Month: May 2017

Don’t forget to thank a nurse this week! It’s a very emotional and challenging profession that touches all concerned on a personal level.

Columbia Spy caught a few quick pics of a convoy headed west across the Veterans Memorial Bridge this afternoon. The procession consisted of law enforcement vehicles from various departments on their way to a week-long observance in Washington, D.C. for National Police week.

National Police Week (NPW), held May 11 – 17 each year in Washington, D.C., honors the service and sacrifice of U.S. law enforcement officers. On May 11 and 12, surviving families and co-workers begin arriving in Washington, D.C. for the events.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 designating May 15 as Peace Officers’ Memorial Day, and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. The law was amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322, signed by President Bill Clinton, directing that the flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff on all government buildings on May 15 each year. While the actual dates change from year to year, National Police Week is always the calendar week, beginning on Sunday, which includes May 15.

New council member Marilyn Kress Hartman is sworn in by Mayor Leo Lutz at Monday’s Borough Council Meeting.

In a 6-0 vote at Monday’s borough council meeting, Marilyn Kress Hartman was appointed to fill the council seat vacated by Dr. Sherry Welsh. The term expires on the first Monday in January 2018.

Hartman is a Columbia native and realtor with Lusk & Associates Sotheby’s International.

Resident Robert Thompson was also interviewed for the vacant seat.

A “Prom Promise” event was held in the west parking lot of Columbia High School this morning. The mock scenario was designed to discourage students from driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, as well as texting.

The fire department, EMS, and police demonstrated their response to a vehicle accident. School Resource Officer Troy Engle addressed the students who stood quietly absorbing the scene.

Student actors from the Columbia High School Drama Club enacted a realistic scene, with some covered in blood. One was partially ejected through the windshield and was lying motionless.

Another student, wearing a bloodstained prom gown, was given a field sobriety test and led away in handcuffs.

Firefighters worked to extricate a student from the car by removing the roof and windshield.

A particularly sobering moment came when the coroner’s​ van rolled up and the partially ejected victim was placed in that van.

The mayor and several borough council members witnessed the enactment.

Thanks to all those that participated in today’s drill.