BOMBER MAKES PASS OVER OWEGO



Lockheed Martin Federal Systems sponsored an event to recognize the US Air Force naming the nation's newest B-2 stealth bomber the "Spirit of New York". The event was conducted at the Hickories Park on Oct 10. The ceremonies naming the B-2 was held at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh and transmitted live by satellite to Owego. The above photo was taken in Newburgh during the ceremonies of the B-2. The crowd of thousands were treated to a fly over by another B-2 bomber. The photo below shows the crowd at the Hickories with a superimposed photo of the B-2 flying over Owego.



Bomb to be Dropped on Taxpayers?

Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Owego, takes the Town of Owego to court this month. The court case for the assessment of the Lockheed property in the Town of Owego went to court on November 3. The trial is expected to last for several weeks, and it will take the judge another three to four months to make a decision. No matter who wins, the other party will take the case to a court of appeals (costing taxpayers even more money). The "professionals" appraising Lockheed's property for the town give a value of about $90 million while the "professionals" for Lockheed give a value of about $25 million. Something is definitely wrong when two groups of so called "professionals" getting paid hundreds of thousand of dollars to do the same job come up with values so far apart. It appears that either the Town of Owego (taxpayers) or Lockheed has hired a group of rank amateurs to do the job.

It would do us all good if we could attend some part of the hearing to see exactly where our tax dollars have gone and will be going. If Lockheed wins this case, the new B-2 might just as well have dropped a bomb on us.