Month: April 2016

Charges pending in vehicle accident at Route 30 W / Route 441

Emergency and law enforcement personnel responded to a two-vehicle accident at the Route 30 West off-ramp at Route 441 on Friday afternoon, April 15. No injuries were reported, but one driver had a suspended license and was found to be in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Charges are pending the outcome of lab testing.
Columbia Borough Police posted the information shown below at THIS LINK. 

Prax walks to shine light on homeless vets


Columbia Spy was fortunate enough to catch up to Praxedis Lindsey – or “Prax” as he prefers to be called – on Thursday near the entrance to the Veterans Memorial Bridge, shortly after he left Hinkle’s Restaurant. The 53-year-old said he undertook a 2,000-mile walk to promote awareness of the plight of homeless veterans, many of whom were traumatized by the horrors of war.  The recent suicide of a friend’s son who had served in Afghanistan motivated him to take the journey.
Prax left New Bedford, Massachusetts on February 18 and is walking home to McAllen, Texas in support of the Walking for Vets Campaign. Along the way, he has found shelter at fire stations and once stayed with relatives of actor Danny Aiello in Independence Township, New Jersey. He noted that people he has met have been kind, contrary to what the media sometimes portrays, and added that the hardest part of his trek has been not seeing his eight grandchildren.
Prax believes that war is a sickness that affects the human psyche. He spoke with emotion about soldiers struggling to cope with losing their homes and their families. Soldiers returning from battle in bygone eras were held in high regard, he said, but often that is not the case now. He hopes his mission will help bring attention to the issue.
After the brief sojourn, Prax continued his journey, fittingly enough, over the Veterans Memorial Bridge, his video of which is HERE.

You can learn more about Prax and his mission on his Facebook page HERE.

Anyone interested in donating to the Operation Renewed Hope Foundation may do so at this link: Operation Renewed Hope.

The trees are here! Planting to begin soon

The trees are here, all lined up and ready to go!  Ten 3-inch bald cypress trees are currently resting on a flatbed trailer at the borough shed, waiting to be planted along the shore at Columbia River Park.  The trees, which are well-suited to a watery environment, were ordered to replace dead and dying trees that were cut down a few months ago. A borough crew will begin planting in the near future.

The arborvitae trees shown below were planted at River Park on Friday. Apparently, they will hide a trash dumpster to be placed on the recently poured concrete pad.

Meanwhile, out at the borough farm, several ivory silk lilac and Persian parrotia trees are being stored until they can be planted by the shade tree commission at various locations around town. The trees, which are easily managed, were chosen for their suitability under utility wires.

One of the trees shown above might be needed to replace a damaged Bradford Pear tree near 150 South Fourth Street.  (The tree is shown below.) The base of the trunk was broken by recent high winds, and the tree is leaning against utility wires. A source tells Columbia Spy that authorities were notified of the problem about a week ago, but so far, no action has been taken. We’re told that one of the problems with tree-planting in the borough is the size of the sidewalk opening for the root basin, which should be at least three by five feet. Most openings measure only two by two feet.

Lancaster encouraging yard waste recycling with expanded pickups

LNP just published article about yard waste being taken to the facility at the borough farm in Columbia. Columbia Spy posted an article on the borough farm facility this past week HERE.
From LNP:
When yard waste is properly disposed of, the small sticks, dead garden material and similar woody matter are taken to Columbia Borough and turned into compost or mulch.
MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lancaster-encouraging-yard-waste-recycling-with-expanded-pickups/article_b5b33662-00d4-11e6-957b-63155da9f4e4.html

This Place Matters in Columbia

The First National Bank Museum at Second and Locust recently began displaying a “THIS PLACE MATTERS” logo, which is part of a campaign sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for Preservation Month in May 2016.

According to the Trust’s website: “Everyone has places that are important to them. Places they care about. Places that matter. This Place Matters is national campaign that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities.”

Susquehanna named third most-endangered river in U.S. by environmental group

The Susquehanna River has been named the third most-endangered riverin the United States in an annual list by the environmental group American Rivers.
MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/susquehanna-named-third-most-endangered-river-in-u-s-by/article_b710438e-018c-11e6-9949-df8d9f55849b.html

Agenda – Columbia Borough Council Meeting April 11, 2016

NOTE: Following is the final agenda presented at the April 11, 2016 Columbia Borough Council meeting. At the start of the meeting, Council President Kelly Murphy announced that Item II.11.b. “Consider approval of Resolution 16-09: DCNR Grant Application for Columbia River Park Phase III Site Planning.” is changed to Item II.10.b.
Also, during the presentation for a proposed trolley (Item II.12.e), Daisy Pagan informed council that the figures shown in the funding request should be changed from $35,000 per year for three years to $30,600 for one year. This change does not appear on the final agenda on the borough website. Columbia Spy has taken the liberty of writing in the change on the agenda shown here:

Pamela Williams named to council

Pamela Williams is sworn in at the April 11, 2016 Columbia Borough Council meeting.
At Monday night’s Columbia Borough Council meeting, council selected Pamela Williams to fill the seat recently vacated by longtime councillor Michael Beury.  (Beury’s resignation was effective March 31, 2016.) Williams was one of three candidates vying for the seat. Her term will run until December 31, 2017.
Williams moved to Columbia from New Jersey three years ago. Born in Lancaster, she moved to Waynesboro, PA and graduated from Waynesboro High School. She later graduated from Lycoming College. She has worked as an executive assistant for a medical equipment company and more recently as a teller at the former Susquehanna Bank.
“I think that Columbia is a town where exciting things are happening,” she said. 
Williams helped organize “Movies Under The Stars” program last summer.

Councillors Barry Ford, Cleon Berntheizel, Mary Barninger, and Council President Kelly Murphy voted for the appointment. Councillor Steph Weisser was the lone “no” vote.  Councillor Sherry Welsh was not present.

Council president issues statement on transparency, new process

At the April 11, 2016 meeting of the Columbia Borough Council, Council President Kelly Murphy read from a prepared statement explaining the borough’s policy on transparency and presenting a new process by which the borough will post draft agendas on its website before meetings are held.   The text of the statement, which was provided to Columbia Spy by Murphy, is published here: 


“At no time has Council or the Borough of Columbia purposely failed to disclose, or to conceal from the public, items which will be discussed at its public meetings. Rather, the Borough’s process has historically (at least the 8+ years I have been on council) been to complete its agenda on the day of a meeting, which has made production of Borough’s agenda prior to the meeting difficult.

Borough Council of the Borough of Columbia has always been and intends to continue to be completely transparent with respect to its activities and the matters that it votes on. We encourage residents from the Borough of Columbia to appear at all meetings and to actively participate in discussion regarding Borough items. Many if not all of the items on Council’s agenda every month have previously been discussed at a public Committee meeting.

The Borough Manager and Council President are developing a new internal process to have agendas developed and finalized by Thursday or Friday of the week immediately prior to a Borough Council meeting and to have that agenda posted on the Borough’s website, along with the documents which are to be approved or discussed pursuant to that agenda. At no time has the current process violated Sunshine or Right To Know laws.”


Recently, questions were raised regarding the availability of public documents  requested from Columbia Borough through the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law. The borough was also criticized in a Lancaster Newspapers editorial  focusing on compliance with Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act.