Town of Owego

• An oil change station at the car wash on East Main Street in Apalachin was approved by the planning board.

• Approval for a cell tower on the top of Shady Hill Drive was approved by the Planning Board. Approval must be sought from the FAA before construction is completed sometime in November.

• Settlement was reached with Hidden Valley Electronics on the reassessment case. The assessment was cut by approximately $88,000.

Tioga County

• The Legislature may bring some type of resolution to the Pollard case at the next board meeting. Firefighter Pollard's widow was denied workman's compensation benefits and burial costs. The New York Times reported on this story in a recent issue.

Other Issues

• As stated in earlier articles, the pre-kindergarten push to enroll your kids has begun. The federal and state government through the Head Start program will expand to the day care industry in Owego. In Binghamton they have teamed up with several day care providers. All will be paid for with grants for now. That is until you the local taxpayer will be picking up the tab when it is too late to turn back. In the future, the push will be for all students to be required to be enrolled in some type of program.

Do not take my word for it. Research the legislation and the people pushing it.

• The Owego-Apalachin School District is reorganizing two positions. The position of Director of Education has been abolished and Robert Rowland was appointed to a new position of Director of Instruction. Also, the position of Special Programs has been abolished and a position of Administrative Assistant was created.

• I have two new Email addresses: DonC102@aol.com - for personal correspondence

DonCTOwego@aol.com - for town and political issues

The first question I am putting out to the public to respond to is: "What is your opinion of the town doing a full revaluation the assessment roles?"

• I came across a list of the seven deadly sins. When recalling the many school and political issues I have addressed over the years, the sin "loyalty" stood out. "Loyalty, if it becomes blind careless trust." Think about it next time your talk to a politician or a school official.



My column will resume next month. Happy Halloween!