Year: 2017

Church in Historic District upgrades to LED sign despite permission being denied

A large LED sign was recently installed behind a wooden sign at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the 300 block of Locust Street, which is in the Columbia Borough Historic District.

A sticker on the side of the sign’s casing displays the manufacturer’s name and contact information.

This STOP WORK sign, possibly related to the LED sign installation,  was posted on one of the entrance doors to the church.
According to an LNP article dated July 25, 2016, Columbia Borough Council denied the church permission to install an LED sign:

Council denied a proposed LED-lighted sign at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 340 Locust St. Glenn Shaeffer, Historic Architectural Review Board chairman, asked that council create an amendment not allowing this type of sign in the future.

“There are no other signs like this in the historic district and allowing it would open the door for others and have an impact on the historic nature of the district,” Shaeffer said. “The historic district should not look like the Las Vegas strip.”

Council members Kelly Murphy and Cle Berntheizel removed themselves from the vote because they are members of the church.

This sturdy metal frame was installed some time before October 2, 2017, when this photo was taken.

HERE is a video showing the manufacture and operation of various LED signs from ADvantageLED Signs.

More on alleged "kidnapping" incident, video report included

“This was all just a big misunderstanding, he’s actually my boyfriend. We got into an argument and after we left together mutually, somebody called the cops, I guess his grandmother, and here I am,” said Dustin Wetten, before being placed in a Columbia police car.

MORE:http://fox43.com/2017/10/26/columbia-kidnapping-arrest-comes-with-conflicting-claims/

Electrical problem near Weis Markets causes power interruptions for some in Columbia

Some in the borough may have noticed a power interruption around 2 – 3 a.m. today.  A PPL spokesperson told Columbia Spy that this stemmed from a problem near Weis Markets in West Hempfield (1786J Columbia Avenue), and crews were still on scene as of 6:30 this morning. Other interruptions are possible until the work is completed. 
PPL UPDATE (Friday morning, 10/27/17):

According to the outage report for your account, there were 2412 customers who experienced the same outage due to a tripped distribution breaker. There are a multitude of reasons that a distribution breaker can trip, including weather-related issues, trees, animals, etc. Unfortunately the specific cause of this tripped breaker was not noted on the report.

Man charged with kidnapping says incident was a misunderstanding, says grandmother is senile

Dustin Wetten admitted he had a fight with Jordan Fischer, his boyfriend, but he says the incident was a “misunderstanding.”
“She’s senile,” he said of Fischer’s grandmother as police led him from District Judge Miles Bixler’s office in handcuffs. “She’s 89 years old and she doesn’t like the fact that we’re gay.”
MORE:

http://abc27.com/2017/10/26/police-searching-for-missing-endangered-man/

UPDATE: 21-year-old man kidnapped from Columbia home found safe

      Dustin Wetten (left) and Jordan Fischer
Jordan Fischer was found safe Thursday morning, according to district attorney’s office spokesman Brett Hambright.
Dustin Wetten is being arraigned, Hambright said just after 10:30 a.m. Columbia police will give an update, he said.
MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/year-old-man-kidnapped-from-columbia-home-found-safe/article_daab87ee-ba3c-11e7-8a21-d3d94e1620f8.html

Columbia man taken by force, whereabouts unknown

                                Jordan Fischer

                                Dustin Wetten

On 10-26-17 at approx. 12:38AM the Columbia Borough Police Department was called to the 500 blk. of Concord Ln. for a report of a burglary in progress. Upon arrival police were advised that Dustin Wetten (30), last known address in Enola, had kicked in the front door of the house, threatened a resident in the house that he had a gun and then went upstairs and kicked in another door and forcibly removed the victim, Jordan Fischer (21) of Columbia, from the house.

The whereabouts of Wetten and Fischer are unknown at this time. Wetten has ties to several towns in Lancaster, Dauphin and Cumberland counties. Wetten is possibly operating a gold in color, 2002, Saturn L200 with PA registration JJA-1585.

Jordan Fischer is described as a white male, brown hair, brown eyes, 5’08” and approx. 150lbs. Fischer is listed as a missing endangered person.

Wetten is described as a white male with blonde hair, blue eyes, 5’11” and approx. 200lbs. Wetten should be considered armed and dangerous. A warrant is being issued for Wetten for Burglary, Kidnapping and Unlawful Restraint. If anyone observes the vehicle or those involved they are asked to contact their local police department. If anything else is known they are asked to contact the Columbia Borough Police at 717-684-7735 or submit a tip below.

Case Status:
Current

Case Type:
Criminal

Source: Columbia Borough Police Department