Year: 2018

About Town

This week’s photos from around Columbia…
(Tap/click on each photo to see a larger, clearer image.)
He was walking around on the 200 block of Locust Street the other day.
Apparently, he was checking for lead paint with a radioactive zap gun, also known as an LPA-1 XRF Lead Paint Spectrum Analyzer. Is he a member of the codes department or an outside interventionist?
 We all have to start somewhere.

 Charred vehicles from the Cloverton Drive fire 

Another view

Protruding
Roofers roofing on a roof

Is there a budding Matisse in our midst?

Yes, do it.

On the lookout 

A really nice scene 

Glittery rock

Burned out bottle rocket
Council will consider passing a fireworks ordinance at its August meeting. 

Lincoln Highway marker

An engine just hanging around

Oriental religious statue

A plow that’s probably too big for that small area
A park ranger at Columbia River Park…
Seems fitting 

Here’s his vehicle.
Speaking of vehicles, the following three reader-submitted photos show illegally parked vehicles used by borough officials…

*****

Grinding the joints on the backside of 301 Locust 

Cleaning up a few days later
A mural is planned for here.

208-210 Locust, primed

Adding a first coat

Was he broken up about something?

It’s not supposed to work this way.
This mess at the Columbia Plaza, along with the collection box, was cleaned up and taken away a day or two later.

Workers on the roof of the former Vigies building 

When on a roof,  it’s good to be tethered. 

A day or two later: under roof

He thinks he’s hiding.

Hard at work 

Higher

Chinook overhead

Up close look at that nasty grin

Two killdeers down at the tracks

Suddenly, there were three.

And then just one, crying all by his lonesome.

Graffiti on the Rotary Park picnic tables

Restocking skid row

Catbird with a mayfly 
There’s plenty for everyone. 

Sometimes a door is a gate.

Where the sidewalk ends…
Not every property has a sidewalk, but what happens when hedges are planted right on the required three-foot setback? These hedges near Fourth and Poplar also block the line of sight for drivers.

Borough officials and others checked out the entrance to River Park last Wednesday to observe traffic issues.
Here’s an example.

Rowhouses on 6th
Fenced in.

Him too
A different use for a bicycle 

Ready to ride

 Shawnee 3

 Bell tower at the former Shawnee Fire Company building

 Security office?

 Yes it is.
 The once-again broken backboard at Makle has been taken down.

 This is where dumpsters are born.

 Super-compact train car

 Broken ridge vent

 Either fix it, or hope it doesn’t rain.

 Wow!
Who’s supposed to cut these down?

 What happened to that section of fence along Heritage Drive?
(It wasn’t the section that was broken.)

 Here’s a close-up

 Unattended gas pump.
It clicked off just before this photo was taken.

 The “water wheel” at the high school football field
 Rock salt on a tree stump

 Above it all

 Ornate old gate

 Here’s a close-up

 Shadow fence along Mount Bethel Cemetery

 Stirring up dust on the 600 block of Locust
 Finishing up Friday morning at the library

Keeping level

Biting the dust?

More progress at Andy’s auxiliary 

Parking lot paving along Commerce Street

X Mark’s the spot. 

Ready to roll

Almost done 

The almost-finished product 
At the library 

Around back

New deck furniture 

*****

 There was a Saturday morning baseball game at the high school.

*****

 The gallery banner blew up onto the rooftop click, click, click.

 Artist at work

 Enjoying the day

Volunteers turned out on Saturday to move boxes of books back into the library.


*****

 On the 400 block of Locust

Later, something else was added.

 Sticker shock

 Kingfisher

Will the last person to leave Columbia, please turn out the lights.

Police chief gets near-perfect score; June 2018 police report

Chief Brommer spoke Wednesday night about the 10-week course he completed recently.

Columbia Borough Police Chief Jack Brommer achieved a near-perfect grade point average in a program he recently completed at the State Police Academy in Hershey. Brommer received a final score of 98.98 in the 10-week course from the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, according to Mayor Leo Lutz at last Wednesday’s Safety Committee meeting. Brommer, who received a certification of completion, said the instructor asked to use his research paper as an example for future courses.

Safety Committee member John Novak holds up the certification Chief Brommer received for successful completion of the course, as committee chair Todd Burgard and member Pam Williams look on.

According to Brommer, the course consisted of several categories, such as budgeting, decision making, federal law, grant writing, resource allocation, and strategic planning. For a required research paper, Brommer chose the topic of improving pro-activity within the department, which entailed analysis and suggested solutions.

Brommer said officers attending the program came from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, with half the class consisting of state police officers. He commuted during the “two weeks on, two weeks off” program, which ran from February to June. Brommer said that he took the course to further his education, even though it is not required by the state. Sergeant James Jacobs and Sergeant Sam Stein also completed classes recently. “Training’s a priority for us, and the entire department knows it,” Brommer said.

June 2018 Police Report:

School Supply Drive To Benefit Local Students

Columbia Life Network is once again hosting its annual school supply drive to collect items for students of the Columbia Borough School District and Our Lady of the Angels Catholic School.

Items requested include new backpacks, pencils, pens, crayons, rulers, scissors, binders, notebooks, glue sticks, and more. Several opportunities for the community to donate school supplies to the effort are planned. The first will be at several local retail stores on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Once the list of locations is finalized, it will be posted at http://www.facebook.com/columbialifenetwork/.

MORE:

https://www.townlively.com/school-supply-drive-to-benefit-local-students/

Columbia woman charged with Driving Under the Influence after car crash | Manor Township Police Department

Alexis E. Steele, age 28, of the 800 block of Barber Street, Columbia, PA was charged with 2 counts of Driving Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance and Driving on Roadways Laned for Traffic by Officer Patrick O'Rourke after the vehicle she was operating, crashed in the 2700 block of Charlestown Road on Sunday, June 10, 2018 at 1138 hours.  Officer O'Rourke was on patrol when he came upon the scene of the crash.  Steel's vehicle had severe damage to the passenger side from striking the telephone pole. Steele appeared to be under the influence of a drug and a chemical test of her blood showed she had Fentanyl in her system.  The charges were filed at MDJ Joshua Keller's office. 

Arrest Date: 

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Case Number: 

2018-MN-01461

Source: 

Manor Township Police Department

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/manorpd/11406/arrests/steele-alexis-e-driving-under-influence-controlled-substance-2-counts-and-1-summary

Columbia Man Charged in Hit and Run Crash | Manor Township Police Department

Trent E. Johnson, age 19, of the 100 block of North 6th Street, Columbia,  PA was charged with Failing to Stop and Provide Information to the Owner of Unattended Property and Failure to Drive on the Right Side of the Roadway by Officer Jonatan Morales.  On Monday, July 2, 2018 Manor Township Police responded to the 1100 block of Indian Marker Road for a report of a vehicle striking a telephone pole and fleeing the scene.  While responding to the scene they were notified that there was a Jeep with severe damage stopped in the area of the 3000 block of River Road.  Officer Rockie Tice located Johnson with his vehicle at the River Road location approximately 1 mile from the Indian Marker Road location. Officer Morales determined that Johnson had struck the telephone pole and then left the scene.  The citations were filed at MDJ Joshua Keller's office. Johnson was not injured in the crash. 

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/manorpd/11406/post/hit-and-run-crash

Columbia Man Issued 3 Citations for Separate Protest Incidents at Pipeline Location | Lancaster County District Attorney's Office

A Columbia man has been cited three times for separate protest incidents in March and June at pipeline-construction locations near his home.

Daniel K. Forry, 77, of Prospect Road, was cited with summary counts of harassment, disorderly conduct, and obedience to authorized persons directing traffic.

West Hempfield Township police mailed citations to Forry on July 3.

The citations regard March 16, March 31, and June 2, incidents on Indian Head Road, where constructions crews were working.

Specifically, the citations involve interactions Forry had with flaggers, contracted for traffic control.

– On March 16: Forry refused to comply with a flagger’s directive that he not pass because workers were on the roadways. Forry inched forward in his vehicle and tapped the flagger with his front bumper. He was cited with disorderly conduct.

– On March 16 and March 31: Forry refused to comply with a flagger’s directive, yelling at the flagger, and at one point getting out of his vehicle and nearly face-to-face with the flagger while yelling. Forry did this “because he does not agree with the pipeline,” an officer writes in a citation for harassment.

– On June 2: Forry again refused to comply with a flagger’s directive, striking the flagger while attempting to drive around him. He was cited with violating obedience to authorized persons directing traffic.

No one was injured in the incidents.

MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/da/11617/post/columbia-man-issued-3-citations-separate-protest-incidents-pipeline-location

The mystery of why Columbia does its own food inspections- solved at last?

Unlike most other communities in Pennsylvania, Columbia Borough has long done its own restaurant and food inspections. At Wednesday night’s safety committee meeting, Zoning and Planning Enforcement Officer Jeff Helm, who performs the inspections, explained why.

In answer to a resident’s questions, Helm said the borough is able to do its own 70 inspections per year because “It doesn’t take that long to do the inspection.” He also said the borough continues the practice in order to maintain control, and because of the community’s aversion to outside intervention. Helm added that another factor is the culture of the town. “We like to control the circumstance within the borough,” Helm said. “We’re not a community that likes outside intervention in our businesses. That’s why we don’t have a third-party person come in and do zoning or planning. Our planning commission actually is an autonomous body. It doesn’t recommend to borough council. That’s the culture of Columbia Borough.”

In most other municipalities in the state, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture performs food inspections, free of charge. Those inspection results can be found HERE. Columbia Borough’s inspection results are not available on its website and are accessible only through a Right-to-Know request.

In October 2015, the borough discussed the option of going with state food inspections, as Columbia Spy reported HERE. At that time, Columbia Borough Council said the matter was under review.

1979 COLUMBIA BOROUGH ORDINANCE NO. 556 – NO PARKING IN EXCESS OF 48 HOURS | Columbia Borough Police Department

1979 COLUMBIA BOROUGH ORDINANCE No. 556 – NO PARKING IN EXCESS OF 48 HOURS

In response to confusion regarding a Crimewatch posting issued on Wednesday, July 11, 2018 regarding vehicles parked in excess of 48 hours in Columbia Borough.  The Ordinance pertaining to this issue has been in effect since JULY OF 1979.

On 7/9/1979 Ordinance No. 556 (Section 207-16) was passed in the Borough of Columbia prohibiting vehicles from remaining parked for more than 48 hours on Borough streets.  While this ordinance has been in place for many years the Columbia Borough Police recently started cracking down on those in violation of this ordinance in response to numerous complaints from residents.  Ordinance No. 556 (Section 207-16) reads as follows:

Continuous Parking Restricted; Repairs

A.  No vehicle, including boat trailers, camp trailers and any like devices, shall be allowed to remain parked on any Borough highway or street for a period longer than 48 consecutive hours. Moreover, when such a vehicle is moved, it shall be moved no less a distance than twice its own length.

B.  Except for emergency repairs which are necessitated to prevent the obstruction of traffic or such minor repairs as tire changes and the like, it shall be unlawful to repair any vehicle on any Borough highway or street.

Failure to move vehicles parked for 48 or more may lead to multiple parking tickets and may eventually be towed with additional consequences.

Note:  This Ordinance does not pertain to registered and inspected vehicles parked on private property.

For additional information regarding parking in Columbia Borough go to:

https://ecode360.com/search/CO0213?query=vehicles

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/columbiapd/10552/post/1979-columbia-borough-ordinance-no-556-no-parking-excess-48-hours