[Video: @MLIMADdrone on TikTok]
Videos show destruction from tornado in Columbia

Security camera footage shows destruction from Thursday’s EF1 tornado in the area of Church Avenue (towards Holy Trinity) and Avenue K (towards the Union Station parking lot). [Videos by Kyle Strassmann]
NWS CONFIRMS EF1 TORNADO HIT COLUMBIA
Lancaster County Drug Task Force Investigation Uncovers 280 grams of Cocaine, Weapons and Body Armor | Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office
Columbia Borough residents face major storm cleanup
Open House at Borough Hall—Bring your ideas to make Route 462 safer!


Date: The open house will be on Thursday, August 27th
Time: From 4:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: At the Columbia Borough Council Chambers, 308 Locust St., Columbia, PA 17512
Activity: Kittelson will provide a presentation at the beginning of the meeting to provide folks an overview of the project (existing conditions, crash data, concept design highlights, etc.). We will also display large posters of each of the twelve PA 0462 segments that folks can provide comments on. There will also be water and snacks!
Online Input Activity: From 08/27 – 09/03, the open house materials, including the presentation slides, and a comment form will be available on our website for those looking to learn more about and comment on the project, but are unable to attend the in-person meeting. The Online Input Activity will be featured on the Complete Streets webpage on our website here: Complete Streets | Lancaster County Planning Department, PA.
Former Columbia superintendent, now at Etown, talks about juggling two roles | Local News | lancasteronline.com

ASHLEY STALNECKER | Staff Writer
Elizabethtown Area School District’s new superintendent, Tom Strickler, is taking a different approach to the role than his predecessors took.
Strickler, who has a deep background in finance, will continue to direct his expertise there and leave the art of overseeing district curriculum to newly installed Director of Curriculum Megan Moffett.
Typically, he said, a superintendent will rise through the ranks from teacher to principal to top administrator having developed the expertise to focus on continuously developing curriculum.
Strickler is the first to admit that’s something he can’t do.
The board’s decision to appoint its chief financial officer as superintendent, without filling the CFO role, has drawn skepticism from some community members who worry it will be difficult to adequately serve the 3,400-student district in both areas.
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POLICEWOMAN TO THE RESCUE!

Officer Powers of the West Hempfield police single-handedly pushed a disabled car out of the busy intersection at 5th & Chestnut on Wednesday afternoon. The driver was then able to steer the car safely off to the side of the road on Chestnut (Route 462) to await further assistance. [Columbia Spy photo]


Researcher seeks photos and information on organ formerly housed in Columbia church

John Robinson of Harrisburg is seeking photos and information about an organ that was once housed at the former First English Lutheran Church at 5th & Chestnut (now the District Administration Center). In particular, he is hoping to find photos of the First English nave, the organ console, and any visible pipes.
According to Robinson, the church’s organ did not stay in Columbia after the congregation’s building changed hands. In 2005, the instrument was given to Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas. There, it was reconfigured to fit its new home by Parkey Organbuilders of Braselton, Georgia. More than two decades later, the organ is reportedly still in regular use, played each week during services.
Robinson is helping the Organ Historical Society update its national database, which tracks the history and current status of organs across the United States.
Anyone with photographs or memories of the church and its organ is encouraged to reach out to Robinson directly at jkrsmr@comcast.net.
Extradition of man accused of leaving scene of fatal crash into Susquehanna River may take months: DA | Local News | lancasteronline.com

MARK SCOLFORO | Breaking News Reporter
It’s expected to take about three months for authorities to return a man to Lancaster County to face charges that he left the scene of a fatal crash in which two vehicles ended up in the Susquehanna River, Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said Wednesday.
Mikaail Fahim Cotton, 24, was arrested in New York City a week ago, found in a Bronx housing development with a stolen firearm and illegal drugs, according to Manor Township police.
Cotton is also accused of driving on a suspended license and failing to provide information after the July 30 crash in Manor Township that killed his passenger, Saige Zink.
“We are in the process of obtaining the necessary paperwork to extradite him back to Pennsylvania,” Adams said in an email Wednesday. “This paperwork and the approval process will take approximately 90 days.”
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