Unstable building – more from the scene

The property at 208-210 Locust Street was reported to be unstable today. Emergency crews responded to the scene at about 4:30 this afternoon.  The 200 block of Locust Street was shut down as the building was investigated.
 The 200 block of Locust Street was lined with emergency vehicles.

 A county collapse team was also on the scene.

 There was obvious damage to the building’s facade.

 Firefighters alerted neighbors.
A longer view of the building.
 Personnel inspected the building’s interior.

 From across the street, Mike Hite of the Lancaster County Rescue Task Force scrutinized the building for movement.

Emergency personnel discussed concerns about the building’s structural integrity.

A building restoration team was brought in to shore up the front of the structure with a steel beam.

The apartment building is owned by Sam Bigler.

Fire Chief's summary of building condition

Columbia Fire Chief Scott Ryno details findings about a potentially unstable building at 208-210 Locust Street.  Earlier in the day, some residents expressed concerns about the safety of the structure. Emergency personnel responded at about 4:30 this afternoon to investigate the building. The 200 block of Locust was shut down for several hours as a collapse team, structural engineers, and fire personnel examined the structure.

Round tank rolls through two counties

On Friday, a large storage tank was transported from Elizabethtown to York and briefly passed through Columbia when it entered the Wrights Ferry (Route 30) Bridge.
Columbia Spy caught up with the tank in York County.
The backstory is here:
Photo by Rodie Cox
A workman drove ahead to lift utility wires to allow the tank to pass.

STOP WORK!

The property at 208-210 Locust Street is showing signs of structural damage, especially under the second row of windows from the top.  This morning, workers appeared to be examining the damage (second photo below), and this afternoon a STOP WORK order appeared on the window of the property.
 Friday afternoon

 Saturday morning

Saturday afternoon

Will it affect Columbia? Wrightsville water officials bracing for chemical-fire contaminants

Local officials learned in a conference call with state Department of Environmental Protection that contaminants from a massive fire Monday at an Adams County chemical company could reach the borough’s water-intake pumps Saturday morning, prompting members of the Wrightsville Borough Municipal Authority to take pre-emptive action.
MORE:
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/ci_28297048/wrightsville-water-officials-bracing-chemical-fire-contaminants

As of about 5 a.m. today, there was no mention of the issue on the Columbia Water Company’s website:

This morning, WGAL-TV reported that Columbia is one of the municipalities notified.

Columbia native’s poem portrays Conestoga Indian as man of peace

A native of Columbia, Chester Wittell was a brilliant, eccentric, self-absorbed man. He composed hundreds of songs and symphonies and thousands of poems. 

MORE;
http://m.lancasteronline.com/opinion/the-scribbler-columbia-native-s-poem-portrays-conestoga-indian-as/article_b328f1e6-0df7-11e5-bb27-8f1eb3ec4d20.html?mode=jqm

Steel tanker traveling through Columbia from Elizabethtown to York to cause road delays

On Friday morning, a 17 foot tall by 70 foot wide, steel tank will be making its way through the western part of Lancaster County and down into York County, causing delays on the roadways.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/steel-tanker-traveling-from-elizabethtown-to-york-to-cause-road/article_279201fc-0fb6-11e5-9461-ab51df328965.html

About town

Today . . . 

                        Middle of the road

Rolling along on Fourth
Righting a stone at Bethel
Vulture on the prowl
Honey, I shrunk the car.
Inspecting the bridge