Year: 2018

About Town – 11/4/18

This week’s photos from around Columbia
 An ET visited Columbia, and – you guessed it – no intelligent life here.

 What, already?
(Burning Bridge Antiques)

 The still-troubled and still-troublesome 300 block of Avenue G
 That’s right. Fido might not be able to tolerate the THC.

 At work on the 300 block of Cherry

 At work on the 500 block of Walnut

 Doing burnouts!
Not really – It’s just steam from water on the roller.

 And back again

 Nekkid lady pondering an ibis
(100 block of Walnut)

 Depth of field

This church recently celebrated an anniversary of some sort.

 Here’s its datestone.

 And here’s the church building.

 Back on Walnut Street – a compact steamroller

 Dueling steamrollers!

 Big men casting long shadows

 Keeping an eye on things

 Spreading the asphalt

 Evening it out

Reaching for it
 On up the street

 Both sides now

Three on one

 Watch out for that car!

Here’s the finished product.
 But the sidewalks . . . 

 Expansion joints going every which way

Here too – always above the misaligned drain pipes.
Is this to spec?

 The sun recently set over in Wrightsville.

 There’s a canoe stored under Columbia Crossing.

 The dog poop bag dispenser is down.

 Interesting lawn ornament on North 6th

 Cockscomb at NAWCC

 McClintock Clock – tick-tock
(NAWCC)

 So, the driver on the right slipped by on the inside to make a right turn as the other driver was about to make a right turn.

 Here’s an old piece from the Godwin-Falcon Fire Department.
 Google tells us the department is in North Carolina.

 Chickens in a basket or something
(Tollbooth Antiques)

 Chimney fit for a king
(3rd & Chestnut)

 West side of the Hermansader House

 An all-seeing eye can be seen there, too.

 Filling in the beauty strips with dirt on Walnut

 She whipped the leaf blower around too fast and ripped a hole in the space-time continuum.

At work downtown

 Bursting forth on Chestnut

 “SMUCK FOR CON”
Seems fitting somehow

 Oversized pothole at 2nd & Perry

 Echoes of Halloween

 Uh . . . how about NO?

 Beady-eyed crow

C’est la vie

C’est la mort

 You don’t want Fido to be locked up, do you?
(Janson Park)

 CHS
Sorry, but those Beatles lyrics still keep echoing:
“I used to get mad at my school,
The teachers that taught me weren’t cool,
You’re holding me down, turning me ’round,
Filling me up with your rules!”

 Two fighter jets flew over on Thursday afternoon – way up – and carrying missiles.

This is a closer shot of the same jet.

 Scarecrow
(Cherry Street)
And its little brother – and a littler brother?
(North 5th)

 Animal shelter progressing

 Cute couple

 T-boned?

 ONE WAY: LEFT

 Neatly coiffed alleyway
Who mows it?

 Skeleton taking a load off
 Another peek-a-boo window
(600 block of Chestnut)

 Time to pick up the mail – all of it – at the apparently empty apartment house at 2nd & Walnut.

 OVERSIZE LOAD on Chestnut (Route 462)

 Finally, some activity at Hickernell’s office, at least outside it

 A load of asphalt with nowhere to go
It ended up here, next to the parking lot on Bank Avenue.
(Can you reheat cold asphalt?)
 Lamb Chop hung out to dry

 A new fountain at Columbia River Park

 Here’s another view

 There’s also a lower access for Fido to wash down that THC.

 The Wright Mansion, autumn-shrouded

 Looking spiffy at Art Printing
 There goes Andre!

 Sign down!
(Commerce Street)

 Runners – one locally famous

 Heron in hiding – sort of

 Jet following the jet stream

 Something with muddy paws walked on this rail.

 Drain grate

 Glued to the TV, as many folks are.

 Buckeye flutter-by grounded

 That’s a mighty tall flagpole, that flagpole is.

 Hood ornament

More ghost signs – The one at the top reads “COLUMBIA.”
(Bootleg Antiques)
Here are a few submitted photos:
 A Knox Box taped shut!

 A pipe is sticking out of the sidewalk.

 Oh yes it is.

 And the mattress collection continues to grow – now with an old-time TV.

 Shaky fence with weeds – and a multi-street street sign.
The photo intrigued us enough to take a closer look and sure enough, there it is.

Here’s a shot submitted by Patrick “Phos” Martin. He explains that it is a composite of 16 separate shots taken from a tripod set up in the middle of Bridge Street several years ago. Wow! Even the ghost sign reading “MYERS MACHINE TOOL CORPORATION” is visible.
Nice work!

Council scrambles to fund new position, leaving candidate in limbo – and there's a tax hike looming

Council continues to dissect the 2019 budget, which Council President Kelly Murphy describes as already having been “ground up like hamburger.”

For a while there, it seemed like Columbia had a new property inspector – and that still might be the case – but we won’t know for sure until this coming Wednesday. As Columbia Spy previously reported, Jay Frerichs was promised the job at the October borough council meeting, and for all intents and purposes had it in the bag until Thursday’s budget meeting when things went a little . . . haywire.

At the meeting, the purpose of which was to plan the 2019 budget, council realized it might not have the funds to pay Frerichs a promised $50,000 salary plus benefits. The item is not in the 2019 budget.

In the weeks preceding, Frerichs had been given the runaround over whether or not he even had the job. According to Frerichs, he was elated and ready to go after he was unanimously voted in at the October council meeting. Frerichs recounted that he was interviewed by Zoning & Planning Officer Jeff Helm and Code Enforcement Manager Steve Kaufhold on September 26 and said the outcome of the meeting was that “I was hired by those guys,” although there was nothing in writing handed to him.

At a meeting a few days later with Borough Manager Rebecca Denlinger and Finance Manager Georgianna Schreck, Frerichs said he was also left with the impression he was hired. He was given a start date of October 22. Reasonably certain he had the job, Frerichs said he declined several remodeling jobs totaling $25,000 and gave notice to a construction company where he was a subcontracted sales manager.

Frerichs said he passed a required drug test and physical on October 18, but on October 19, three days before the promised start date, someone at the borough office told him the background check had not been received. He then waited another week, during which time he got no response from the borough, even though he called Kaufhold a few times. He then called the borough office and was told there were no updates. Finally, he called the state police who told him his background check information had been sent to the borough on Thursday, October 25. During an October 31 phone call, Schreck admitted to Frerichs that the borough had received the background check – which was clean – but did not have enough money in the budget to pay him, which Frerichs said he found “flabbergasting.”

At Thursday’s meeting, several councillors apologized to Frerichs for the situation, as did Denlinger, who said, “Not making any excuses for how this happened. This sucks. We failed.”

At this point, Frerichs is left in limbo. Council scrambled to find funds to finance the position at Thursday’s budget meeting, but soon found it necessary to schedule an extra budget meeting, for this Wednesday, November 7. Council president Kelly Murphy promised Frerichs a “yes or no” at that meeting. Murphy also said a borough tax increase may be in the offing – from the current 6.6 mills to 8 mills.

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From the September 10, 2018 Columbia Borough Council Meeting Agenda
A look back at how the timeline for the property inspector position has evolved shows that it was initially an item on the September 10, 2018 council meeting agenda, in which council voted to “Consider approval to initiate the process for hiring one full-time Property Inspector for the Codes Department.” 
Legal Notice from the Columbia Borough website
A legal notice above was posted, with a deadline for the position of September 14. As announced at Thursday’s budget meeting, 12 candidates applied for the position and were subsequently whittled down to three. Frerichs said he was interviewed on September 26, and on October 8, council voted unanimously to approve him him for the position, with a motion “to approve a conditional offer of employment for Jay Frerichs as full-time property inspector at a time to be determined by the Borough Manager conditioned on the successful completion of all background checks and settlement of any terms and conditions of employment necessary to start Borough employment.” 
From the October 8, 2018 Columbia Borough Council Meeting Agenda
On October 31, after successfully fulfilling the stated requirements for the job, Frerichs was told that the borough had no funds available for the position. He stated his case at the November 1 budget meeting, where council unsuccessfully scrambled to find funds for the position, forcing them to schedule an extra budget meeting for Wednesday, November 7. (The November 1 budget meeting was to be the final meeting for the 2019 budget.)

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Columbia Spy endorses Mary Auker-Endres for State Representative

It’s fall 2018, the leaves are falling, and it’s time for Columbians to choose a candidate who will best represent them in Pennsylvania’s 98th legislative district, of which we are a part. Right at the outset, we at Columbia Spy are announcing our support for candidate Mary Auker-Endres, and here’s why:

The 98th is currently represented by 8-term Republican Dave Hickernell. Or at least that’s the rumor. Hickernell has been keeping a notoriously low profile. Very low. Virtually non-existent, in fact. If he is trying to be conspicuous by his absence he has succeeded. He has all but abandoned his Locust Street office and has not maintained a public presence in Columbia for quite some time.

In addition, Hickernell has routinely refused to inform voters of his positions on the issues. According to the non-partisan site VoteSmart.org, he has failed the Political Courage Test. The site states: “David Hickernell has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.”

In 2014, Columbia Spy noted that Hickernell refused to state whether or not he supports a natural gas extraction tax. And either by ignorance or inaction, he allowed Columbia to miss out on a portion of an extra $30.3 million in state funding. When questioned on the oversight, he replied, “Most representatives were unaware of the ‘carve out.'” He added that it was clear “most of us were in the dark.”

In a recent letter sent to Columbia residents, Mayor Leo Lutz touts Hickernell’s purported achievements, claiming he has added money for projects in Columbia that would create jobs and add parking for our downtown. Note the use of the subjunctive; no jobs have appeared and no parking has appeared due to Hickernell’s initiatives. The mayor also claims, “Representative Hickernell doesn’t just say he will do something, he does it.” Well, mayor… NO, that’s not the case, as we noted above.

Hickernell has kept his seat for 16 years, largely because he has rarely been challenged since taking office. 16 years – twice the duration for a two-term United States president – is enough for any legislator. And we believe it’s time for Hickernell to go.

Mary Auker-Endres at Columbia’s 2018 Mardi Gras Parade
In contrast, Democratic candidate Mary Auker-Endres, has been quite visible in Columbia over the last few months, talking with residents, stating her positions, and explaining how she will work for them in Harrisburg. We believe she will focus more on the needs of working people and small business owners rather than large capital projects that continue to drain their tax money and provide them little benefit.

Auker-Endres, an Elizabethtown resident, promises to support initiatives that help working families such as increasing the minimum wage, ensuring healthcare coverage, and providing for quality education. In addition, Auker-Endres says she will turn down perks and will refuse a government pension until every Pennsylvanian’s retirement is secure. She also won’t take a paycheck if the budget isn’t done on time.

“Harrisburg isn’t listening, but I am. And I’m ready to act,” she said in a statement.

Columbia Spy believes Columbia needs more than a representative who is only rumored to be representing us. We need more than a representative who takes Columbia for granted to the degree that he doesn’t even bother campaigning here. We need a candidate with our shared values who will work for us in Harrisburg.

Therefore, Columbia Spy unreservedly endorses Mary Auker-Endres for State Representative in Pennsylvania’s 98th District.

Here are a few links for additional information:

About Town – 10/28/18

This week’s photos from around Columbia…
(Tap/click on photos for larger, sharper images.)

Town crier, right on time
 Speaking of time, here’s the clock at the small plaza at 5th and Chestnut under an autumn sky.

 A close-up of the same

 Here’s the old clock tower at NAWCC.

And yet another timepiece – at NAWCC.

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This dragon landed on the 400 block of Poplar.

Here are a few nightlights that popped up on Chestnut Street recently…


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These lions (?) watch from the doorway at 401 Walnut.
They should be rehabilitated and repainted.
Looks like there are several layers of old paint on the wood surfaces.

 Here’s the one on the right.

 And the one on the left.

 There’s also some ornate filigree on the arch above the door.

 Here ‘s a longer view of the door and doorway – looking quite historic.
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 The Easter Bunny is late – or early – but definitely out of season.

 Another of Columbia’s majestic old mansions
(South 2nd)

 Here’s the datestone.

Considering the next move at the Art Printing building
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Looks like the railroad artist is at it again down at the tracks…


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 Norfolk Southern’s open door policy

 Public housing

 Filling in at River Park

 Not everyone’s will fit.

 At one time, this may have said, “ZAPPA IS . . . “(?)

 What’s that scrawled on the garage door on Bridge Street?

 Could this be the day the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper?

 Apparently, yellow is the new orange – which by extension is the new black.

 Here’s another way to recycle your old bottles.

 Church window at 6th and Chestnut

 This was.
(Burning Bridge Antiques)

 Tis the season.

 In amongst the autumn leaves
***************

 Lying down on the job?

 No, taking out the dock railings at Columbia River Park

 Here’s one getting carried away.

 An observer contemplating the railing-less dock

 And here’s the dock, being pulled upstream.

 The dock was tethered to this rescue boat.

 It was then pulled to shore by a worker at the boat ramp.

 This huge log (utility pole?) was found caught underneath.

 The log was removed using the backhoe.

 The backhoe’s front forks were then placed under a section of the dock.

 Like so.

The section, weighted down for stability, was taken away.
The remaining section was then prepared for the same maneuver.

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 Star spangled shirt – and a LEFT TURN sign.
An omen?

Over across the river, someone was stirring up the dust.

 This truck’s “track wheels” were in the “down” position at the River Park railroad crossing. It had been riding the rails.

 They were adjusted to the “up” position to allow the truck to travel on paved surfaces.

 The truck even has adjustable steps on the back that descend as needed.

 A boatload of branches and leaves crossed at the crossing.

 Here’s another of those architectural features – not aging well.
(2nd & Walnut)
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 Crews were out again painting traffic lines this week.

 They drove along North 5th.

 This truck uses the Stripe Hog Waterblasting System with 40,000 psi.

 And there it goes.

 Here’s a line painting truck -with reverse lettering.

 Despite the new lines, tractor-trailers still can’t successfully negotiate this turn at 5th and Chestnut without entering the opposing lane. Sometimes, the back wheels run over the curb.

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 Self-guided tour of Columbia Crossing

 Troweling at 6th and Walnut

 “If you meet the Buddha among the leaves…”

 The back deck at the American Legion is coming along nicely.

 All things come to those who wait.
(320-322 South 2nd)

 Ambivalence?

 Progress at the animal shelter-to-be

 Group shot of a mixed bag
(North 2nd)

 Chipping the stump next to Mount Bethel

 Possibly a miracle has occurred.

 The “Have a Nice Day’ guy isn’t having such a nice day.

The lady on the mural is waving “Hi” with her stovepipe arm.
 A reader sent this old photo of the historic Wright Mansion on South 2nd.

And another person submitted this great photo of the old tunnel under the railroad tracks at Shawnee Run (near Front and Mill).

ASSAULT at Halloween parade – Man knocked down, baby knocked from stroller

On 10/25/18 at approximately 7:39pm the Columbia Borough Police Department was dispatched to the 400 Block of Locust Street for an assault.  Upon arrival the Officer spoke with one of the victims who stated that he was struck and knocked down by two males that came running through the crown during the parade.  Another victim stated that her baby was knocked from her stroller by one of the suspects.  The suspects were described as black males in their 20's.  One was wearing a cammo sweatshirt and dreads and the other was wearing a red baseball hat with a white sweatshirt.  One of the suspects lost his green Nike sneaker at the scene.  Anyone with information regarding this assault should contact the Columbia Borough Police Department at 717-684-7735 or text LANCS to 847411.

Date: 

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Case Status:

Case Type:

Case Region:

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/columbiapd/10552/cases/assault