Readers’ Column for the week of March 2, 2025

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 messages.

Attention Ukulele Players: The Tioga Ukulele Group’s next adult jam session is scheduled for March 8, from 10:30 a.m. to noon 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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“Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it that we can destroy the only planet we have?” — Jane Goodall

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Beware those who want to expand cities many times their current borders. They should study Sayre and Kaufman’s “Governing New York,” and Vince Canato’s “The Ungovernable City.” Large organizations become like a dinosaur whose small brain was fatally unable to coordinate the large body.

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My goodness, we shouldn’t need any federal money to fix Route 17! New York, being one of the highest-taxed states in the country, plus the tax from gasoline and the Thruway tolls (which puts the costs up for truckers bringing in everything we buy) should mean all roads in New York State are in perfect condition, using state funds! Oh! That’s right! The state highway money is all going to that ridiculous project in Syracuse, which, in the end, solves nothing.

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How dare someone make false statements to support their closed-minded hatred. The money for the entire Route 17 project was awarded and set aside for the complete job! When any construction project goes out to bid, it is for the entire completion of the job! Do you think house builders get paid room by room? Route 17 will most certainly be finished!

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Would you like to spend eternity in heaven with the creator of the universe? You are invited. He has provided the way for you. He desires that you accept His invitation. If your choice is to accept His invitation, believe in His Son, the one who came and died on the cross and rose from the grave, paying the price of admission for you. Your belief in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, is all that is required of you to receive His gift and become adopted into His forever family.

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I have a good-quality men’s jacket (medium) that has a torn zipper. I hate to throw it away, so I will give it to anyone who has the seamstress skills to save it. Text Jim at (607) 321-8210.

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I have issues with grocery stores not addressed by “The Old Coot.” (I guess it’s a woman thing.) The ad says “10 for $10.” At the register, you’re told that’s not the item on sale. Or “Buy 1, get 2 free.” No free items are in stock. Your rain check expires before the items are restocked. Dare I sign myself, “The Old Cootette”.

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I want to give the Town of Owego Highway Department a big thank you from Maple Lane. You guys have done a great job all winter. Thanks a lot, especially the guy in the black pickup truck. Take care. 

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Have people noticed that there are a lot of fires and an awful lot of plane crashes? I’ve never seen so many local fires. There’s so many plane crashes. Like what is going on? This is crazy! I think I’ll never fly on a plane again. Everybody, be safe out there. 

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I agree with the comment from last week about the department store; it would be nice to have one in Owego. We have nothing like that, and it would be convenient for people to get to. Thank you. 

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New York State taxpayers, please wake up and impeach Kathy Hochul! 

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New York State wouldn’t be going through this problem with the correctional officers if they didn’t make it too hard to apply for the job. Civil service exam, they want to know everything about you, but what do they really need to know? Knock off the unnecessary requirements! Hire them like you do another person. Fill out an application, end of story. You hire them or don’t! Too much bureaucratic nonsense. Get rid of the red tape, people! 

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I’m responding to the people who want to know what to do about their NYSEG bills. NYSEG is owned by a company in Spain, so it doesn’t have to follow the regular regulations that United States companies follow. If you call the number on your bill and ask about it and complain to them and put it on record when you call, they get fined by the United States government for every call they get that’s complaining. So you have to call and complain and then ask them why your bill is the way it is, or you can call the consumer FCC and turn them in, and they’ll file an investigation for you, and they do all this litigation. They do resolve your bill for whatever reason, but you have to keep calling and you have to keep complaining. There’s a customer service number on your bill. 

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Glad to see that somebody else is complaining about these so-called meters. My electric bill has almost tripled. Half of the neighborhood, before they got their smart meters installed, was low. Mine was low. They installed them on one side of the road, and all of a sudden theirs went off. They finally got ours in, and our bills went up. That’s ridiculous. I’ve never, never paid such high bills, and I’m all alone. I’ve got nobody living with me. I’ve got very few lights on, use very little electricity, and it tripled compared to what it was before I got the meter.

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Someone commented on the pennies. Canada did away with its pennies a long, long time ago. They rounded off to nickels and dimes, etcetera. It’s a lot easier. I think it’s a lot better. It’s easier to handle, and you get used to it in a hurry. I hope they do get rid of the penny.

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I just read Mayor Baratta’s article in the Pennysaver about Marvin Park and the completed improvements. He mentioned the Pickleball Courts, that they’re still looking for permanent net solutions, and right now you can borrow a net to play pickleball. I just wanted to mention that it doesn’t work because most people don’t plan ahead to play on the weekends. If the weather is good, you can maybe plan ahead, but if you want to just go over to the park to play pickleball, you can’t because you can’t borrow a net on the weekends since the village offices are closed. That’s not a good solution. We need something more permanent. Thank you. 

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Tioga County residents, be aware, these candidates running for reelection twist their words. The article in last week’s Pennysaver from the current highway superintendent states falsely that he responds to all calls, texts, and emails. I have personally been ignored by this office countless times after each type of communication was tried, and the development of the town culvert inventory plan consists of unnecessary and unwanted 4 foot wide, 4-foot-deep ditches suitable for highway culverts being installed in your front lawn and left for you to maintain. Want proof? Take a ride up to Gardner Road off McFadden and see the ditch on the left side just past Baker Road. In the process, a 12-inch pipe being installed by the town at one point is now considered obsolete and left to rot on the property or be removed at the expense of the owner. This is not leadership or justice for the taxpayers of the community. Vote consciously.

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Whoever called in about the eastbound Route 17 paving being canceled, where do you get your information? The DOT in Owego says they have not heard anything like that and are expecting to start in about a month. 

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I’ve read that the village of Owego is buying a foreign electric car. I don’t believe that’s the correct way to help make America great again. First of all, buy American. Secondly, electric vehicles are on their way out and sales are down. They don’t sell. Thirdly, is it going to be a take-home car like many others in the village? Can we really afford this? Let’s cut taxes.

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I’d love to see the bid sheet that went out for the new electric car that the village is setting up to buy. Where is Elon Musk when you need him? We also need to look into who gets the old one. Who gets the car they’ve been driving? Thank you. 

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I hope the Pennysaver brings back the crossword puzzles. I really like them! 

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I would like to make a comment about the strike for the correctional guards, especially in Elmira. I’m kind of wondering why the governor of New York State, who supposedly works for the people, is having a hissy fit because she’s not getting her own way. She says she won’t tolerate the strike. Well, they work for the state and she does too. So why is she not trying to sit down and work something out with these guards, like what they want for their safer working conditions. They’re not asking for money. They’re not asking for benefits. All they want is a safer place where they can go to work. I support that strike 100%, even though I don’t know any of them, I don’t even know anybody that works there, but under these conditions, safety should come first for anybody’s job. It doesn’t matter if it’s a state job or not, it’s a job. These people need the income. They’ve got families and bills just like everybody else. I think she’s wrong on this. I think she ought to step up and be governor of the state. Thank you. 

National Political Viewpoints

So, what is Trump going to rename next? How about the “United States of Trump”, the king would love that!

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“Federal workers who received this email had no idea what to do, and their Trump administration bosses didn’t seem to know, either. New Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, instructed personnel at intelligence agencies not to reply. F.B.I. Director Kash Patel advised FBI staff to pause any responses, while Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. sent an email announcing, ‘Free roadkill in the break room!’” — STEPHEN COLBERT

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“Yep, they need to respond with five accomplishments from the past week. Federal workers wrote back, ‘I received this email, I opened this email, I read this email, I laughed at this email, and I deleted this email.’” — JIMMY FALLON

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Why does Trump lie that Ukraine started the Ukraine war? Is Trump okay? Whenever Biden tripped on his words or said something odd, people were all over him. Why does Trump get a pass? Does Putin have something on Trump? During talks with Russia, why doesn’t Trump negotiate for anything in return for agreeing with Russian demands? Why doesn’t Trump ask Russia to stop the bombing of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, schools, and hospitals? There were 167 drone attacks on Feb. 18 while talks are ongoing. Ukraine cannot hold free elections while Russia holds 1/5th of Ukrainian territory. Russians have clearly interfered with the elections of Romania and other countries recently. And Putin has never won a fair election. Zelensky’s approval rating is at 57% and growing – not 4%. I remember when Republicans stood for democracy and not for the authoritarian Russian line. What happened to the Republican love of democracy?  Trump is the worst of us. We are better than this.

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I just love watching the left complain about Trump’s federal government cuts. Did you hear anyone in Washington complain when many upstate towns and cities were decimated due to work being moved to other countries in the name of environmental regulations and corporate savings. Washington was behind it. It leads to severe substance abuse problems, mental issues, and suicide when these individuals lose hope. President Trump, it’s time to get rid of all the abuse and misuse of our federal government. Washington does not care what Americans want or think, their policies are a result of their own philosophies and beliefs. It’s time for a more streamlined Washington to join the rest of the Country. Now Washington gets to enjoy some of the pain and suffering many of us have experienced because of their policies over the years. It’s their own policies that are now coming back to bite them.

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Some observations drawn from the Feb. 23 column: President Trump has been (at the date of that publication) in office for exactly 34 days, including weekends. No one could turn around the abysmal economy of four years (1,460 days) in that amount of time, and no one with a working brain and any degree of fairness would expect anyone to. Also, regarding his support of pretty much uniquely American sports and instilling some pride, Biden took Air Force One to Delaware (an easy drive from DC) just about every weekend for four years to sit on the beach and eat ice cream by himself. Additionally, I’ve noticed that since Revival Ranch has been operating, there OPD-reported crimes on West Main Street, including burglaries, shoplifting, etc.

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Wow, it only took Trump a few weeks to erase all of Biden’s stock market gains. The Dow has plunged 500 or 600 points a few times over the last week alone. Consumer sentiment is plunging. Prices are going up. Inflation is skyrocketing. Of course it was preposterous when Trump said he would “bring down prices, starting on day one,” but people actually believed it! That’s just not how macroeconomics works. Back in 2019, Trump campaigned on “If you elect Biden, we’ll have a stock market crash worse than the Great Depression.” Uh-huh. Not only did Biden preside over a record-high stock market, but it appears that Trump’s tariffs and isolationist policies will actually plunge us into a recession. Thank you, MAGA!

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“In Trump’s first term, his golf expenses totaled $152 million over four years, for a total of 293 golf days at his own resorts. Thus far in his second term, Trump has played golf at his own resorts each of the four weekends he has been in office.” — S.V. Date, HuffPost 02.18.2025

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After watching the plane crash video in Canada several times, it looks like the Right Landing Gear collapsed as soon as it touched down. That,along with the wind, is what caused the accident. Not the USA FAA.

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According to the “Trump Golf Tracker,” the president has gone golfing on seven out of his 29 days in office so far. The guy has been on the job for four weeks, and he’s spent a quarter of it on vacation. What a joke. Eggs prices are up. Fuel prices are up. Bitcoin is down 10% since he took office. The S&P 500 is up. Let me check the latest numbers; 0%.  This is what “great again” looks like, huh?

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About the 800 plus US military bases around the world, our government propaganda has been that they are necessary for national security. If you believe this line of bull, shame on you. The US primary objective is world domination through force, intimidation, demands, and foreign aid/bribes. Close all bases not fully funded by the country they are in and return the soldiers and all weapons to the US to protect our borders. The EU has allowed the US/NATO to supply our military for security while they invested in extensive Social Programs, now they are scrambling to make budget cuts to fund their own security.

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“A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.”  Samuel Clemens

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I personally like reading this column. No, I don’t agree with a lot of it, but in America we are entitled to our opinions! One issue I have is how people can be so dedicated to one party, especially when through the years their standards changed so much. I’m finding the Trump administration refreshing. After being called garbage and feeling like a doormat for the past four years. Trump has done more in his 31days than Biden did in four years. What Trump and Elon have uncovered so far is scary. Money is flowing out of the US like water to other countries. But we can not help all those Americans that lost everything in the south. Our eyes are open now to the fact the borders are being secured. No, everything is not going to happen overnight, but they are definitely working and not hiding in the basement. The people spoke in November. The Democrats need to decide if they are working for the American Citizens, or to line their pockets. When you work as a team, it all comes together sooner.

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Our genius leader has decided that it is Ukraine’s fault that they were invaded by Russia. Russia wanted their country, and Ukraine decided not to give it to them. How one-sided is that? Maybe our leader will use the same logic when he decides to invade Denmark for their refusal to give up Greenland. Or maybe invade Canada for refusing to become the 51st state. They had their chance to give us their country after all.

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In order to house returning soldiers, breakthroughs occurred in construction technology in the 1950s and 1960s. Levittown was the model, including sheetrock. After Hurricane Katrina, a similar revolution brought drastic improvements in steel stud construction and prefab. We are facing a housing shortage, accompanied by high building costs. Yet, a friend bought a prefab two-bedroom in Idaho for $20,000. Where is the current cost and supply stickiness?

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Idea to reduce the cost of surgery: fire the doctor and let the scrub nurse perform the surgery. Trump should have already considered this.

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Never in my lifetime did I think I would see the day when the U.S. would abandon its allies of about 100 years and vote with Russia, China, and North Korea. I believe we may as well dissolve Congress since they have abdicated their authority to a convicted felon and his minions.

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In one day, Mr. Trump fired Independent Inspectors General in 17 different government agencies to prevent any independent oversight of unethical or illegal behavior or potential conflicts of interest in his second administration. As he is doing with the rest of our government, he will replace them with people whose only qualification is unwavering personal loyalty to Mr. Trump, not to the rule of law or to the constitution. He is setting himself up to have total control of all aspects of our government, knowing that Republicans in Congress are too afraid to even question him because he has said publicly he will destroy their careers.

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This is in response to the comment in last week’s column that started out by saying, “I did not know we voted for Elon Musk.” Wow, what a memory! Do you also remember that nobody voted for Kamala Harris so that she could run for president? 

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Do you really believe there’s a 150-year-old out there getting Social Security checks? Do you really believe that Ukraine started that war with Russia? Do you really believe anything that comes out of that man’s pie hole? Wow! One of these days you’ll open your eyes and realize what a mistake you made voting for Mr. Trump. 

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The list of Trump and your Republican politicians who screwed up my Social Security, I’ll tell you right now, I’ll be voting all you Republicans out of office, every one of you. Yeah, you’ll keep your job for a couple more years, but in the long run, you’ll be looking for a job. Mark my words! People like you, who sit there and screw us, the millionaires and billionaires get all the money. You’ll be looking for work, you’ll be in the unemployment line, and that’s exactly where you belong. They’re not serving the will of the people. They’re just blindly following Mr. Trump. 

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Trump just surrendered to Russia. Are you surprised by this? You should be. The self-proclaimed king has echoed Putin’s rhetoric for years and blamed Ukraine for provoking the Russian invasion. If Russia invades Alaska, is it Alaska’s fault? If Russia initiates a conflict with our allies, whose side would we be on? 

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Our Russian loving president just did another thing, has essentially dismantled NATO. Didn’t take him long to do it. Now he’s tearing apart our nation. What is he? Is he a Russian operative? Seriously, why is he so intent on destroying our country? What’s wrong with you people that keep sitting back and thinking he’s doing a good job? You must have your head in the sand or something. He’s dismantling our country piece by piece and you’re just watching and applauding. You people really need to get your head out of the sand before it’s too late. 

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Why do Democrats oppose reducing government spending? I don’t get it. Perhaps they have their hands in the cookie jar? 

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Did Norah O’Donnell really think she was so great and good that it takes two men to replace her? NOT! 

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I see President Musk feels that if you’re receiving government benefits, you are a parasite. Listen, Musk and Trump, I earned those benefits. My husband died from Agent Orange. Donny boy, you would never know about that because your daddy got you deferments for bone spurs. By the way, let’s release a lot of files, how about the Epstein files? Underage sex is illegal, Donny. Musk, a migrant who gets huge government benefits. Let’s release those files out there. Thank you. 

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God knows we see few heroes in this country, like Volodymyr Zelensky and the people of Ukraine. In fact, we’ve seen them for the last three years fighting for their country. He’s not a dictator. The dictator here is calling him a dictator because that’s all he can do is call names. Volodymyr Zelensky can hold his head up and know he did all he could for his country. Thank you. 

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Trump is a reverse Robin Hood. He steals from the poor to give to the rich. Their current plan is to cut benefits for all Americans to give a huge tax break to the rich, like Elon Musk. They say there is fraud in Social Security. The fraud they say they found was a computer error. Cuts to benefits affect you and your neighbors. Call your representative and let them know how you feel.

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This is almost an unbelievable message. I cannot believe what I heard on the radio today. I’m 68 years old and I’ve lived in this country my whole life, and I cannot believe how sad and sick this country has become. Today at the United Nations, our country voted with Russia not to condemn Russia for attacking Ukraine. Can you believe that? Putin has murdered kids, women, and he’s done all kinds of sick, perverted stuff to his prisoners, and he voted not to condemn them? You Republicans ought to be really proud of your president, but he sure as hell ain’t my president, and he’s probably not president for much longer because somebody ought to impeach him. 

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Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for this corrupt criminal! 

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Apparently Trump believes in, if it ain’t broke, break it. 

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I’m hoping that when Elon Musk is done saving American people trillions of dollars from government wasteful spending, President Trump sends Elon here to New York. There’s an awful lot of waste going on here, and I think Elon could help. He’d be very beneficial to the New York people who are paying way too much for everything. 

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Does anybody know why President Trump actually answers questions when asked of him by the press? I thought a president usually shrugs his shoulders, laughs, and walks away with the Easter Bunny. Please respond and help me understand. Thank you.