School District Superintendent Tom Strickler and Dr. Gregory McGough, director of curriculum, explained the Community Climate Initiative and presented a “climate survey.” Strickler said there have been problems with students after school and the district wants to get a handle on the issue and develop an action plan. The Pennsylvania Department of Education and IU13 are helping the district’s initiative.
McGough said that one of the first steps is to create a vision of what we all see the school as. He said the process began with preparation and planning at the school level, and we are now at Stage 2: Delivering assessments to all stakeholders. Stage 3 will be to understand the findings and develop an action plan. Next will be the implementation phase, working with short, defined goals. The final step will be to reevaluate and start the process over.
Programs and Funding
Mayor Leo Lutz mentioned Manos House and Benchmark Programs to help with problems with youth in the community. He said the programs can’t be possible or sustainable if the borough has to solicit funds to pay for them.
“This is a community problem, this is a problem we must address. We need to fund these programs so that they’re sustainable,” he said. “We can put lights in the downtown, but that’s not going to help these kids.”
He said the challenge is trying to find grant money and getting organizations to donate. “We will not arrest our way out of these problems,” he said.
Our Home of Hope
208-210 Locust Street
MORE INFO HERE.
Funding for Study to Relocate Borough Offices
Council authorized an application to the Municipal Assistance Program. The program covers half the cost of a study the borough is undertaking to consider possible relocation of the borough offices and police station from its current location to other sites in the borough, one of which is the school district’s administration center building at 200 North Fifth Street.
*Rotary Ave (Front to Commerce Street: East)
* Commerce Street (Rotary Ave to Walnut Street: South)
* Tenth Street (Ironville Pike to Spruce Street: South)
* Bethel Street (Ridge to Locust traveling North) changed to (Locust to Cherry traveling South).
Quick Ticket Complaints
Residents voiced concerns about quick ticket citations.
A resident argued that the borough should exercise discretion when citing residents for a small amount of snow on the sidewalk. Officials said that any amount of snow can be considered unsafe.
Councilwoman FitzGerald said that she received a quick ticket for snow as well and paid it.
Another resident said he received a quick ticket regarding his trash bag being out for pickup without being placed in a trash receptacle.
A landlord asked for a meeting with the borough manager and the code manager. He expressed concern about something said to him although he did not give details publicly. He said he was frustrated with the lack of response from borough officials.
Columbia Spy 
Shovel your sidewalks within 24 hours and place your trash bags in a receptacle with a lid, as ordinances require so. Stop crying and asking for special exception, pay your fines!
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leo should start using his own words he keeps using the term we can't arrest our way out. this kids don't respect any thing or any body , so keep hitting there or there parents pocketbooks , it will get threw. make trash details for them , the town has plenty of that, give them square blocks to clean up and have codes inspect that, if not acceptable do it again till it is.
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do we need to sweep rain off side walks?
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how many borough officials live in the town?? if they want to take tax payer money they should have to live here and under the rules they our putting forth..
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when was it a law that you could not use trash bags???? they should use the news letter to tell people new laws first , common sence goes a long way . can we get some people in this with some.
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Walnut Street should be one way from front street to 2nd. That would probably do a lot to prevent issues with that railroad crossing and traffic getting stacked on the tracks.
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Stop crying, bend over, and lick those boots. Such a model citizen. The gov't thanks you for your support.
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Was it a different bucket of money that allowed the $70K donation to a dilapidated building vs. a charitable contribution to a group home? No money in the budget for a solution to delinquent kids running amok through town after school buy money to make sure Perfect Settings is happy? It won't matter what program you put in place in Columbia without the support of the family! It has to be a unified approach!
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Really showing your lack of intelligence with that question. Makes you a special kind of stupid.
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They all live here, they have to by law. How can you not know that? Geez…..
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WHAT? Where did you read that you could not use trash bags? You're right that would be a complete lack of common sense. However, what the ordinance says is that your trash bags must be placed in a receptacle with a lid. The reason being that an animal or person could rip the bag open overnight, causing trash all over the street and sidewalk. Understand now?
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You folks have to be some of the most ignorant and uneducated idiots around. Learn how to form a sentence, use punctuation and spell before you spout off your moronic comments.
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That trash can will keep that person from ripping that bag open! He will be quite the fool!
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better check that
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GEEZ!!!! Must make a correction: NOT all borough officials live in Columbia Borough. Do not lie to others. The code enforcement manager, the borough manager, the assistant borough manager, the public works director, the finance/human resource manager, the executive director of the CEDC and most of the police force do NOT live in the borough. If you say it's the law then apparently there are some problems here.
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I'm amazed at the demeaning tone being used in some of the reply comments, only a Republican would resort to condescending name calling. Next you'll be “tweeting.”
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I guess they went to Columbia Schools.
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I detect the presence of borough officials among these comments.
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It's really to be in a container with a lid to deter animals, but in Columbia many people act like animals. So I'm not surprised you used the human as example, you took the bait.
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Bait would imply you set a trap. Sorry, but nobody is buying that.
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Not surprising. Their fragile egos are apparent.
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Hear, hear! Name calling from a borough official is disgraceful to a registered voter.
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And the tears keep hitting the floor because nobody is good enough for any job in the borough
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But at least we see how they really feel about the people in this town. It's absolutely disgusting. They shouldn't be allowed to run a lemonade stand, lest a town. Give some yokel a tiny little bit of power/authority in a tiny little town and they think they're the f'ing pope. Maybe some year this state will wake up and get rid of these municipalities in favor of county governments. It isn't 1750 anymore.
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It's not that they are good enough,they are suppost to do things for the good of the town , not just a few pet prodjects.( like the river park)
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shut down the FAILING school ,turn it over to the state like Harrisburg did.
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look at you , must be part of the borough team
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some appartments don't have room for cans and they have been using bags for years
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points are made ,and the English teacher must have understood them
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Please officals, just run the town fairly, and spend tax payers money like you spend your own.
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The most hate filled vitriol is typically spewed by progressive, liberals .. but I don't want to change the subject!
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As far as the school Dr McGough ring around the words, just hold everyone responsible for there own actions, don't let the kids run the show.
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I paid my ticket also. My point was not one Borough Official in the the Council Chambers that night seemed to grasp the concept of discretion when evaluating whether or not a ticket should be written. Maybe they should all do some research on the use of discretion by officials empowered to “ticket” Columbia citizens. It's my bet someone from the top said “any amount of snow that day, write 'em up.”
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Dear Anonymous, I had swept my sidewalk part way through the 1.4 inch snowfall.
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that's right get all the over paid ,dead wood,lack of disaplint teachers out of that school.
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Why don't more people come to the council meeting and speak up about the spending etc the council people do with our money. It is a shame to move the municipal building too that's a beautiful building in the center of our town. We never had so many employees before why now? It would be nice to fill the room on a meeting night.
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Dr McGough is one of those that tells any one who listens,what he is gone to tell you,then he tells you,then he tells you what he told you,by that time you don't realy care and just want him to sit down and go to the next person…
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shows where your mind is, its not politics its for the better of the town.
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great somone knows.
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This is not about whether someone is “good enough” or qualified to work in this borough. It has everything to do with them living here and paying taxes here. If Columbia is so great, why aren't these borough workers relocating to Columbia. Buy a house here and help pay for all of the projects. Help pay for the education of Columbia's young people.
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they (council) all ready know how they are gone to vote,so saying anything just makes you a target of the borough.
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when citizen comment came up to hire rebbeca dellinger they already vote her in.It was brought up right after that and it was said owell buy council members.
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A grade school student from Columbia could have came up with that plan.
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amen if these kids are going to act like animals they must be treated like that. When they aren't in school any more they won't be coddeled ,so way now?????
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Be careful what you suggest. Some members of council don't pay their bills at all!!
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It is the responsibility of the landlord to supply trash toters or a dumpster for their tenants to place their trash bags in.
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she has all the say and don't live in Columbia she is the borough manager in training. These jobs are never advertised how do they get people?
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who says
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they hired her then a few weeks later made a amendment to make the job title ord.
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NOT THE COFFEE CLUB HOST
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