Readers’ Column for the week of April 18, 2021

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.

 

I had my dog groomed yesterday at Pampered Paws by Nancy. She’s in Newark Valley across from the high school. Her phone number is 765-7902. She is excellent and very reasonable, so I’ll be taking my dog back.

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I see there are an increasing number of electric vehicles being advertised. The problem with electric vehicles is that they take electricity. Which still needs to be produced. Solar panels, windmills, storage batteries still need to be manufactured – taking a great deal of resources not only in manufacturing but also maintenance, placement, replacement, and installation. Acres of solar panels and roads to place and service windmills are also intrusive to native flora and fauna. What we need is a serious reduction in plastic of all kinds. This would not only save the raw material in its production, the switch back to using paper or other renewable and burnable materials would generate fuel for incinerators so that energy could be captured. Surely there is someone out there that could figure out a way to burn trash that wouldn’t pollute the atmosphere and at the same time produce energy in a cost effective way. I would think burying tons of garbage on the earth would be a huge concern. Bonus! Growing trees for paper containers, etc. would actually help clean up our air!

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Would you like to know how the Bible presents the offer of eternal life? Email to tioga47@aol.com and use the subject Bible.

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The code enforcement officer, the DEC and Health Department should start doing their jobs that they are paid to do. Just take a look up Chamberlain Road and Bailey Hollow at the two ends – it is not hard to see. When the wind blows the garbage gets blown to the other people’s property and into the streams and creeks. Junk cars are all over the place. You, the neighbors, should complain to the town.

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There are at least five municipalities in Tioga County that do not have Certified Code Enforcement Officers. You better check and see if your Town or Village is one of them. The position is State required. If you have a problem you will have to call the New York State Department of Code Enforcement. If the Towns and Village do not straighten this out, you will find Insurance rates going up.

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I also received the (very poorly expressed) letter from the IRS. I kept watching for my stimulus check. Surprise! It had been deposited directly in my checking account this time! By the way, thanks to the poor person who at least gave me a chuckle today, seriously, NO government agency EVER answers the phone! From the Feds right down to the County. 

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This is in reference to the caller last week talking about people not using their real names on Facebook. They have a policy requiring users to supply their real names on site. A fake name can result in having your profile banned or deleted. 

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What a bunch of lame ducks running the town and village and county of Tioga. Just what Owego needs, another park on North Avenue! Owego cannot take care of what is already in place. Yes, people drive on McMaster Street to avoid North Avenue. What a disgrace the condition this road is in. Main Street across from the firemen’s fountain is another. If Owego has so much money, then spend it wisely. Fix and maintain the town clock, the fire station, streets, etc. Take care of what our forefathers’ worked so long and so hard to build. 

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I feel sad that the village of Owego crime rate keeps rising. I keep reading in the paper more and more all the time. It’s no different than anywhere across the country but it’s sad to see that it is hitting our little village.

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Owego Apalachin is working on their current budget and as a STEM school they have decided to cut art and music programs. Why not look if you have to make cuts into administration. They have so many of them with high salaries and every year they get an increase in their salary. Let them just put a freeze on their increases. And why not look at getting rid of the athletic director. We don’t even have enough kids now to support J.V. teams. In the future, athletics is not looking good. Make cuts where needed. That could be a part time position or a shared position. You’d save so much on salary and all of his bonuses on top of it. 

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There are help wanted signs everywhere. There is no excuse why people are collecting unemployment. Walmart needs cashiers badly. They have good pay. I have a great suggestion. Why don’t employers call unemployment and say they need help. Get people off their duffs and help businesses out. There is a lot of work out there. 

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I thought there was a burn ban in Tioga County until May 14. Why can some people in Berkshire burn almost every day? Why are they not arrested? I would be. When we all go past these places, we all have to put up with the smoke all day long.

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When you feel ill after having your second COVID shot or your first COVID shot, read the instructions. They tell you what to expect. Just because you feel like the flu after your shot does not mean you need to go to the hospital. It’s your body getting ready to fight the infection from COVID. It’s simply your body’s natural immune system working. Take some Tylenol and go to bed.

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I totally agree with the article that was in this week’s paper about Brown Road and Ballou Road being such a disaster, an absolute mess. The bridge at the Newark Valley end needs to be opened. If there is an infrastructure bill and if there is money for it, please put that as one of the priorities for Tioga County. If nothing else, spray paint big circles around the potholes so people can see them when they are driving down the road or the hill.

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This is in response to the lady who is having problems with the people on McMaster Street driving fast. She ought to try living on Glenmary Drive between Talcott Street and where you get on in Catatonk on 96. Our speed limit is 40 and they’re doing 70 up through here. I’d like to know where the Tioga County Sheriff’s Department is. 

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Severely disabled gentleman requesting assistance has major injuries, explosion damage to home, emergency surgeries, and infection complications. I have a severe inability to walk. Requesting assistance in putting together some sort of “GO FUND ME” page. Advisement and / or direction sure would be appreciated. Contact by responding to this column. Thank you.

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I’d like to thank the Boy Scouts in Newark Valley for cleaning out my flowerbed and my lawn. Great job! — Nellie Snapp.

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So New York State is now going to give $15,000 and reward illegal immigrants for coming here and breaking the law. Wow! So if you break the law in this state and country, you are now rewarded. Great, thank you very much liberals.

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The money being given to undocumented criminal workers should be given to hard working citizens of New York State. This expenditure of money for criminals is outrageous! 

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I was just on the telephone with a life insurance company for one and a half hours on hold and I don’t have a computer. So would you people that have a computer kindly use it so people that don’t have one can get through on the phone. That would be marvelous!

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I don’t understand what is wrong with these people. Have you ever been pulled over by a police officer before? I have. Okay, sometimes you are going to run into one that is kind of an idiot. He might have an ego problem, might have a bad day and be pissed off at somebody, who knows. Anyway, when they told me to get out of the car I got out of the car. When he told me to get in the car I got in the car. When you are in police custody you do what they say regardless of what your intentions are. You deal with it afterwards and you live. I just don’t understand these people. 

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I think it’s a great idea to build the semiconductors and computer chips in this country but I also want to say I think Kodak is too dumb to do it. They’ve resisted change for many, many years and that’s why their stock is garbage today.

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What’s up with the former Tioga Trails building, which is being roped off with yellow tape? Is it going to be torn down or is it going to be fixed up or what? Does anybody really know what’s going to happen with it? 

 

National Political Viewpoints

In response to last week’s column about NOT wanting to give President Biden any credit for the distribution of the vaccine, what rock do you live under? Trump down played the virus for a year knowing the dangers, talking about injecting disinfectants and light bulbs, naming certain numbers of deaths weren’t so bad, it will be gone by Easter, and my favorite – like a miracle it will disappear. President Trump golfed the last two months of his term. President Biden took office and the vaccines started rolling out. Millions of people are vaccinated and continue to be. I’m thankful for President Biden. 

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Just returned from a jaunt to a state whose Governor is Conservative Republican and has basically told the Biden “administration” to go play in traffic. What a difference! Business is happening, building going on, an atmosphere of positive and growth unlike New York State with its gloom and doom, lethargic malaise and confusion. We need more of the first and less of the latter!

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Why don’t people understand President Trump did not separate mothers and children at the border? These children traveled alone and were separated in their own countries when their parents turned them over to the cartel bringing them here to this country. Let’s talk about the mothers that are really separated for good from their children. These were children that fell prey to the violent acts of the illegal immigrants. Let’s talk to those mothers.

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Now that Trump is gone there is one of the many things that really annoyed me. He always surrounded himself with American flags for his background. He wanted everyone to think he was so patriotic. When he hugged the American flag, he reminded me of a devil. It was all for show. God bless the veterans who fought for us!

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Now that we’re looting and stealing and busting up police cars in Minneapolis again, let’s do like we did to the patriots that invaded the capital on Jan. 6. Let’s get them all out there, get a picture of their face, get their name, and show everybody what they are charged for. Let’s do it the same way we did to the people that marched on the capital.

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If Governor Cuomo’s name were Trump he would have been impeached and convicted two months ago. Double standard by the democrats or what?

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I see that Joe wants to take all the troops out of Afghanistan. Well good for him. Looks like he is plagiarizing Trump. He is certainly good at plagiarizing. Just saying.

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I think I have another great idea. Instead of paying $84 million to put immigrants up in a hotel, let’s use that enormous amount of money in the Central American countries to help them recover and get on their feet. Let those live in their country and keep their families together. It used to be the Peace Corps and church organizations and everything went down to help the poorer countries.

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The difference between humans and monkeys is that monkeys would never allow the dumbest of the herd to lead them.

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Did you ever notice how great this country was doing until Donald Trump showed up? Think about it.

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So because of Biden’s open border policy, it’s costing us $60 million a week to take care of the illegal alien children. Great job Joe, that’s money well spent. There’s nothing we need fixed in the country? You are a despicable embarrassment to our country. Go back to your basement, please.

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Babies all over the border, throwing them over the fence and I can’t go sit down and eat a cheeseburger at Wendy’s in New York State or Pennsylvania. What a sad, sad country.

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Oh my, my, I can’t take this communism. I just drove by Arby’s and the line is 3 miles long. Almost as long as the migrants coming into Texas and I can’t go inside and have myself a smoothie. Oh, my, my, what’s going on? Communism is getting out of control in this country. 

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Hey liberals, why don’t you spend as much time investigating Hunter Biden and Eric Swalwell as you do investigating Matt Gaetz. Oh, that’s right, because one is a republican. There is so much evidence on Hunter Biden. He should have been in jail two years ago. I’m just saying, the hypocrisy of you people is just pathetic. If Gaetz is guilty, then he should be punished. Swalwell is guilty and he’s walking. Hunter Biden’s guilty and he’s walking. But then again, so is Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama, just saying. 

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Whoever put in the paper last week that the last administration was spoiled rotten, I’d rather have spoiled rotten than the clowns that we do have running this country. If we make it through the next three and a half years we will be lucky. Trump 2024 – no monkey business.

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Hillary has implied that if she were to be prosecuted she would take half Washington with her. I really don’t see the problem with this. Maltese Falcon

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To the person complaining about Fox News not covering Matt Gaetz – that’s pretty rich coming from a liberal. Fake news hasn’t covered Hunter Biden, the drug addict and all his connections with China that his father was involved in. That’s what I call fake news, and that’s what I call helping rig an election. You know how many people are out there that have never even heard of Hunter Biden? You know why? Because the fake news covered it up. Even with cheating. They couldn’t have one without covering up the fact that Joe Biden is involved with China, the Ukraine, and Russia. 

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Remember when COVID started, Representative Matt Gaetz wore a gas mask on the hill to mock people wearing masks because of the virus. That was the worst behavior I have ever seen in my life and he’s a republican. All the trouble he is in now, maybe he should wear his mask forever. 

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Isms: Socialism, you have two cows, give one cow to your neighbor. Communism, you have two, give both cows to the government and they may give you some milk. Fascism, you have two cows, you give all the milk to the government and the government sells it. Nazism, you have two cows, the government shoots you and takes both cows. Anarchism, you have two cows, keep both cows, shoot the government agent and steal another cow. Capitalism, you have two cows, sell one, and buy a bull. 

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I see what last week’s caller meant. Everywhere jokester Joe is Kamala is right behind him. Has she \nothing else to do? I wish I had run for vice president, get that kind of salary, have your mansion redone, and just sit there and do nothing. This is unbelievable what we have going on in Washington. How come the silence on Cuomo? I’ve heard nothing about any of that. I’m waiting for that outcome but remember, he’s a democrat, so we may never hear anything more about it.

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Hats off to President Trump! He was the only president who realized China’s threat to the United States. He was the only president who stood up to China. Biden can’t even come close. He sees no threat in China. But after all, his son is receiving all kinds of money from China so he’s not going to rock that boat. How come he’s not traveling anywhere; to the border, he’s not going down south to help with the tornado victims, this man is incredible. All he does is spend his time in the White House and then he goes to bed early. What a guy.