Readers’ Column for the week of April 28, 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.

 

Attention Ukulele Players: The Tioga Ukulele Group’s next adult jam session is scheduled for May 4, from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Coburn Free Library, Main Street, Owego. All levels of players are welcome to join us, from beginners to accomplished ukulele players. For more information or to receive music ahead of the jam session, please contact us at (607) 321-8815 or (607) 743-9803, or send an email to TiogaUkuleleGroup@yahoo.com.

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To the person that commented about being a cat hater; where did you read that? Maybe it’s only your opinion. Looks like you enjoy reading the comments in The Owego Pennysaver because you had a comment about every one of them. 

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Somebody called in about cats in their garden and to put down orange and lemon peels that are free. Oranges and lemons are not free. And I also have tried that and they do not work. You just end up with peels all over your yard, which attract skunks and varmints. If you live in the country, you’re going to have to deal with it. 

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This is in regards to the comment made about the code enforcement. It sounds to me like maybe you’re the one that the code enforcement officer visited. Maybe you should move out into the country, away from people that care about their yard. No one will see all that crap and garbage in your yard. 

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I’d like to know when this column is going to print about the high taxes in New York State and Upstate New York. Why wouldn’t somebody investigate them? The housing is going up with the taxes. They keep climbing and it doesn’t add up. You don’t have to be Einstein to figure it out. Somebody’s getting rich or somebody can’t do the math, please put it in the paper. We need someone to investigate what’s going on with these high taxes in the state of New York. Something is not right! 

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The Village of Owego Clerk’s office, 22 Elm St. in Owego, will be accepting donations on behalf of Tioga County Rural Ministry during their Soap for Hope Campaign for the month of May. Needed items are laundry soap, shampoo, toothpaste, disposable razors, facial tissues, feminine pads and tampons, dish soap, toilet paper, mouthwash, body wash, and paper towels. Donations can be dropped off between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

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I want to echo a local resident’s concern about Brown Road, which runs between the Towns of Berkshire and Newark Valley. Both entry and exit to and from Brown Road from Route 38 is severely damaged due to the bridge being out on the south end. This road has no shoulders; both railroad crossings need massive and permanent repair, not just a touch up, and the potholes on a culvert keep growing bigger. Since driving is quite hazardous, this can be a danger to local people and children who walk and ride their bikes on this road. We thank you for your patch up efforts, but now need a permanent and lasting solution.

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I was quite excited to see the comments regarding the trees on Davis Hill Road. They are especially impressive where the two ravines come together. The commenter is certainly knowledgeable about trees, but I wanted to chime in myself. Catalpa is not a native species but it does quite well in the Southern Tier. The ash trees certainly look like something from a WWI battlefield. The chestnut and American elm have not been exterminated, but few reach their maximum potential, chestnut in particular. Cucumber Magnolia and Paw-Paw are southern trees that to my knowledge are still in good shape. There are some fine trees to see at the Bement-Billings Farmstead; sassafras, sycamore, sugar maple, and many healthy American elms. The Farmstead also has the current co-champion shagbark hickory for New York State named “Asa”, after Asa Bement, who first settled the land in 1792.

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On Monday the OACSD Board of Education passed a budget for the school year 2025. The property tax cap formula, applied without manipulation, yields an allowable 4.23%. The property tax levy increase passed was 1.99999999% so as to stay within the public expectation of a max. 2%. This increase had nothing to do with the needs of our children. The 2025 budget has a $3 million underrun baked into it. School years 2023 and 2024 had $3 million underruns baked into them and have pushed up the piggy bank to $15 million. Should there someday arise a reason for an exceptional increase, how can we trust that it is legitimate? Governor Hochul stated this year that NYS school districts have more money than they need. The BOE refused to explain what, if any, amount should be the size of the piggy bank and used tricks to make the budget $58,318,176; however, when called out on this trick, reduced it to $57,879,272. The BOE had baked in an extra $500,000. Another damage this chicanery will yield is an unwillingness of good people to work at OACSD. Vote for totally new BOE members this year. It’s time for candor and change.

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The first enforceable code on record in this country was written in 1788! Worldwide, 1772 BC! That would be 3,796 years ago! Welcome to life on this planet, where the HEALTH and SAFETY of OTHERS is an important consideration; protecting the innocent from the ignorant (selfish, lazy). Guess who would be the first to cry if a neighbor’s faulty wiring burned down not only their house, but also yours. When your water, be it municipal or from your private well, is rendered undrinkable because of poisons from junk vehicles that have leaked and leached into the aquifer. Believe it or not, codes don’t exist solely to annoy you. Whom, exactly, is uncaring and “destroying the country”? I don’t know what the recent anti-code diatribe is about, but I say hooray for anyone still standing up for the laws of the land; willfully ignoring them is what is rapidly destroying our country.

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There was a motor vehicle accident on Prospect Valley Road and two young women were hurt. The cause? Road conditions and potholes. Come on Candor Highway Department. Do better

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What a difference a town makes. For spring cleanup Newark Valley charges $5 per tire, while Owego lets you dispose of eight for free and then $1 each for up to eight more (50 cents a tire total). 

 

National Political Viewpoints

Have you ever tried to reason with a Trumpster? Yeah, Trumpsters don’t want to listen to reason or facts or truths. Man, you guys will fall for anything. I got a bridge I want to sell you. 

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I think Biden gave good advice when he said don’t. Don’t, when it comes to voting for Biden this November. Take his own words for it, don’t! 

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What is wrong with our New York representatives? First of all you have Claudia Tenney. Remember, she got elected to actually work for the state? I haven’t heard her name mentioned in many months. Why don’t we just kick her out of the state and just keep that open? She did do something, she voted against The Ukraine, the only one thing she could have done. What a waste of taxpayer money. 

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Trump’s historical criminal trial is not about hush money to keep two disgusting affairs secret, but to commit or conceal other crimes, which are falsifying business records along with burying “Catch and Kill” stories with the help of David Pecker of the National Enquirer.

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Why do we care what Hollywood has-beens have to say about Biden? You’ve got Michael Douglas saying Biden is wonderful, and his memory is sharp. I don’t think so. If Biden is so sharp, why do people have to keep bringing it up about his mental stability? The American people, I hope, are smarter than that. He’s a has-been, he’s washed up, and him and his whole cabinet have got to be let go. We need new people there this November. We’re going to have Trump and a wonderful administration and we’re going to, hopefully, if it’s not too late, turn this country around. 

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Wouldn’t it be something if New York State turned red? We’ve tried to move for many, many years and they refused to do anything about the taxes. If we flip the state red, then they would do something about these property taxes. I’m all for it. I’m a true democrat, but they’ve turned their back on me and my family and my friends and my neighbors. They don’t want anything to do with lowering the property taxes. They don’t care. So maybe if we went red, maybe those people would care. 

Biden should be the one that’s on trial for the shenanigans he’s done, not Trump. 

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For the Biden fanboys who wonder why President Trump wants to delay his trial, here is a newsflash. Trump is running for president, and the democrats want to impede his campaigning as much as possible; unlike slow Joe who babbles about cannibals eating his uncle, which is a proven lie. Joe has the energy and mental acuity of an amoeba. But that is purely objective. 

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Thank you, Donald. One thing we can thank Trump for is the coarsening of our social interactions. Before 2016, did you see signs using profanity to describe a political opponent? Today I passed a truck parked with a large flag flying from the back that said, “[screw] Biden. It was great for kids to see. To all the Christians that support him, how do you justify this? 

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I have to thank Biden for all the college chaos disruption across the country. He has now relieved the debt of all these demonstrators; now they have time to protest and riot and cause trouble instead of going out into the world looking for a job to make a paycheck to pay back those loans. I’ve never seen our country in such a mess. Vote Trump. We’ve got to get him back in office to turn this around. Why President Trump would want to take this project on, I have no idea. 

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Donald J. Trump’s 30-year longtime friend, David Pecker, testified under oath how they schemed to swindle the American voters to paint a false positive impression of Donald Trump. Trump is an originator of fake news. If you were suckered into ever voting for this mirage of a man, you can get somewhat even by voting for President Joe Biden. 

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The Trump trial is about a pattern of criminal conspiracy and cover-ups of election interference. This is about Trump and employees of Trump falsifying business records to influence the outcome of an election after the Access Hollywood tape came out to catch and kill stories embarrassing not only Trump, but also to make up or highly embellish negative stories about Trump’s adversaries and opponents. It was extremely important to the Republican campaign not to have any more damaging stories about Trump’s year long affair with Karen McDougal while his wife Melania was pregnant, and four months after giving birth. Then he has yet another affair, and cheats on Melania again with Stormy Daniels. He even had to pay off his doorman to keep quiet, or he would not succeed in becoming president. It’s the pattern and cover up of cooking the books to withhold his true behavior from the voters. 

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Did you see Biden on TV complaining about having to show border ID? I’ve got news for him and I don’t know where he’s been. Come to New York State, you have to show ID for cigarettes, beer, paint, and sometimes cold medicine. You’ve got to show your ID for everything! If a cop pulls you over, they want your ID. Give me a break!

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I got a real kick out of the comment saying that the democrats are the ones who are ignoring the Constitution and the rule of law. What planet does this person live on? Don’t they know that it was a Republican; his name is Donald Trump, who wanted to eliminate the U.S. Constitution? It was Republicans that tried to take over the U.S. Capitol. Where is this person getting their information? Obviously Fox News. You know, the fake news. You know, the ones that were sued twice for millions and millions of dollars for lying. And if you people still believe them, God help you.

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The world, along with America, is suffering with Trump induced PTSD. Why would any thinking person want more chaos caused by Trump? He’s not for me, and the world is watching to see if Trump will continue to destabilize unity. Trump is a loser that cannot be let anywhere near the White House again. 

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President Trump, right now, stopped to talk with construction workers in New York City, and for a spur of the moment decision, there are hundreds of them. The reporter says they’ve waited some time in line to see him. The people love him. They’re shouting USA, USA! Now on the other hand, if this was a Biden meeting he’d have about 20 people show up and 18 of them would be reporters. That sends a powerful message as to where the American people stand. I’m sure they will be casting their vote for President Trump in November. Very exciting! We’re going to turn this country around, but we need leadership, good leadership, and we will find that with President Trump. 

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Another Biden secretive blunder. He sold the Ukraine long-range missiles behind the country’s back. How does he keep getting away with everything with no consequences? 

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I wish men would stay out of abortion issues. It should be only a woman’s decision. They have no idea about a woman’s body. It’s disgusting. They should not get to vote on it. It doesn’t concern them. It’s none of their business. 

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Do readers remember when President Trump asked for appropriations for a southern border wall, which amounted to about 2 percent of the amount for which President Biden has already spent to date for securing Ukraine’s? An action that President Biden now concedes is needed, yet at the same time will not underwrite or enforce the laws already in place to prevent illegal entry into our country. Our own county subscribes to having to post a weekly statement of “Emergency” declarations for minimizing the cost to the local taxpayers for the necessities to provide housing, food, and healthcare, which are expenses bankrupting other communities in our state.

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The tribe-mentality in Washington, DC is tearing the country apart; voting against a bill because the other party presented it is childish behavior that has no room in Congress. The Special interest groups are buying the laws they want at the expense of the average citizen that doesn’t have its own lobbying group. The U.S. military budget increases pass without a problem, but the bills for domestic issues cost too much. Time for the U.S. citizens to demand that the taxpayers stop providing military security for the world; they say they are protecting the U.S., but it’s all about world domination at all cost. Your family members in the military are being sacrificed for the politicians that want total control over the world.

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

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As the trial of President Trump continues in New York City, former Attorney General Bill Barr stated he is backing President Trump in November despite their very public fallout; “The Biden administration is in fact the greater threat to democracy,” and going on to state, “I think that they (democrats) have a totalitarian temper. They have bought into the progressive movement and they’re trying to squelch opposition and freedom of speech. It’s a heavy-handed bunch of thugs in my opinion, and that’s where the threat is. Trump may be playing Russian roulette, but a continuation of the Biden administration is national suicide, in my opinion.” Barr is right; two sides, each with two unlikable candidates; but there it is, only two. Many feel one belongs in prison; the other, in a nursing home. So holding my independent nose, I will vote for the one who best provides the hope for a stronger economy, a secure border, and a more peaceful world. America first for Americans. 

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