Author: SPY

Walnut Street sidewalk gets a second helping of trash

Residents on the 200 block of Walnut Street were “treated” to another helping of trash this weekend. A similar pile of trash was deposited last weekend as we reported HERE and was picked up sometime during the middle of the week. 
The photos shown below were taken this morning (Saturday, October 28), but the trash was there since at least yesterday. The pile includes miscellaneous furniture, bags of trash not in appropriate containers – and a storm door with a full pane of glass! The door takes up more than half the sidewalk and is a tripping hazard.

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/