County Watch
by G. L. Penney

 As I renew acquaintances in election district 4, I am reminded that agriculture is still Tioga County's largest industry. Therefore, I was pleased to attend a meeting of our state representatives, Gary Finch and Clifford Crouch, with representatives of 
our farming community.

 To no one's surprise, local taxes were the largest concern of our county's farmers. Somehow it doesn't seem proper to tax them (and us) to help pay for the investments of wealthy capitalists.

 Other farm problems were: overly strict state restrictions on production quality and on waste containment. As a soon-to-be county legislator, I hope to convince the legislature to work with Mr. Finch and Mr. Crouch to make farming in Tioga County the proud occupation that once it was.

 A few days after the meeting, our local radio announced that Cornell University had been awarded a multi-million dollar federal grant to research the conversion of manure into oils having a ready market value. Research in other locations has indicated this to be quite feasible. I believe that Tioga County ought to be an active participant in this research.