Readers’ Column for the week of February 8, 2026

(Readers Column)

 

You may call The Owego Pennysaver Readers’ Column at (607) 687-2434, extension 2, 24-hours a day, or email comments to ReadersOP@gmail.com. We reserve the right to revise or reject any messages. Please limit your comments to 100 words or fewer.

 

Regarding the Teen of the Week – What a great way to put the spotlight on youth. Congratulations to each selected Teen and to the Administrators and Teachers of our schools in creating upstanding citizens and leaders of today and tomorrow.

~

Many congratulations to Jim Tornatore, who recently retired after 21 years of dedicated service as Mayor of the Village of Newark Valley. He continuously improved the quality of life and helped to create a strong and enthusiastic community spirit. In addition, with his expertise in financial affairs, he was able to leverage funding for municipal improvements throughout the years and help the community grow. Both he and his wife, Carrie, are enthused to remain active in local community organizations and affairs.

~

I was pleased to read about Market 32 and Price Chopper’s customers supporting the area’s hunger relief drive before the holidays. By purchasing $10 pre-packed food donation bags, more than 85,000 food bags became available to be distributed to fight food insecurity and ensure that nutritious food reaches those who need it most.

~

So glad to have the Community Directory 2026. What a huge project it must have been to compile the very helpful information! Thank you!

~

It never ceases to amaze me when people in this area complain about the investment in quality of life amenities like a bike trail. It happened in Vestal twice, and now it is happening in Newark Valley. Meanwhile the same complainers yearn for Golden Corral buffets and a Chick-fil-A.

~

Probably too late for this current bout of cold, but I just found out – did you know bubble wrap on single-pane windows can reduce energy loss by up to 50%? Simply cut to fit, lightly moisten the glass, and the bubble wrap should adhere. I put it on my basement windows. Can’t hurt, might help, and I imagine it leaves no residue.

~

I’m calling to thank Fred, our Pennysaver delivery guy. We live in Berkshire on a secondary road and he never misses a beat no matter what the weather is, our Pennysaver is always there for us. So we just wanna say thanks and a shout out to our driver. Fred, thank you!

~

For the individual that was riding my bumper all the way down Bodle Hill Road in a black Sonata with blacked out windows, including the windshield, with a New York State license plate, you were on camera. I have a dash cam. You hit my bumper, so you need to come forward to the state police and learn how to drive. It’s disgusting! People live on this road.

~

God has given us a rest day in his ten commandments, it is the 4th commandment. He commanded us to rest on the 7th day to the Sabbath, which is from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. There’s nothing in the bible or anywhere else that tells us to keep the first day of the week.

~

I’m a little confused why Candor school went for a 2-hour delay on Friday because of temperatures when it was 10 degrees colder the day before.

~

The horses on Glenmary Drive, in this subzero weather, have no blankets on them and are scrawny. I think it’s time the sheriff’s department steps up to do their job. I’m tired of calling them to try and check on these animals, and the people that live across the street from this individual, they need an education. They all have cell phones. They need to make calls every day, EVERY DAY! What is wrong with you people?

~

How is that guy living under the bridge in a tent in this weather and why are we allowing it?

~

I’m looking for somebody that would be interested in cleaning my drapes and hanging them back up where they were originally hung. If there is somebody in the area, please leave your phone number in this column for me to give you a call. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you very much.

~

There have been accidents, possibly because of the wrong locations of speed limits near Catatonk. I propose the following changes. Prior to the Owego Heights School bus stop at the Owego Heights entrance a 45 MPH should be posted heading North on Route 96. The 45 MPH limits should extend to past the Catatonk/Dominick intersection to beyond the five commercial businesses past the intersection. Also, solid dividing highway lines need to run from the 45 MPH limit at Owego Heights all the way to the end of the 45 MPH posted limits, along with NO PASSING signs on that stretch of highway. Heading North prior to the intersection, a warning sign that an intersection is ahead just around the corner would warn drivers headed North. Hopefully once implemented our excellent state police and sheriff patrols will enforce the new postings.

~

We are looking for one or two Christian keyboard / piano player, singers to form a worship team for a small but growing church in Owego. Please contact (607) 333-0226 if interested, or if you know of someone who may be interested.

 

National Political Viewpoints

I would like to speak to the behavior of the ICE agents. If anyone remembers from psychology 101, if you take a group of people, uniform them, and mask them, in mass, they believe that they have anonymity and are no longer responsible for their personal actions. If the leader of any group does not know that this will happen, they are vastly incompetent. This whole situation with ICE was meant to happen. The people in charge are not stupid. They just think they can fool us . To quote Abraham Lincoln, “You cannot fool all the people all the time.”

~

Hochul’s administration approved over 36 rate hikes; 70% of your bill is taxes, delivery charges, fees, and state policy costs, NOT POWER. Hochul mandates force utilities to spend billions on rushed grid upgrades and clean energy credits, and you pay for it every month. TAKE BACK NEW YORK; DEMOCRATS ARE DESTROYING IT.

~

I’m appalled that Governor Hochul wants to remove our police protection in order to protect criminals. A disgrace! Why does our governor make this sound like a good thing? It’s NOT, unless you are a Democrat who wants to keep thousands of illegals here so they can receive a driver’s license and vote for Democrats. That IS your plan, isn’t it? We’re doomed.

~

Is anyone as sick and tired of Democrats moaning and crying about the things President Trump is doing to clean up Biden’s mess? Ukraine never should’ve happened; Joe watched as Russia put all their military power on Ukraine’s borders and offered no help until the initial attack was done and Ukraine had already lost population, including military personnel. Then refused to give them what they said they needed. He did finally give them lots of money, but never tracked where it was going. Just like the 9 million dollar fraud in Minnesota.

~

This will be my last try to get a letter in this column. I’m a conservative, and all this paper is posting is letters from leftist liars. I understand the writers are only repeating what they see on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MS NOW, and those stations never correct things when they’ve been proven wrong, like when they were reporting that ICE had arrested a 5-year-old whose criminal illegal immigrant father abandoned him in his car in freezing weather.

~

If you are looking for encouragement from Schumer, Gillebrand, etc., in stopping ICE, I’d like to remind you how much help Schumer, etc., were in preventing anti-Semitic activity in NYC and New York State!

~

It’s not very polite to call the MAJORITY of Americans, who elected our president, “fools,” “brainless fools.” Don’t blame the president for what’s going on; your precious Biden is the open-borders creator!

~

“Tonight, voters flipped a seat in the Texas Senate from Republican to Democratic in a special election. Democrat Taylor Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and machinist, defeated right-wing Republican Leigh Wambsganss for a seat that Republicans have held since the early 1990s. Robert Downen of Texas Monthly noted that in the final days of the campaign, the Wambsganss campaign spent $310,000 while Rehmet spent nothing, and Daniel Nichanian of BoltsMag posted that overall, Wambsganss spent nearly $2.2 million more than Rehmet in the campaign. Both Texas governor Greg Abbott and Trump himself publicly supported Wambsganss.” Heather Cox Richardson. January 31, 2026

~

There is now help available for TDS. It’s not too hard to find; it’s available everywhere now. Everybody is losing friends over this. Civil disagreement was once the high point of our society; not anymore. If you feel angry, hateful, resentful, or unable to function sometimes, it’s an issue that needs to be addressed. I do not think we’ll ever be friends, but there is no reason to think everyone who disagrees with you is an enemy. If you are making yourself sick over anything that is beyond your control, seek help. God Still Loves You.

~

I’m responding to the person who made the comment that our utility bills are higher than ever “thanks to the liberals and Hochul.” Not even close. Utility deregulation in New York was championed by Republicans, specifically Republican Governor George Pataki, who directed the state’s utilities to sell off their power plants in the late 1990s without seeking approval from the New York State legislature. The results of deregulation have been higher prices rather than lower, with massive profiteering by unregulated generators of electricity. Nice try blaming “liberals,” but facts are facts, and you Republicans can’t hide from your abysmal record.

~

Leonardo Garcia Venegas is just one name you asked for. A citizen was illegally detained by ICE agents. I’m sure they don’t have room to print all the names you could find if you actually tried.

~

Yes, we do need to deport violent illegal immigrants from our country; unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening. They are focused on the easiest to catch: people trying to make a difference, obeying the laws, and working on permanent residency status. To say nothing of the way they are treating people and killing unarmed U.S. citizens in the process, they should be treated with respect and dignity. We treat animals better than what is happening. Ice’s Gestapo tactics have to be eliminated from the process.

~

Dear liberals, just comply with ICE the same way you wanted us to comply with shutdowns, mandated vaccines, and masks. Melvin T. Loophole, Esq.

~

If the thugs in Minneapolis are great American patriots and the protesters are being seditious, did the person in the White House think the mob that stormed the Capital on Jan 6 was a group of great American patriots and not seditious? And every American citizen who has been killed by the thugs is a domestic terrorist. That seems to be a little bit warped for someone in that position.

~

In Florida, all taxes and car registrations were payable to So-and-So, Tax Collector. County level stuff. No fraud.

~

Might I point out that Mama Gump couldn’t tell which chocolate was which because she was illiterate.

~

First, Trump bullies and threatens our allies to accept tariffs in trade agreements that favor the U.S.; then, when the same allies make new trade deals with India and China, he wants to increase their tariffs because they are doing what is best for their own countries. By the time Trump leaves office, no one will want to trade with the U.S., and I can’t blame them.

~

According to ICE’s own internal records, over 70% of detainees had no criminal records. Of the ones that did, only 5% were for violent crimes; the rest were mostly for traffic offenses. Being in the U.S. illegally is a federal misdemeanor. Can you please tell me what other misdemeanors require masked, heavily armed SWAT teams?

~

ICE has already killed two people in Minnesota. Now I see where a man got a fractured skull. ICE claimed that the man ran into a brick wall. The hospital staff said that doesn’t sound right, seeing how the man’s head injuries were on both sides of his skull. Man, we’re losing America. Get rid of that loser Trump.

~

Trump has sued more than 4,000 people, 4,000! How many people have you ever sued in your lifetime?

~

Chuck Schumer, do New York State a favor and the whole country a favor by resigning from politics!

~

My electric bill skyrocketed $110.00 a month. So much for the tariff. Thank you, Donald! Inflation is really wicked.

~

Consumer confidence has dropped 10 more points to its lowest levels since 2014. Top three reasons are inflation, terrorism, and political tensions.

~

Trump is out of control! He needs to be removed from office any way possible. If he doesn’t leave peacefully, drag him out by his heels; just get him out of there. And Nick Langworthy, what is wrong with you? You’re not representing the will of the people; you are representing the will of Donald J. Trump. Start doing your job, wake up, or you’ll be out of office and out of a job; I’ll guarantee that. I’ll do the best of my ability just so you don’t get elected again.

~

9/11, never forget. 9/11, never forget. It looks like a whole bunch of people have forgotten. Why?

~

Renee Good, Alex Pretti will live forever in the memories of all civil rights advocates. Like those in the past, they will be regarded as heroes. Donald Trump, as president, will also be regarded throughout history – only as a dumbing down, clumsy, brutal, corrupt disaster. Also, Pete Hegseth: A cartoon absurdity. P.S. So long, Greg Bovino; face the music, Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi. Both are incompetency defined. (Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr.?)

~

Have we Americans been brainwashed to think America is the greatest country in the world? I, for one, do not believe that America is the greatest country. We the people? We had rights. Trump’s henchmen have dissolved the pledge to America’s allegiance. After killing American citizens, just because we fight for our rights, America does not provide “Liberty and Justice for All.” Trump’s henchmen KILL Americans. We used to believe in constitutional rights. Trump is using Americans to kill Americans. A civil war is about to happen; the once proud Americans will fight for justice. But Republicans will honor and obey. 

~

ICE victims testified on Capitol Hill on Feb. 3: 1) Loved ones of Minnesotans murdered. 2) Montessori School Teacher: shot seven times on her way to donate clothes; Trump’s Agents dragged her out of the ER and into jail until her students and family showed support. 3) Autistic, disabled woman: ordered to move her car upon encountering a traffic jam of ICE vehicles was violently grabbed by ICE. 4) Young Man shot at, horrifically harassed, while another was kidnapped. WHY IS THIS? So, pedophiles are protected. So Trump has a golden ballroom in OUR White House. So Trump can control the Vote.

~

Pastor Martin Niemöller supported the Nazis before narrowly surviving years in concentration camps. After the Holocaust horror, he finally spoke (paraphrased): “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.” Speak out while you can.