Readers’ Column for the week of August 18, 2019

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. 

A plaque on the Owego Post Office will be a nice photo op for politicians; however, there are some practical things that should be done that have been neglected for too long that would make this property a fitting commemoration. This is a federal building, but it is obvious there have not been sufficient monies for upkeep and maintenance of this truly beautiful building. Job Number One would be getting rid of the cheap, broken down window treatments – disgraceful from the street, and virtually useless for the employees. This building deserves high quality, long lasting wood Venetian blinds, or something similar. Restore funds for maintenance-the miniscule landscaping out front could accentuate the building if someone had more time to keep it tidy. Again, this is a FEDERAL building – the “handicap” accessibility is a joke. This post office has a nice article in Wikipedia about it; it is 100 years old and was built by an architect of note in New York State. The building itself has deserved recognition on its own merits long before this latest Belva promotion. Hopefully this will be an opportunity for more than political glad-handing.

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To the person looking for a reliable pet boarding facility, check out Furry Friends Inn in Lockwood. It is safe and super fun for your pets. They have so much playtime and they even have a pool!

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Welcome to Newark Valley! I read in the latest village newsletter of restrictions on RV usage on private property. I can understand the prohibition regarding living in one permanently, but the code as it exists is ridiculous. Occasionally friends or relatives of ours like to stop on their way to the Adirondacks or Thousand Islands for a visit. They prefer staying in the privacy and comfort of their RV, wake up when they feel like it, and go visit or run errands without apology. We have plenty of property for them to be situated without being close to any neighbor. Who, pray tell, is harmed by this? It is stupid rules and regulations such as this that has been motivation by others and us to transition into more accommodating environs. In the state we are in at the moment, when stuff like this is mentioned, the response is, “What? You must be kidding!” And I have to say, the people are friendlier and happier here and seem much less stressed. There is an abundance of beautiful homes, with more being built every day, and business is booming. All with much fewer regulations and more freedom to choose how you live. And did I mention low taxes! Some of the Newark Valley officials have to get out and spend some time in the rest of the world to get some perspective on what encourages folks to gravitate to a particular region, and conversely what drives them out. It is certainly not “climate change,” as the Governor claims. Again, welcome to Newark Valley.

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Just a reminder to the Mayor of Owego – The mess left behind by NYSEG crews was the result of trees on an individual’s property or land maintained by Owego DPW. Maybe he should be more impressed that they finally did their job instead of bashing other people who doing their job under not so favorable conditions.

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That is a pile of coyotes living behind OFA. I’m so glad they cannot be hunted with even a crossbow. I’m sure they are, too. Now I know why there are no more stray cats on the flats.

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Carbon monoxide (CO) kills hundreds of people every year. It is colorless, odorless, tasteless and very lethal indoors. Gas space heaters, water heaters, and furnaces that are improperly installed or used can leak and cause CO to build up in living spaces. Recently, as I was installing a brand new CO detector, I read the instructions and was shocked to read the only recommendation for installation was that the detector be mounted “no closer than 6-inches away from the ceiling of the room”. Since most rooms have ceilings 7-feet high or more, this means that, when this guideline is followed, the room could nearly completely fill with lethal carbon monoxide BEFORE the alarm would go off. Considering that most beds are only about 2-3 feet off the floor, as are most chairs, that means you could be sleeping or sitting in a dangerous concentration of CO, while remaining totally unaware of the danger because the “properly installed” detector was several feet above your head. It seems to me that the best place to locate a CO detector would be LESS than 3-feet above the FLOOR, to ensure your safety. Under no circumstances would I ever locate one as much as 6 1/2-feet off the floor, as the recommendation suggested. Place your smoke detectors up high and your CO detectors low. If in doubt, ask a fire marshal.

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Now that New York State has outlawed declawing cats, we should move forward, not only in New York, but also in the entire U.S. and outlaw the docking of doggie tails and cropping of ears for “cosmetic” purposes. The AVMA discourages the practice: just because these procedures are done at a young age, it does not mean it is painless for the animal. It is often done without anesthesia and long term physical and psychological effects can result. There is no need for such a barbaric procedure; the animal has these appendages for reasons determined by nature. How would it be if suddenly it were fashionable to cut up a baby’s ears so they looked like Spock? A lot of unnecessary pain for the sake of fashion and the convenience and vanity of humans. This practice has already been eliminated in Australia, the UK, and many European countries. Let’s get on it Governor Cuomo.

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I own property on Evelien Hill Road, which is posted and includes numerous game cameras. Recently one of the cameras showed two people trespassing. Needless to say I could have this person and her companions easily identified and prosecuted for trespassing. It seems that nowadays people just don’t respect the rights of others. What happened to good manners and good upbringing?

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I’m an older lady that crochets and I would like to request if anybody has any extra scrap balls of yarn left over from projects that they would like to donate to me for small projects and also for a Christian retreat project that we are going to be doing for about 100 people, if you would please call 321-4707 I would appreciate that you could donate the balls of yarn.

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I thought that big trucks were not supposed to go down Main Street in the village of Owego. I thought they were supposed to go around unless it was for local deliveries, etc. There are several big trucks that go down through every morning and one in particular really exceeds the speed limit. I’m just curious if this is true, that they are not supposed to be going through the village. 

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I agree with the person who called in saying we need more police patrol on Main Street in Apalachin because people fly down this road in their cars and somebody is going to get hurt. There are kids riding their bicycles and they need to slow down!

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This is once again in response to the motorcycles riding in Apalachin, Watkins Avenue and Holmes Avenue. For one, you’ve called the DSS seven to 10 times and they’ve been here, everything is unfounded. I’m sick of the false charges. The properties we ride on all have permission from the landowners. Would you rather have the kids on private property riding or out causing trouble, doing drugs and getting in trouble? Would you please stop! You’ve called the sheriff and the state police over 30 times and you’ve also called 911 on the kids for doing just nothing! Isn’t it against the law to call 911 when it’s not and emergency call and since DSS has been here many, many times, and it’s all unfounded, it’s time to give up. Leave these kids alone. You have caused more trauma and stress for these kids than anybody else. Please, stop!

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Looking for someone to trim my hedges in the Candor area. Must have own equipment, 659-3354.

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I would just like to say a big thank you to Camp Ahwaga, the staff and the teachers for putting on such a wonderful program for the kids through the summer and Aug. 9 was a fantastic talent show the children put on. A big thank you to them all! 

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I hope one of our readers or several of our readers will respond to my question. On Route 38 where there was always acres and acres of corn growing, there’s beautiful dark green patches of a dark green vegetable. It’s just beautiful, but I’d like to know what it is. I’ve lived in an agricultural area all of my life, I’ve never seen that in all those fields. Please respond to my question. 

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Rifles and shotguns are fine as long as they are used for hunting with limited magazines. Other weapons, including handguns, automatic and assault type weapons, are only designed to kill people. Are you really willing to kill someone because they want to steal your television? 

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This world was fine before the human beings came along and she will be just fine when we are gone. 

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I’m calling about the Verizon landline. When I first got it, it cracked a lot but then we got a new battery for our phone and it works fabulous now, but the batteries are not cheap.

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I was just reading about a Spencer lady that got caught with methamphetamine. I think people that have drugs in their cars, the cars ought to be taken away from them and sold and then the money go to the police to help get them more body cameras and things that they need. 

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I was just wondering if anybody is investigating the fishy smell in Owego. There is certainly dead fish some place. I wish somebody would look into it. 

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I am tired of all of the Belva Lockwood hype that is being thrown at Owego. In our rich and interesting history she was but a “flash in the pan.” Far more interesting and worthy of notice is the fact that from early on Owego had an established school for girls. Inconsequential is the fact that for two years Belva (as we now seem to call her) was a teacher there. She passed through and moved on. In the past as well as today many strong women have stayed through good and bad times, not just seizing opportunity, and have helped to build a remarkable community. In every presidential election there are names on the ballot few know and less will remember. Belva Lockwood falls into this category. Her shirttails don’t stretch far enough for our students in Tioga County history to learn about her “place” in history. Actually, John D. Rockefeller has more ties to Owego than Belva Lockwood. As a woman I find it interesting that women need a cause to justify their identity. But please, let us reach out for a woman who actually stayed in Owego and helped to build our community, not just seize opportunity on a path to greater personal gain. Ironically it is Chuck Schumer who also passes through and does little to further benefit our community – who will sponsor a bill to put a vacant name on our post office building. Spare me the hype. 

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Yesterday my neighbor was getting ready to let her 2-year-old son go out to play when she noticed a cat convulsing in her yard. For the next half hour we made frantic phone calls to the sheriff, animal control, and to a veterinarian. Nobody would help. 

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I would like to make a comment about last week’s caller about the veterans discount program and the Candor school taxes. I’d like to let the caller know that the Vietnam veterans do not get any credits other than the Star program in the district. They need to get their facts straight before they make any comments about the veterans of this country. We served our country well and I am tired of hearing that we are just being disrespectful to the state. Maybe they should do some background checks before they make any comments in this column.

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Anderson Hill in Candor needs to see some police patrol by the sheriff or state troopers. People drive like this is a racetrack and one day somebody is going to get hurt.

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I’m looking for a referral for a Life Style practicing physician. A physician that practices Life Style medicine within about an hour drive of Owego. If you know of anybody it would be great if you could leave a name in this column. 

National Political Viewpoints

So many of our problems would not exist today if, when he was a child, someone had sat the President down and said simply, “Donnie, you’re dumb.”

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Bernie Sanders was kicked out of a commune because he was too lazy to work. He was too lazy to even take care of the garden, but smiled as he mooched food from the others. So Dems, what is your ‘fair share’ of the blood, sweat, and tears of others? Don’t say, like Obama, “If you’ve got a business – you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Like Bernie, Obama never worked a day in his life.  

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Well, I see Mr. Trump caved on the tariff wars with China. Claims he wants to give Americans a break with the upcoming Christmas holiday. Mr. Trump says Americans do not pick up the tab on the trade wars. Seems like he wants it both ways. So what’s the deal after Christmas, does he implement the tariffs again? The U.S. can pick up the taxes then. He has a hard time being on both sides of the fence.

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President Trump has told 12,019 lies or mistruths since he has been President. Am I the only American that cares this is happening? I consider this treason. If for no other reason he should be removed from office! For all the people that believe everything he says, please do a little fact checking. I can’t stand that the media reports these number like they would; it’s going to be a windy day. I guess they feel if we don’t care why should they.

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The recent hysterical meltdown by CNN’s Chris Cuomo over schoolyard name-calling exemplifies how far off the rails members of the left have become. Growing up in the 60’s, EVERY nationality had a “derogatory ” name assigned to it; to us kids, who had a much thicker skin than these so called “adults”, it was simple teasing. Whatever we were being called, the other person had an equally derogatory slang word to describe them! We all good-naturedly laughed it off and went on with our day. Mr. Cuomo’s over-reaction is largely his problem; to lose control in such an extreme way is troublesome. Such an outburst and use of extremely foul language by a supposedly educated person in high standing in an internationally renowned news organization is inexcusable, and should be grounds for immediate termination.

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“Words have consequences, period!” Not for Democrats they don’t! You Democrats just twist words anyway you want, and the media lets you get away with it. I have often wondered if a sociopath could beat a lie detector? Maybe! When you Democrats twist Trump’s words, I guess you can still look yourself in a mirror. If you could honestly dig into Trump’s words about Charlottesville, you would see, the ‘fine people” he was talking about were the ones with a permit. Who were not part of the white supremacist group that had come itching for a fight, but were there to simply protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue. Trump did not say ALL protesters were fine people! I guess that nuance is too difficult to comprehend. ROAR

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The media won’t tell you, so I will. There were 32 mass shootings in this country under Obama’s watch. Obama was never held accountable for a single one the way President Trump is. Why? Don’t believe me, Google it yourself.

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Everyone seems to agree, the Jeffrey Epstein “suicide” doesn’t pass the smell test. Chalk another one up to the “Clinton mob,” along with Vincent Foster and a bunch of others?

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Mr. Trump says he supports background checks on guns. He said he supported it with the Parkland shootings also. If there is one thing I know for sure, you can’t believe a single word Mr. Trump says. His words are hollow.

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This is for the person who commented on Robert Mueller’s testimony in congress. When Mr. Mueller trying to answer questions being fired in such a manner where he needed time to respond, he wanted to refer back the report before the next question was asked. At times he was treated disrespectfully. You must be a republican; you watched the show, but missed the substance. He did not want to appear but did because he is that kind of man. He may have not been as fast as you wanted but he was TRUTHFUL!

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The Ohio and Texas shootings took place last Saturday while Mr. Trump was golfing at his estate and then took time to attend a birthday party before responding. Two days after the tragedies he found time to read from his teleprompter to the public stating his sadness. He mentioned video games, mental health, and of course the fake news are responsible. His words are empty and hollow. He went to Ohio and Texas and mentioned how well received he was by people and the endless crowd size. This man has no empathy, compassion or character. When will this country wake up? He is a coward and continues his racial slams. This man is a bully who enjoys chaos. Is this what the country wants as president? WAKE UP AMERICA!

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Governor Hickenlooper of Colorado is leaving the race for election as President in 2020. One of his biggest “accomplishments” he brags about is enacting stricter gun laws in Colorado. What he DOESN’T tell you is that violent crime and gun violence increased 20-plus percent since the laws were passed. Guess maybe perps don’t like it when the other guy may be armed, too. Don’t believe me, Google it yourself.

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This is in regards to Omar’s remark about fearing white men; if Martin Luther King were around today he would really be saddened by that remark. The remarks like Omar made only serve to divide us. Dr. Martin Luther King’s goal was to unite us. 

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I’m glad I’m reading a lot less about Mr. Trump and the political problems that are going on in the world. I think you should take political issues out of the Pennysaver totally, tell the people to call those people and then tell them what’s going on. Also, I think the town of Owego and other places should check their Star program for people who are not eligible, and where their parents have passed away and they seemed to be getting the discounts that the parents had as a veteran or a disability – but they are not that way, they are younger and they have a job. They should not be getting those discounts that people get for owning their properties. If they inherited these properties they should be paying their own price for the amount that they make towards the taxes. Maybe there would be more tax money coming in if they would investigate this more.

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Twitter suspended Mitch McConnell’s Twitter account after Mitch posted accurate videos showing actual threats by demonstrators surrounding his house. However, at the same time Twitter allowed Antifa and Hamas to have active accounts. Google and Facebook have shown many times similar bias. It is time for all conservatives to unite and stop this liberal hate speech and blatant war on conservatives by the so-called elite democrat extremist lackeys who hate and despise and often threaten conservatives. Go Trump!

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To the person that said Trump said that white supremacists are very fine people, he never said those things! You are a despicable person spreading evil lies! You should be ashamed of your behavior. Words do have consequences. You ask who says those things? Angry, democrat liberals, deranged and bent on spreading lies about our president, that’s who says those things. Go Trump, 2020!

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Trump is not good for our environment or for the health of this country, not even good for children’s health either. For many years we were told to take care of our environment and now Trump is demolishing it. EPA states 83 EP rules are being cut back by this administration. Good job Trump, thanks. For God’s sake doesn’t he even believe in clean water? I’m surprised republicans put up with this; they are supposed to be so smart. This is a sad and scary time for everyone

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To the person who said last week that automatic weapons can be had easily, I can see from your statements you have no idea of what you are talking about. First you have to get a Federal Class 3 license to buy a machine gun. There are only a small handful of states where you can do this and there are very few machine guns available because no machine guns made after 1986 can be sold to civilians. Get the facts first, even if you are a democrat.  

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Well, Jeffery Epstein is dead. I’ll never forget what I saw on TV a few weeks ago. It showed Epstein and Trump at Mar-a-Lago together some years ago clapping their hands and dancing. They looked like two wolves checking out their prey while many girls were dancing in front of them. It was disgusting! 

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It just goes to show it doesn’t matter how much money you have, you’re never too big to be brought down. Looking forward to the day Donald Trump is brought down. He will be.

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I’m really sickened and saddened over the shootings in El Paso Texas and Dayton Ohio. What really riles me up is the blaming of President Trump for the shootings. Whether you like Mr. Trump or not, I feel it is wrong to use him as a scapegoat. In the past 60 years our culture has slid into the abyss. We’ve kicked God out and brought in moral relativism, the feeling of it’s right because I feel it’s right. Also, the media glamorizes violence as a way to solve problems. For example, Johnny would see this and feel he should steal a gun and shoot up a place because he is angry. Tougher gun laws I feel are not the true solution. The real problem is morals. Our nation needs to return to morals and back to God and teach right from wrong again.

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This is the old lady. Did you notice in the Morning Times where the Shell workers were paid to attend Trump’s affair? Isn’t that wonderful! If we get him one more time we are screwed. Have a wonderful day!

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Elizabeth Warren and Camilla Harris attacked Judge Cavanaugh as if he was guilty of the made up charges against him during his Supreme Court nomination hearing. I don’t think we want anyone who doesn’t believe in innocent until proven guilty as our president. I don’t see a democrat candidate qualified. What are the democrats to do?

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These mass shootings are caused by the hype of 24-hour news coverage. All it does is excite someone to react to the publicity. 24-hour news coverage is the worst thing to happen. Politics or shootings, this world seems to thrive on violence, the more the better. Get rid of it.

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I think Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe was right on when he talked about Mitch McConnell and he gave him the label, Moscow Mitch. How appropriate! He’s supporting the Russians and you people that support and vote republican, you are too. 

1 Comment on "Readers’ Column for the week of August 18, 2019"

  1. Roberto Grullon | August 21, 2019 at 6:53 pm | Reply

    Looking for information regarding the TRUMP MAGA rally being talked about for next spring at Tioga Downs. The turnout would be huge.

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