Readers’ Column for the week of November 3, 2019

I believe God wants something in return for his only begotten son our Lord, Jesus Christ that died on the cross for our sins like going to church and asking forgiveness, if not for our sake at least for our children’s sake the church should be overflowing these days with all the bad things you hear on the news. I heard school shootings have already started somewhere in the United States. Doesn’t that scare the hell out of you? It does me. That’s our children that are doing this. They need good guidance and they can get it in church, but maybe their parents need it too but are too busy to care these days? 

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I just hope all the responsible dog owners are stocking up on the one-time use bags. We don’t need any unintended consequences of New York State banning them.

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There’s a new scam in town claiming to be your health insurance company, saying you have not refilled your medication recently, please call and they give a number. On checking this year’s insurance company real contact number, this caller’s number is not known. So be careful!

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I was wondering if any of your readers have a comment about the great Rudy catch out in left field during the 1972 World Series. It was great! I saw it live. Anybody else care to comment?

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A word of consolation – For the Christian, passing through death is really a birth into a new and better world. Those who are left behind should not grieve as if there were no hope. Life is changed, not taken away. Our dear ones move on to a world beautiful beyond anything we can imagine. With Jesus and Mary they await the day when they will welcome us with joy. Do not grieve too much they say to us, we are living and are still with you.

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If we ban ads and commercials on TV about tobacco products, why not do the same for alcohol products? Alcohol has destroyed more families and lives than cigarettes.

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Does anyone know if there are any Silver Sneaker programs in the Owego area? 

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I went to the Kirby Park and Nichols and the bridge still has all that debris under there caught up in the center. Somebody needs to remove that or do something. The park is going to get flooded again! 

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Once again the Chick fil A point was missed. I wish people would wake up. I can’t believe they don’t realize what they are saying. The point is, no Chick fil A is coming due to New York State high taxes. That’s what I believe the previous reader was getting at. 

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This may be a long shot; does anyone do lessons on a steel fret top guitar? If so please respond to this column. 

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I will continue to warn all, of the great injustice of taking excessive village funds by the Owego Village Sewer Department and continue to post my sewer bills publicly to prevent potential buyers and investors from being shammed. This village cannot seek state funding or bill fairly for sewage usage. Keep telling all the mush heads how hard it is to resolve, as your village continues to lose population and you keep overtaxing the ones with overvalued property that can’t leave without any loss. 

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I spent four years studying gender issues and no one will hire me.

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As with Niche.com’s Best Teachers, cherry picking and spinning data is not new for OACSD. When OACSD 3rd thru 8th graders flunked Common Core exams and when English Language and Math proficiency failed to meet or exceed New York State averages, these merited no mention. When Business First ranked OACSD in the top 100 Upstate Districts OACSD awarded its’ self accolades. Despite this, the fact that the then Superintendent had no idea of Bus First’s secret methodology was irrelevant. Was it because OACSD has the highest paid teachers? Annual Budget Newsletters always state our annual property tax increases are among the lowest in the area to imply the District manages finances. These low tax increases are the exclusive result of the property tax cap, depopulation / business loss, and the 2011 and 2019 taxpayer revolts. For 2019-2020, instead of 3.8 percent allowed by the property tax cap the District had to settle for 2.8 percent, or a budget 1/3 of 1 percent less. Tioga County has depopulated faster than all other 62 counties in New York except one.

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I challenge our DA and Public Defender to write an honest column about the stages of an investigation and when the public and the potentially accused person can view and participate in the process.

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In regards to Newark Valley snow plowing, the point I was trying to make was village taxpayers pay for the village streets to be plowed, then when we get county tax bills we pay for town roads to be plowed; does not seem fair to me. I understand town trucks are too big for village streets, but the town DPW has a 3/4-ton truck that can be outfitted with a sander. The Village has a 3/4-ton and a 1-ton with sanders on them. Instead of coming up with excuses of why we can’t, lets get a dialog going that maybe we can! Shared services and compromise are not dirty words. We all use each other’s roads and streets! Would like to see it be a little more equitable. 

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A couple of Owego businesses were scammed with fake 100-dollar bills from some out of town folks and it is all over the news and social media. Yet every quarter many of Owego’s business owners and landlords are scammed out of many more dollars by our very own village, in the form of THE UNFAIR SEWER EDU billing. Mayors and elected boards promised to rectify it starting back when they switched to the EDU scam, but so far it has all been idle talk. Why is this continual theft not on the TV news or radio? Maybe it is time to contact the media to raise awareness for this ongoing larceny.

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Regarding lasts week’s caller, the Office of State Comptroller audited OACSD in 2014. This failed audit did not merit mention. The Comptroller stated, “The District’s budgets for fiscal years 2010 through 2013 included increases in the real property tax levy to finance these planned expenditures. These increases “were not necessary” and “did not develop reasonable estimates for expenditures and use of fund balance in the annual District budget.” Despite OSC direction, nothing has changed. Every budget is built to maximize the allowable increase in property taxes, “it’s for the children.” No, property tax increases are to sustain the highest teacher and staff salaries in the Southern Tier. Since 2013 the BOE has known its teacher salaries were far out of line and maintained a policy of continuing the excess. OACSD Budgets are short term, yet the BOE makes unfunded and unbounded commitments years and decades into the future. The OACSD BOE scrubbed out all stewardship of public funds contained in its governance charter by June 2015. Removed were “a. Build a fiscally responsible budget through a process that is open, transparent, and values input from all stakeholders; b. Implement a multi-year financial plan to continue to maintain stability and predictability in the District’s budget,” and much more. No BOE Meeting minutes record any discussion of this change. Why eradicate this obligation when taxpayers clearly assume the BOE embraces such? The 2014 audit can be found at www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/audits/schools/2014/owegoapalachin.pdf, Salary data: www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/pmf/. 

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Can anybody explain why gas prices are cheaper in a few gas stations in Owego and in Newark Valley they’re about .13 cents more? Is it no competition, or is it greed?

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I think that those little stands at crosswalks to give a pedestrian a chance are very nice. However, they are al

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