Readers’ Column for the week of February 18, 2024

You may call The Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2378 24-hours a day, or email comments to ReadersOP@gmail.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any message. Thank you.

 

Ukulele players are needed! We are looking for ukulele players who want to get together for jam sessions. All levels of players – from beginners to accomplished are welcome. For more information, call (607) 743-9803 or send an email to TiogaUkuleleGroup@yahoo.com.

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Food for thought. A football field, goal line to goal line, measures 1.32 acres. An acre is 43,560 square feet. One inch of water over an acre is 27,000 gallons. Solar panels may number 2,000. A solar panel’s temperature may be 36 degrees fahrenheit above the ambient temperature of the area. As you watched the Super Bowl, what effect would 2,000 objects 36 degrees warmer than the surrounding areas have? How does this relate to carbon dioxide, 4 cents of a dollar bill, 400 ppm by way of a lithium battery? The chip factory in Clay, N.Y. may use 20 million gallons of water every day. This number divided by 27,000 equals 740; 740 divided by 12 is 61+ feet. How would this look inside the stadium? A tank, goal line to goal line, 61+ feet tall, to wash, rinse, cool, etc. every day. Who is managing what, how, and why? Think about it!

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On Monday the New York State Education Department published its school year 2023 statistics. Your Owego Apalachin Board of Education has now maintained the highest teacher salaries in the Southern Tier (62 districts) for over a decade! For the past decade the BOE has avoided and evaded addressing their excessive generosity with your tax dollars. The 2025 Budget-planning cycle has begun. Dear BOE, what is the business case / reason for such free spending with taxpayer money? If there is a good reason, please tell us. Remember you work for our students and us? One thing that is absolutely necessary is to vote out the Old Guard BOE members at the budget vote.

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In the Jan. 28 column, someone wrote that there are two clerks in the Village of Newark Valley. There are three full time clerks and three full-time DPW employees. So if you do the math, that’s a total of 12,480 hours for 930 residents, if 930 is correct. What I don’t understand is how, when we have three people in the office, this year’s budget put $2,000 in for office overtime. In last year’s budget there was $1,000 for office overtime, and so far all they have on office overtime is $147.23. Please don’t forget that on March 19, from noon to 9 p.m., an election will be held for two Village Trustees. 

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Wow! Where does anyone get the idea they can tell someone else what to do with their own money or how to parent? Telling someone to “cut the cord” is NOT YOUR BUSINESS! MIND YOUR OWN! Totally out of line! 

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Congratulations to the OFA Boys Basketball team on such a great year! It was a pleasure to watch them play. It’s too bad that they are in the same division as a private school who has never played by the same rules, and now another school who has athletes from four different districts on their team. At least OFA’s integrity is intact.

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Have you been following the news about the missing Florida women in Spain or the two Kentucky women who say they were raped while on a cruise? My question is this, with an estimated 600,000 missing in the U.S. annually, and over 700,000 reported rapes annually in the U.S., why aren’t they all over the news media?

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You cannot and will not ever heal yourself by meditation and breathing. Only the Great Spirit can heal you, if it’s His will. So don’t be deceived by anyone. Call on Jesus to heal you.

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I would like to tell people that travel through the Davis Hill and Lisle Road intersection to please slow down, and stop at the STOP signs. There have been close calls and difficulty for some to leave their driveways. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt, especially walkers and their dogs. It isn’t as safe as it used to be, along with everything else.

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To the caller looking for a tree trimming service, I used Affordable Tree Service out of Owego. The owner is a pleasure to work with and does affordable, quality trimming and clean up. He expertly trimmed a large silver maple tree near my house. The phone number is (607) 759-1904. 

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I saw where a Vestal town councilman got his knickers in a twist because the town supervisor used their emergency lights to stop a person going the wrong way on Rte. 434. At the same time I read where a person got fired for being late for work. Their indiscretion, they were rendering first aid and CPR to someone. Have we gotten to the point where being a Good Samaritan is a punishable offense?

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Climate Pornographers tell us the oceans have risen 4-inches, desertification is rampant, polar bears have gone extinct, the end is here, and all hope is lost. And given more money, the government can fix anything. Well, 2022 is on record for being the best year ever for agriculture around the world and it was due to weather. It looks like 2023 will also be an exceptional year of bounty due to favorable weather around the world. Climate Change, well bring it on.

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I have a friend that is 58 years old. I am much older. She has had a very difficult life, always helping others, taking care of them for no pay. She lives in low-income housing. For years she has been having car troubles and has had to charge her Visa. This month, over and over, it has been towed; bad brakes, rotors, no handle on driver’s side door, locks broken on doors, no emergency brake, and the key ignition works sometimes. She has no money, and repairs are so high right now that she is driving with no back brakes! Does anyone have a car they are not using that they would be willing to give her? Her grandson, who is seven years old, hasn’t seen her since Christmas because he lives two and a half hours away. I’m crying for her! Please respond to this column with your number if you are able and willing to help her. 

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One thing I hope the village of Owego board could improve upon would be posting a link on the village website so that we can view the board minutes. Also, the minutes have not been updated since November; and could the agendas please be made public before the meeting? They are of no help after the meeting. Whoever is being paid to update these things probably should not be getting paid. 

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Why do the stores expect its customers to pay the increase and work for salary since wages went up? These corporations should start absorbing some of the increase. They are worth millions. I have bills to pay too. My cable bill just went up $14.00 a month. Ridiculous! I have no corporation to help me out. I have regular basic cable, DVR, two boxes and a phone, no Internet, no streaming, no paid channels like HBO. No excess of any kind. Just how do they get away with that? My bill is almost $200 a month! 

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Just wondering if anyone in the area sells composted manure. If so, please leave a number in this column. Thank you. 

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I don’t think it’s necessary for the deed transfers. You can have the people’s names, but I don’t think it’s necessary for them to put in the price they paid for it. That’s nobody else’s business. And also, to the person who was complaining about the salt on the roads in Newark Valley, I would much rather have the salt and sand than the dirt that Berkshire puts on. I don’t live in either town, but I’m telling you, there are people that aren’t happy about it. 

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Long time coming, the streets of Owego are looking great. Sad part is they will only look this good for less than two weeks until the dirt piles up. The village needs to take more pride by cleaning the major truck routes like Main Street and North Avenue. With the amount of trucks using this route they should be swept weekly. I have actually seen black soot pile up, at least two inches or more, which eventually makes its way onto the sidewalks and is then tracked into the establishments. Please, can we keep these two streets clean on a regular basis? Thank you. 

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Someone had commented in this column a couple weeks ago, asking for the name of the dog on Bodle Hill Road who sits in the picture window every day and is adorable. The dog’s name is Leo. Thanks for noticing; he loves his window. 

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The flag at Kirby Park in Nichols is an embarrassment. It’s in tatters. It needs to be replaced.

 

National Political Viewpoints

Hey, finally someone got it right; the Nevada primary winner was “none of the candidates”! Now the rest of the country needs to follow suit. We don’t want the rerun of 2020 and all of the negative baggage that came with it, those two guys need to go play golf and let the next generation clean up their mess.

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To the person blaming Walmart for the demise of Ted Clark’s, Walmart has been around since 1962; the Sayre Walmart first opened in 1994!  Ted Clark’s had a lot of items and services Walmart definitely doesn’t have, including quick and easy shopping. TCBM owners state the high costs of doing business (after coming into being during the great depression) as the reason for closing. That is the current economy, not the proximity of Walmart for decades. Also, I imagine what walks out the door, unpaid for, is probably part of the “increased costs”; because the democrats seem to think one of the Ten Commandments, “thou shall not steal”, is null and void. Get your head out of the sand buddy. New York State is bleeding businesses and jobs. Even “big guys” like Corning and Remington, their loss is not due to Walmart. Give me a break.

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We need to organize a write campaign for a third party candidate for president, there has to be someone out there that will represent the people and not a party.

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It’s not so much the GOP platform I have issue with, it’s just Trump. I don’t understand how anyone can support this narcissistic bully, con man, liar and cheat; there are other candidates that can deliver the policies without this miserable excuse for a human.

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Here we go again, our sharp on top of World Affairs President, Joe Biden, read his speech from the monitor Monday afternoon, telling the Israelis that they should cease-fire. Doesn’t he realize that Hamas will just regroup and start the war all over again? Joe, what have you done with opening our borders? Terrorists, gang members, and drug dealers are coming into our country by the trainload. How many U.S. citizens has your Administration killed by letting the drug dealers invade our country with Fentanyl, and how many migrants have died trying to cross the Rio Grande? Why don’t you fix your backyard?

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If the presidential ballot in November is between Biden and Trump, considering their ages, I, for one, will cast my ballot for my choice according to the VP / running mate.

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It has been U.S. tradition that the Press Secretary for the President is a reflection of their character, intelligence, eloquence, and leadership as President. Today’s current Press Secretary proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that President Biden doesn’t have it.

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I know you Democrats aren’t that smart, so let’s go over this again. On Jan. 6, the only person killed was Ashley Babbitt, a Trump supporter. She was killed by a police officer that never served any consequences. There was not one person armed in the so-called insurrection. I think an insurrection would require people to be armed, don’t you? And if you saw the new Jan. 6 tapes you would see that 99% of the people there did nothing wrong. They merely walked through the capitol. So let’s stop watching fake news and investigate. 

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The democrat party tried to push through a terrible bill for the border. That’s why the House of Representatives turned it down. It did nothing to secure our borders, only facilitate those entering illegally. They have let people in here for three years, 10 million of them, and now they’re trying to pretend they care by trying to pass a crappy bill and then blame it on the Republicans. Well, it’s not going to work. We understand your routine and the games you play. 

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Has anyone seen The Owego Pennysaver this week? All of the pages with all of those delinquent taxes and we’re sending thousands of dollars a month to immigrants. Is it me, or is it them? I think our people should be taken care of first.

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So this is the new Republican Party, the party that beats cops over, lies, cheats and steals on the elections, and tries to overthrow our elections. They support our archenemy Vladimir Putin because he’s Trump’s friend. I mean this is our Republican Party. What is wrong with you people? There’s no respect for anything anymore in that party. 

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Mama Gump, you must have been drinking too much rheumatism medicine last week, saying a vote for Trump was a vote for communism. Are you kidding me? Would he ever let 10 million migrants cross our border illegally? Some are from the cartel and some are terrorists? I don’t think so. You must have meant a vote for Biden is a vote for communism because he did study right out of the Marxist book along with all the rest of his colleagues. Over and out. Studebaker Hawk. 

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There must be some decent House Republicans out there. What do you think of your party pushing a 77-year-old man, or he might be 78 now, who’s got 91 charges against him for trying to overthrow the government, and who’s been accused by 18 different women of rape in his life. He’s got one conviction for rape and he’s got other numerous fraud charges against him for everything you can imagine. Do you people still think he should be our commander in chief and a representative of the country? Really, you need to think long and hard on this. 

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A report has come out that the CIA was responsible for the entire Russian hoax against Trump; more election interference. How much more do we need? 

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I told everybody who was going to win, another Democrat. Chuck Schumer has this fixed. You’re never going to see red in New York State. People should demand to come and take a look at all those voter ballots. I’m telling you, you’re never going to put whom you want in the State of New York because Chuck Schumer has it fixed. I guarantee you somebody should check all those votes. 

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Well, President Biden lied again. The economy is not doing well. Inflation has gone up to one of the highest levels ever. Food is rising at 25%. I don’t know why he keeps telling the public the wrong things. The economy is terrible! 

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What is wrong with you Republican Congressmen? Trump used to be America first, but now if you vote for Trump it is Russia first. 

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Not only is it time for us to declare war on the drug cartel, it’s time for us to declare war on the migrants entering our country illegally. What would happen to us if we tried to do that in another country? Yeah, I don’t think we’d be let in, given food, shelter, money, cell phones, put in school, and have our butts kissed. This is ridiculous! Democrats, stop it before our country is totally ruined. 

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Well, Mr. Climate Believer, did you see the Secretary of Energy testify before the house, and she lied under oath? She said she didn’t have stock in any of the solar panels, windmills, or electric cars; she lied, so she ended up selling them. You see Mr. Climate man, what I’m telling you is that it’s all a lie. It’s all for the money, the stocks. How many Democrats have them? Do Kathy Hochul and Chuck Schumer? Think about it people, they are pushing it right down your throat because their stocks will go sky high. Now tell me about your climate again. It’s all bogus. You knew it and I knew it. You just want to push it. Maybe you have stock, I don’t know. 

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Hey, all you far left Democrats, are you going to try to blame Trump when there’s a terrorist attack in this country because of your blatant open borders? 

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Now the Democrats are trying to keep Robert Kennedy off the ballot for the third party. Jeez, kind of sounds like a dictatorship to me. I think maybe you people should look in the mirror. 

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Our president is not keeping our country safe. He needs to be impeached. 

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I’m a proud deplorable MAGA calling to thank you and your communist friends for voting for the man who opened our border, has led 10 million migrants into our country illegally, drug cartel gangs who are destroying our cities, poisoning our children with fentanyl, funding Iran, causing harm to our servicemen and women, and funding terrorists. Our golf cart is a perfect score, scouts honor. 

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If you are really tired of all these migrants coming here illegally, I suggest you all start calling members of Congress and ask them how many of them they’d like in their yard; and keep calling them, because that’s the only way we’re going to get any action. Don’t talk between each of us; call Washington, they’re the problem.