While the actual accumulation didn’t seem to vary all that much from the early projections, in some places in the Susquehanna Valley region, we got a bit more snow than anticipated.
According to Columbia Borough ordinance:
§ 186-49Removal requirements.
[Amended 12-16-2003 by Ord. No. 726; 9-11-2017 by Ord. No. 887]
Each tenant, owner or person in charge of any property fronting on or adjoining any street in the Borough of Columbia shall clear a pathway of at least three feet in width on the sidewalk in front of or adjoining such property within 24 hours after the snow which is the cause thereof has ceased to fall, or to be formed, or after the same as been deposited thereon in any manner. The snow cleaned from the pathway shall not be deposited in the street after the street has been plowed. As used herein, “snow” shall mean any precipitation depositing any accumulation on the street and sidewalks, such as snow, sleet, hail, ice and freezing rain.
Editor’s Note: Regarding enforcement, see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II, Enforcement of Certain Ordinances.
§ 186-50Violations and penalties.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding before any District Justice having jurisdiction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600, plus costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to be subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days.
Since 2001, Roxanne Simonson has operated the facility for low-income residents in a Victorian-era house at 223-225 Cherry St.
At December’s Safety Committee meeting, Rick Fisher met with borough officials to try to find solutions to crime in Columbia. The upshot was that residents need to be more vigilant, and the borough needs to do more to prevent teens from getting into trouble. To that end, a number of ideas were proffered that have yet to be put into action.
Fisher, whose Crime Watch PA Facebook page (since changed to Neighborhood Watch) serves as a forum for residents, said he was outraged at a wolf pack-style attack of a local man a few months ago and started the page to try to do something about borough crime. The page spawned several meetings with borough residents who held similar concerns. (Those residents were invited to the December Safety Committee meeting, but only a handful attended.) The group has since morphed into a kind of neighborhood watch in which several people have volunteered to become block captains. Police Officer Dave Souders is the liaison with the group.
One of the goals of the watch is to urge residents to develop relationships with neighbors and to “watch out for each other.” Fisher has urged residents to contact police if they become aware of a crime. Unfortunately, he says, not enough people do so. As an example, he cited a recent incident of vandalism in which perpetrators were seen around 3 o’clock in the morning. Several reports were posted on his Facebook page, but there was only one call to police. “I’m out of breath trying to encourage people to call police,” Fisher said. “We have to be the eyes and ears for the police department.” He stressed that police can’t help if residents aren’t helping but noted, “There’s a lot of mistrust with the police.” To tackle trust issues, Fisher suggested creating a citizen advisory board in which citizens working with police can handle concerns. He said he has floated the idea with members of this group and has received a positive response. “We want to win the trust back of the people, because if we can’t do that they’re not going to call the police.”
Columbia Police Chief Jack Brommer said he supports Fisher’s efforts. “There needs to be an emphasis on contacting the police department,” Brommer said. “If there’s some mistrust out there then we need to do more to gain that trust back.”
Fisher noted that a Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) has been implemented and proven successful in other communities. The program entails residents patrolling neighborhoods in their cars to look for any suspicious activity. The goal is not to intervene but to report activity to police. “You see something, you say something,” Fisher said, but advised against getting directly involved in an incident. “We’re not vigilantes. We don’t intervene in any situation.”
Mayor Leo Lutz re-emphasized the importance of contacting police. “When someone sees something they need to call the police,” Lutz said. He noted that officials monitor social media to determine how many incidents are posted as compared to those reported to police. “We check it out and many times we find out no one ever called.” (Residents can request that their name be withheld, that is, not to be broadcast over the scanner/radio.)
Fisher noted that adult criminal arrests are down from last year but juvenile criminal arrests are up. He suggested that one factor contributing to the problem might be the lack of things for young people to do. According to Fisher, the mayor and police chief told him that “outside sources” would be coming to town with ideas for program for kids. He suggested introducing a boxing program but noted that it would require funding as well as base of operations. He said another option might be for the school to schedule speakers, such as ex-gang members, ex-drug addicts, and ex-convicts who turned their lives around.
Brommer agreed with Fisher’s assessment. He stated that the community’s top priority is addressing problems with youth. He said young people need to be engaged more. He discussed bringing in an outside consultant to mentor challenged youth. Another initiative in progress is a long-term strategic plan involving the police department, school district and youth, as well as the Department of Education and IU13. The program is due to be rolled out in early 2018.
Lutz suggested bringing a weightlifting program called Benchmark to the borough. “It’s been proven to be successful in Lancaster City,” he said. Lutz explained that, under the program, an area like a gym would be set up where teens would come and go as they please. Once they become comfortable and start to trust, mentoring can occur.
Brommer mentioned a similar program called BOOM (Boys Overcoming Obstacles of Maturity) that currently has 15-20 students enrolled. Columbia’s school resource officer and the high school principal started the program to mentor youths. “We’re trying to engage the youth,” Brommer said.
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The Columbia Borough Fire Department provides and installs smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in residents’ homes, free of charge, based on what they currently have in supply.
http://fox43.com/2017/12/27/experts-offer-safety-tips-for-firing-up-the-furnace/
After operating solely with a food truck for three years, Rocky’s BBQ has opened a bricks-and-mortar location in Columbia.
The 20-seat restaurant at 28 N. Third St. takes a spot next to Columbia Kettle Works
Columbia Spy 