Month: March 2014

What I Saw – March 20, 2014

 A seagull who knows how to use the crosswalk.  
That makes him smarter than some of the people I see around town, who disregard the lines, walk in front of moving cars, ignore traffic signals and are all-around oblivious. 
And this bird’s not jaywalking.  Gull-walking maybe, never jaywalking.

Speaking of birds, there are chickens on 7th Street.  Yes, chickens.  Is this even legal?
I thought keeping livestock within borough limits is not permitted.
 An idea whose time has come?

Columbia Plaza parking lot – The water keeps flowing, and the potholes keep growing.

Chad's story

Chad Noll, manager of The Cycle Den, succumbed to a rare disease and passed away recently.  Family members have written a Letter to the Editor to Lancaster Newspapers detailing his struggle.  The letter can be found HERE.

Taste of River Towns set for March 30 in Columbia

The Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual “Taste of River Towns” restaurant fair on Sunday, March 30, at St. John’s Herr Estate, 200 Luther Lane, in Columbia.
This year’s event is sponsored by St. John’s Herr Estate, a Luthercare Community, and by the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority. The fair, which will run from 4 to 7 p.m., features samplings of food and beverages from area restaurants such as Bully’s Restaurant and Pub, Café Garth, Columbia Chicken Shack, Columbia Historic Market House, Columbia Kettle Works, Hinkle’s Restaurant, Keagy’s Produce, Nissley Winery, Prudhomme’s Lost Cajun Kitchen and St John’s Herr Estate.
Tickets cost $15 per person and are available at the SVCC Visitor Center, 445 Linden St., Columbia, and at St. John’s Herr Estate. You also can call Mary-Jo Liskey at 684-0678.
Directions to the event and parking locations are available with the purchase of your ticket or at the SVCC website, PaRivertowns.com.
Proceeds benefit the Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center.

Columbia man and his father to be tried in kidnapping

A Columbia man and his father are headed to trial for allegedly kidnapping a pair of young boys from a Lancaster city home last month.
The violent Feb. 6 abduction of Erielys Ahorrio, 3, and John Ahorrio, 4, prompted state police to issue a national Amber Alert.

Columbia's water supply – Is it secure?

During this period last year, we were undergoing a water contamination scare. (Link: http://columbiapa-17512.blogspot.com/2013/03/columbia-water-customers-should-not.html?m=0)
After workers found evidence of tampering at the water storage tanks located between Chickies Hill Road and Laurel Hill Cemetery, it was thought possible that someone had contaminated Columbia’s water supply. An investigation ensued, and the water was later deemed safe.
On September 3, the PUC conducted a public hearing on an unrelated matter: Columbia Water Company’s rate hike request. At that hearing, I asked Water Company representatives what, if anything, had been done to ensure the safety of the water storage tanks. I don’t recall their attorney’s exact reply, only that it was vague and tentative, which leads me to believe the company had not implemented any measures except, perhaps, the hope that the crisis would be forgotten.
Well, we have not forgotten. Therefore, I am asking publicly – once again – of any Columbia Water Company representatives who might be reading this, or of anyone else “in the know”: What safety and security measures have been put in place to protect our water supply?