Author: SPY

https://www.wgal.com/article/lancaster-community-urges-lawmakers-to-support-school-funding/65528970

A Columbia man is charged with shooting a person in the head in East Lampeter Township early Saturday morning and leaving them hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. 

Marquis Angel Aguilera, 22, is charged with felony criminal attempted homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure and possession of a deadly weapon. 

East Lampeter police say they found the victim with a gunshot wound to the head after responding to reports of a shooting at the 1900 block of Lincoln Highway East at 2:34 a.m. The victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. 

Aguilera was arrested and charged following the shooting Saturday. Police say the shooting is likely an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Aguilera is currently in Lancaster County Prison after being denied bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4. 

East Lampeter police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact Detective Heather Waltman at 717-291-4676 or submit a tip through their CRIMEWATCH website.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/1-hospitalized-following-east-lampeter-township-shooting-columbia-man-charged/article_9cc788a0-61ac-4df2-aa09-844abec43cd7.html

An SUV collided with a US Mail relay box at 4th & Poplar on Friday, landing atop the box and displacing it several feet along the beauty strip on 4th Street. Cindy Wiker caught a shot of the aftermath, showing the vehicle atop the box (see above). 

Columbia Spy posted a photo of the box after it was moved, on the weekly “About Town” post.

The collision moved the mailbox several feet along the beauty strip on North 4th Street.

A worker repaired the damaged mailbox this morning. 

Showing only a few minor “battle scars,” the box was moved back into place after being repaired. 

This morning, a worker was seen repairing the unit. Afterwards, it was moved back into place at the corner. 

Further details are posted HERE.

 This week’s photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images. 

These second-floor mirrors were exposed during the demolition of 700 Franklin on Monday. 

Farhat Excavating knocked the house down, creating a lot of dust in the process.

The whole house was down in one day.

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Farhat also demoed the remaining structures at 1020 Manor Street.

The entire project – house and structures – took four days. 

The next step will be soil remediation, to be done by Iron Eagle Excavating at a cost of about $2.2 million. 

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Morning clouds 

Spraying the banks of Shawnee Run 

Public Art Station on North 4th 

For settin’ out at the pole

Taking down an old utility pole on Walnut: The pole on the right is being taken down. The worker on the lower right is collecting the pieces.

Kreider & Sons Excavating continued work at the Habitat for Humanity Linden Street Build site this past week.

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Hey, who moved the mailbox?

The relay box at 4th & Poplar was moved from its position sometime Friday/Saturday(?)

School bus vs trash truck: an impending traffic jam?

Animal control officers were on the 100 block of Walnut the other day. They appeared to be armed.

They took a dog from a residence, according to a witness.

CBFD 80 responded to a report of a brush fire near 6th Street and Avenue H on Tuesday afternoon.

There was a mass casualty event on Front Street.

Hundreds of mayflies died. 

The skeletons at Columbia Curiosities reenacted a scene from a famous movie. 

Guardian of the pot

Morning glory and friend

Flower frenzy 

Takin’ it easy down at the dock

There’s a peach tree on Locust. 

Really 

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Farhat Excavating began knocking down the house at 700 Franklin Street this morning. Next, they’ll take down the remaining structures at 1020 Manor Street as part of the project at the former McGinness airfield. Farhat submitted the low bid of $52,780 for the demolition.

Switzenberg James Edward, Herold Erika conveyed 1059 Cloverton Drive to Johnson Iainne Vivienne Devlin for $200,000.

Susan M. Wickenheiser conveyed 1200 Franklin St. to Susan M. Wickenheiser for $1.

Abdelmesseh Amir, George Amir conveyed 909 Spruce St. to Karmas Limited Liability Co. for $1.

Han James J, Han Jae Yun conveyed 327 S. Third St. to Cramers Inc. for $158,000.

Valley View Capital LLC conveyed 100 Cedar St. to Burgos Abimael Jimenez, Irizarry Chelyann K. Perez for $200,000.

Chilcote Kaely, Chilcote Kelly conveyed 1000 Grinnell Ave. to Stephanie Redcay for $286,000.

 This week’s photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images. 

On Saturday, hundreds participated in the “Good Trouble Marches On” march on the Veterans Memorial Bridge.  More photos of the march appear at the end of this post.

Recent heavy rains and flooding left some scenes of devastation – and some scenes of beauty. 

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A couple relaxed at the State Theatre Vintage Emporium on Saturday.

These placards have appeared at River Park recently. 

A skeleton looking cool and patriotic on Manor Street

Farhat has arrived. 

They left their equipment in advance of demolishing the house at 700 Franklin Street and structures at 1020 Manor.

The work is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 21, as one of the next steps in the McGinness Innovation Park project. 

The work will continue over the next week.

Here’s one last look at the house. The borough paid $229,900 to purchase it and $52,780 to demolish it.

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Tractor on Plane 

Tunnel on Plane 

A skeleton stalking an eagle on 441

Water rescue training at River Park Sunday morning 

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Scenes from the “Good Trouble” march Saturday morning 

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https://www.abc27.com/local-news/anti-trump-protests-underway-in-the-midstate/

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2025/07/19/good-trouble-marches-on-the-columbia-wrightsville-bridge/85291895007/

Columbia Borough Council has voted to send a letter of non-support for Lancaster City’s proposed pipeline project that would require digging up most of Manor Street, a block of South 4th, and half of Mill Street to run a water transmission line.

Tuesday’s vote came after Borough Manager Steven Kaufhold told council that the City of Lancaster is urging support from Columbia Borough for the project. All municipalities affected are asked for letters of support to help Lancaster obtain a bond through a PENNVEST Application for Financial Assistance. As part of the application process, the City must provide documentation that the project is consistent with local land planning efforts, according to correspondence from a City of Lancaster representative. The project will span portions of Columbia Borough, West Hempfield Township, Mountville Borough, and East Hempfield Township.

Unfortunately, a letter might not be enough to derail the decision to go through Columbia. “It’s a PUC. We may not have a lot of chances of stopping this,” Kaufhold said, but added there are options: The proposed pipeline could run the same route as the existing line, and there are other areas where the line could be brought through. He said going through Columbia is just the easiest way for them to do it.

Councilman Kelly Murphy said, “They didn’t really present what their other options were. It might be more cost for them, but going through some farmland, that’s going to do a lot less disturbance than cutting through a whole town.”

Kaufhold expressed frustration with the lack of information from officials, stating that some questions remain unanswered. 

“How are our fire trucks going to get out?” Kaufhold asked, noting that the line would run directly in front of the fire station. “Are we going to shut down Manor Street for weeks, months, over the winter? A lot of these questions we couldn’t get answered,” Kaufhold said. “In my opinion, we take the brunt of this with literally no gain. So, I can’t support this.”

Resident Sharon Lintner noted that pipeline construction could also affect the sale of the former McGinness Innovation Park.

Project Details
Lancaster is seeking approval to install a 42-inch diameter transmission line along Manor Street, from 15th Street down to 4th Street, then across 4th Street to Mill, over Mill and down to the existing station at the river. (Kaufhold estimated that a 6- to 7-foot wide trench running the length of the line would need to be dug.)

The other end of the pipeline will run from 15th Street and continue east up Route 462 into Mountville. 

The project is scheduled to begin within two years, with the potential for Manor Street to be under construction for six months.

The pipeline is part of Lancaster’s water system upgrade. Currently, a low service pump station in Columbia Borough at 10 Union Street conveys raw water through a 1.2-mile, 42-inch transmission main to the Susquehanna Water Treatment Plant. From there, treated water travels through a five-mile transmission main to serve the distribution system.