Morning, everyone.\u00a0 Here’s a sampling of the weekend opinion pages around the North Country.\u00a0 A lot of interesting stuff, but no broad themes.\u00a0 So let’s dive right in.<\/p>\n
The Glens Falls Post Star<\/a> goes hard against Republican efforts to strip power and influence from public employee unions.<\/p>\n While public unions may have gotten a bit too big for their britches lately, they still provide a necessary degree of protection for workers against low pay, overtime without compensation, dangerous or oppressive working conditions, and inadequate health and retirement benefits.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, the Watertown Daily Times<\/a> is demanding that politicians intervene in the management of Jefferson County, pointing to problems that include a 50% increase in workers comp claims and a costly spat over road salt.<\/p>\n It is time for the political leadership of Jefferson County to get more engaged and more aggressive to resolve these problems of mismanagement in a timely manner rather than allowing them to drag on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Plattsburgh Press-Republican<\/a> is boostering for an idea to give volunteer fire and emergency workers a 10% discount on their local property taxes as a way to encourage more involvement.<\/p>\n All over the state, communities are trying to dream up ways to restore firefighting to the status it once occupied. In the Northern Tier, officials may have assured one that can work. It’s tax breaks, which are allowed by the state if passed by the taxing unit.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n