Readers’ Column for the week of October 25, 2020

You may call the Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or email comments to readerscolumn@stny.rr.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message. Also, to adhere to our company’s political policy we will not be running any political comments until after November’s election.

 

The fake / hoax / control-plot disease is skyrocketing in our area BECAUSE IT IS REAL. What more has to happen to convince the non-believers?

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For those of you who refuse to wear a mask, practice social distancing, and wash your hands for whatever reason, you need to spend a day with my daughter who works in a hospital.  While you are there, you will see the devastating effect this COVID-19 virus has on the patients and their families. You will observe the overworked and stressed out medical care workers who work around the clock to care for and save the lives of their patients. You might even see cases such as the 33-year old man who walked into the hospital and said he wasn’t feeling well. Two hours later he was in the ICU with a breathing tube down his throat. Three days later he was dead. Folks, this virus is not a hoax, it’s very much a real thing. Out of sight, out of mind just doesn’t cut it here.  If you still refuse to wear a mask, practice social distancing and wash your hands, then that’s your choice. But the consequences may very well be something you won’t be able to live with, so why take that chance? 

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According to the New York State website, vehicle inspections will once again be required, starting in November; unless, of course, our governor once again changes his mind.

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I just wanted to let everyone at The Owego Pennysaver know how much I appreciate them. From the delivery people out every week in all weather conditions to the folks chasing down ads for the establishments locally that we depend on for goods and services, and everyone else on staff. Special thanks to Wendy Post; her editorial in the Oct. 18 edition was well stated and insightful. This publication, with truly local news about people and places we know, adds greatly to our quality of life and is what hometown / small town life is all about, a sense of community. The reader’s column gives a platform for an honest exchange of concerns and viewpoints. Thank you all.

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Okay, let me see if I have this straight. Kids can’t go to school if there is a person there that has tested positive. Kids can’t celebrate birthdays, Fourth of July, etc., without a long list of restrictions. Kids can’t go to church, VBS, religious instruction. Kids can’t visit grandparents in nursing homes. Kids are discouraged from going grocery or any other kind of shopping (signs posted right on grocery store doors that say one family member only). However kids can go out trick or treating door to door? What planet are our politicians on? Dangerous for the kids, dangerous for those of us at home opening our doors to, in my neighborhood at least, van loads of strangers, totaling in the hundreds some years, especially on a Saturday. Wow!

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This is for the young man riding his bicycle in Newark Valley towards Richford about 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 16. It was a dark, dreary rainy day and with your dark jacket it was hard to see. So it would be safer for you and the driver if you got a riding vest. We don’t like to hit you, and I’m sure you don’t want to be hit either.

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Why can’t we come up with some modern day pay phone system for phone booths along the road as in the olden days? Even if it were a card, pre-loaded, or something like that. This would keep people from carrying cell phones and getting in trouble with using them at work, in meetings, and especially using them while driving on the highways, which is supposed to be illegal. 

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I’ve noticed that some comments are very long. When I called in a longer comment I was disconnected. How do you control how much you can say in this column? Let us know; if we have more to say, how do we do it.

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I’m calling in reference to the person looking for a vehicle inspection. Yes, they do inspections. I don’t know where you are from but you can call different places in Owego. There’s one across the river, Valu Auto; I think they do inspections. I’m from Berkshire and I go to Getzke Auto Shop in Newark Valley on Newark Valley Maine Road. 

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Back in March you were supposed to bring your own bags to the store while shopping, then this so-called COVID hit and there was concern about people bringing their own bags, so the dumb law did not go into effect. Now the laws say we need to bring our own bags, so that tells me COVID is over. Why are we still wearing masks? New York State is being overtaken by those who know nothing and those with no common sense. And please Pennysaver, take my comment as stated and don’t twist my words.

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Tell the selfish people that can’t follow simple basic rules, wear a mask, stay 6-feet away from each other, wash your hands, don’t be in crowds. Congratulations, we now have another surge going on. It’s extremely irritating and frustrating to those of us who have not seen our family or friends for seven months, have not gone anywhere except to get groceries and the bare necessities. It’s really, really rude that you can’t follow the rules because we would be in such a better place right now. 

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When you talk you are only repeating what you know. When you listen you may learn something new. Have faith in your journey; everything had to happen exactly as it did to get you where you are going next. There’s promise and endurance. It’s allowing a stumbling block to become a stepping-stone.

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I realize the people that cut trees have been quite busy ever since a year ago in September, but you say prompt and somehow 15 months to me is not prompt. It would be good if you would just simply tell people you haven’t the time to do it so they could get someone else to do the job.

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To the person who needs to know where to go to get their car inspected, Mr. Tire does this over towards McDonalds in Owego. Stay safe and wear a mask.

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Please, all you people out there, stop assuming everyone has a computer. We, as senior citizens, don’t necessarily need one or use one. We are all sick of it. Be fair to us, we’ve never used computers and find them hard to use and expensive. A lot of my friends don’t use them at all. Also, to the lady that called about car inspections, all the garages that do inspections have been open since March. They have been doing them right along.

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I’m standing here witnessing these fire trucks lined up for the dear lady that died so young here in Nichols. I can’t believe it, why do good people die so young and evil, bad people just keep going and going? She was a good person. God bless her husband and her children.

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I was just wondering if anyone has noticed all this solar stuff going up all over and ruining the looks of the landscape? The electric bill went down only 2 cents!