have to struggle to make it or have two or three of these jobs to make ends meet. 

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This message is to the Village of Owego Board of Trustees, the mayor, and whoever the emergency player is. During the unfortunate time when we had all the water in Turtle Town we were blocked in. We had numerous trains that stopped and blocked both East Front Street and East Main Street railroad crossings so no one could come through, and the underpass itself was flooded. What would happen if we had an emergency? It was on our minds up here, hoping there wasn’t a fire or if someone was having a heart attack. Somehow there has to be a plan put in place and the railroad contact is not to block these crossings. We need some action on this. I know the village has always been reluctant to deal with the railroad and the railroad gives them a song and dance and they buy it. We need to look at that as a safety point for the people who live in Turtle Town.

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I’m calling in about the grant money that is awarded to Owego. I have an idea to do something and they should do it as soon as possible with that money. They should be trying to divert the trucks through the village and convince the railroad to open up that passage onto McMaster Street and then they can go down McMaster all the way to the end, turn left, and then go across the bridge and avoid the village. Have them do that please. That would divert a lot of traffic, a lot of headaches, and a lot of problems. Think about it, Owego and legislators.

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The big employers in this area are checking through social media and Facebook to see what perspective employees looking for jobs are posting on the Internet. Maybe this is why some people are not getting jobs. Maybe you should think about what you are posting. There are many people who tell their whole life story on social media and Facebook. 

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If you want to know if you can use historical plates for daily driving why don’t you call the motor vehicle office and ask them about it or go down there?

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Just wanted to say what a great job our local museum did with the military display and the cemetery walk. How wonderful that a small town like Owego has a museum!

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The recent dictators running the Village of Owego do not care whether they’re causing financial difficulties to business owners and landowners in the village. They do care they are in charge, they are on top, they are the commander of your sewer bill. That’s what they care about. It has nothing to do with the misused money. 

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I’m sure most people are more interested in their thoughts but has anyone noticed the new lighting in the village? It’s wonderful! A lot of lights have been turned on that have been off for years. Also, the yellow line on Glenmary Drive needs to be painted again. One more comment, there are many magnificent shops in the village. Everybody seems to always go negative. Think positive!

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It certainly is good to see the progress the Village of Owego is making. The property that is being restored on Front Street has been a blessing to our community. It’s obvious the owners have hired quality contractors, especially the painter and his company.

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I would like to thank the man who helped me out on Friday, Sept. 21 at Chemung Canal Trust Bank when I was having a problem. People like you are very kind and are very special. It shows me there are still kind people in the world. God bless you sir for helping me.

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I am wondering if something can be done about the speeding cars on the back roads in the Germany Hill area?  There are children in the area. Let’s slow it down before a tragedy hits. Maybe some police patrol would be good.

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This didn’t run last week, so I hope you will run it this week. I just listened to the head of the Tioga County Legislature on the local radio in Owego. She and others were talking about the $10 million dollars coming to our village. One of the announcers explained that many of us in the public don’t have our “feet on the ground and don’t understand” what’s going on with the money. What THEY don’t understand is that WE get it. Many people in the village of Owego are very tired of the same voices stroking their own agendas. It’s time for the people of the village to say that’s enough and take part in the decision making process of this grant. Let’s not stand idly by as the politicians, once again, take care of their special interests.

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There are still plenty of voter registration forms (with postage stamps on them) on the bulletin board in the post offices of Newark Valley and Berkshire for anyone who wishes to register or change their party’s affiliation. You have until Oct. 12 to do so. 

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Glenn A Warner Post 1371 is seeking photos of veterans and service members in uniform for a slideshow that will be displayed on Veterans Day and future patriotic holidays. We would especially like photos from the time and place of service, i.e. European Theatre WWII 1942. If you would like to submit a photo of yourself or a loved one, email: VFW1371@ymail.com or stop by the post canteen and we can scan your photo. Please include a full name, branch(s) of service, years of service, rank, and specific details of the photo with your submission. Thank you for helping us honor military service in our community.

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I hope that the recent grant received by the village is utilized wisely; otherwise it will just end up being a profit for someone’s pockets. That seems to be what happens around here.

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Can anyone explain why the Tioga School District has two building principals at the elementary school? In addition, they have hired a third administrator in that building who is overseeing CSE/CPSE responsibilities, a job that one of the two building principals used to do. When asked to explain roles, I hear that one principal is for grades UPK and KDG. The other building principal handles grades first through fourth. Seriously? There is that much work in a building of 400 students that we need two full time administrators? By hiring the third person, the district has actually removed work from their workload, making the situation even more perplexing. If the Middle School and High School can get by with one principal each why do we have two at Tioga Elementary School? Seems that money could be better spent on purchasing items for students. 

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I see where we inherited 10 million so the politicians will have a ball blowing it. I suggest that the Owego village should repair and replace things that need fixing. The parking lot off Main Street is a disgrace and should be totally black topped. We should replace the three light poles on 434 between the bridge and Hallstead. They were knocked down and were never replaced.

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This is in response to the caller regarding window replacement in the Newark Valley municipal building. A lot more research needs to be done here. I am 100 percent positive that there are energy efficient windows available that are acceptable / affordable replacements in a historic structure; among them are Marvin, Pella and Jeldwen, to name a few. Was anyone at the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) consulted? Julian Adams can be reached at (518) 268-2172 and/or Joseph Finelli at (518) 268-2215. Another valuable resource is Janna Rudler at the Preservation League of New York State. You can call (607) 296-0329. Your (AIA member) architect should have been well aware of suitable replacements. Are there other issues adding to the cost such as structural damage that needs to be repaired before new windows are installed? Are there reasons such as there are no energy efficient windows made that will work due to size or excessive weight being an issue? Did bids go out to licensed and insured contractors, and were at least three bids received, based on the architect’s specs? If a gift of $130,000 is helping pay for these windows, which I am assuming is being given because of historic designation, then a few more phone calls to find affordable energy efficient replacement windows and additionally following correct procedure should result in a happy ending for this project. Do start with the folks listed if you haven’t consulted them yet, they are there to help homeowners, business owners and municipalities alike.

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Looking for local acorns to gather, either free or will pay a small amount, you decide. Please call 625-5920.

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I would hope that the people who are going to spend the 10 million do not forget the Coburn Free Library. It sure is a necessity for we older people and has been in the “planning stage” for years.

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Last week’s translation of tax percentages in the village is not any math I know of. If you want to lie with statistics, I’ll give you this: 65 percent of village taxes will always be lower monetarily than 30 percent of school and / or town taxes.

National Political Viewpoints

Trump is a proven liar with 5,000-plus more each day as he degrades the presidency, while harming the U.S. reputation in the world. He also has 19 women so far making credible sexual harassment claims against him. So now he wants to put on the Supreme Court another sexual assaulter of women to join the one that is already seated, Clarence Thomas. All women and decent men should vote for Democrats to help America survive this dishonorable man who only thinks of his own family and how to enrich himself. We need more Democrats to put a check on Trump’s destruction of American values.

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Just wondering if Obama ever thought about the fact that if we became this third world country that he was hoping for we would no longer have any foreign aide money to help all these other down trodden countries.

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Now this is the deal, I’ve got to know. These women have attacked, and I said attacked, all these men for something they put themselves into that position with booze, most of them. When are these women going to start attacking other women? And they will, mark my words!

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I see Mr. Trump was in Carolina yesterday. I didn’t see him throwing out any paper towels. He must have got over that trick. I don’t know when he’s going to get out of that White House but the soon the better for all of us.

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I’ve got some good solid advice for all you local New York State citizens. First of all, we have to vote Republicans out of office and save this country. They are ruining this country with that dictator we have in the White House. Congress is doing nothing but sitting back and fattening their paychecks. They are getting richer and richer with these massive tax cuts for the wealthy while the middle class gets crumbs. Vote him out now and turn this crap around.

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I just wanted to say to everybody out there who thinks that President Trump is so wonderful; you folks are blind all the way. If that man has his opportunity he will become a dictator and you will not be able to do anything without having his permission to do it, and he isn’t the great president you think he is. All he has done is signed a bunch of bills that mean not a whole lot of anything and I just don’t get it.

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Judge Kavanaugh accuser Dr. Ford says she cannot remember the year, the month, the day of the week or even where her alleged attack by Kavanaugh happened. Chuck Schumer says he believes Ford. That in itself incriminates Ford’s veracity. Ford’s psychiatrist says Ford told him four men attacked her. Apparently Kavanaugh can multiply himself. The whole story does not pass the smell test. Ford’s accusation plainly stinks. Bottom line, the Democrats cannot be trusted and should be dealt with, no compromise ever. Democrat Senator Hirono spilled the beans when she said the Democrats plan to take over the senate in November and force a two-year delay of the open Supreme Court seat. Trump should defeat Democrats at every turn and do not deal with them.

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Michael Moore spoke the truth when he said Trump is a malignant narcissist, which is true. If only Trump would stay off of the TV and stop his tweeting, we wouldn’t know how stupid he is. I’ll bet Paul Ryan is happy he’s leaving, and I wish he’d take Trump with him. So, Republicans and Evangelicals – keep voting for Trump. Maybe some day you will wake up when it’s too late. Michael Moore would be a fantastic and brilliant president. He’s so smart.

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All Democrats should resign. It’s very clear they are not doing what’s good for our country. They are truly politicians with their own agenda. Vote Republican this November.

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I cannot believe the nonsense, the disgracefulness the Democrats are doing to Kavanaugh. Why are the Democrats not going after Keith Ellison when there is a video out there of him dragging his girlfriend off the bed, calling her filthy dirty names and using the “F” word? Dianne Feinstein needs to be under investigation but nobody seems to care about that. I hope the Republicans have the common sense to know that the Democrats are doing nothing but lying. Maybe if old Chuck Schumer hadn’t come out and said resist, resist, resist before they even knew Kavanaugh’s name, people might think different. 

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John Carey, the pride of the Socialist Democrats and media lackeys met several times in secret with Iranian government officials. His admitted words were “wait until the Democrats are back in power” before upsetting the apple cart. Do you Marxist Democrats know treason when you see it? I doubt it. Go Trump!

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I hope we don’t get rid of too many Republicans because they are such an inspiration for political humor and satire.

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After reading this column for several years now, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that Facts have little or no meaning to many of the Trump supporters who call in. One caller made the outlandish claim that the business revolution started in 2016. I know Facts to these folks are meaningless, but here is a little history refresher of facts that are easily researched and verified. When George Bush left office in 2009 the stock market was crashing, having lost over 24 percent of its value, and we were entering a severe recession. Just before Obama took office in 2009, the Dow Jones hit a near historic low of 6500; when he left office in 2016 the Dow Jones had risen steadily to a high of 19827, an increase in value of approximately 149 percent. In 2009 the country was losing 600,000 to 700,000 jobs a month. Obama’s programs helped to stem the bleeding and the U.S. added 2.2 million jobs in 2016, on top of 2.7 million jobs gained in 2015. In fact, there had been job growth of at least 2 million jobs per year in each of President Obama’s last six years in office for a total of over 15 million jobs. This resulted in 75 consecutive months of jobs growth, a modern-day record. These facts are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; look them up if you don’t trust me. One last thing that Republicans love to forget is the Fact that Mitch McConnell vowed to make Obama a one term President and opposed anything and everything Obama proposed. So to say we had the slowest economic growth during this period, you only have to look no farther than the Republican controlled Congress to place the blame because they were hell bent on making Obama look bad.

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“If you were going to try to stop mothers from dying in childbirth, you might try what most states in America have done: Assign a panel of experts to review what’s going wrong, and offer ideas to fix it. But that hasn’t worked. Death rates among pregnant women and new mothers have gotten worse, even as wealthy countries elsewhere improved. Today, the U.S. is the most dangerous place in the developed world to deliver a baby.” — Laura Ungar. USA Today

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This is for the person who called in last week saying President Obama is a liar. Do you know who Donald Trump is?

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To the idiots that think Trump is saving America, you need to look past the end of your nose and see the damage that our descendants will have to deal with, relaxing the environmental laws so big business can make more profit is short term. Opening the National Parks to mining, your descendant will not get to see these they have all been destroyed. Restarting the coal mines to dig up more coal to burn and further pollute the earth and air we breathe, everyone will have coal miners lungs, nice job Trump. On top of this, add he has broke international laws and treaties, alienated long time allies, set in motion worldwide economic chaos, if you think this is a good job you are in for a big surprise.

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There’s Chuck Schumer and Gillibrand telling the world that Judge Kavanaugh is guilty without having any of the facts! Seems like I remember reading in the Bible (oops, can’t mention that word) that, “Judge not others lest you be judged.” Seems like that fits really, really well here.

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Well the democrats said from the get go that they would not approve any judge that Trump approved of. Kavanaugh made it through the senate hearings and all they had to do was vote, which I’m sure Kavanaugh would have made it through. Diane Feinstein had received a letter about Kavanaugh from Mrs. Ford stating that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her 35 years ago. Feinstein got this letter six weeks ago, why wasn’t it brought up then? Ford is unclear of what really happened, where it happened and when it happened, she stated all this on a news program she was on. The democrats all said they believe her, even before the hearing is set up. They already called Kavanaugh a rapist. The Dems have been after Trump and his cabinet since he announced he was running for President. It’s so sad just how far they will go. Please people, make your vote count and vote Republican. Trump is doing a great job.

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Bill Clinton has sex with a young intern while in the office of “president” and to the Dems, that’s just fine. Judge Kavanaugh MIGHT have had an inappropriate relationship with a female in high school, 35 years ago, and he’s instantly not only guilty, but unfit for the job. What’s wrong with this picture?

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NEVER FORGET, not one Republican suggested cutting Trumps Golf trips before cutting food for veterans. VOTE BLUE!