Category: Uncategorized

About Town 3/15/20

This week’s photos of Columbia

People came out to enjoy the nice weather last Monday.
It was a good day for jotting notes.
It was also a good day for flying.
The highway department patched cracks on the blacktop.
Street sweeping resumed. Vehicles that weren’t moved got warnings instead of tickets – this time.
There’s the sweeper now.
Motorcycles got warnings, too.
 The rehabilitation project for the Veterans Memorial Bridge is slated to begin in 2023.

 The public meeting about the project, scheduled for this coming Wednesday, was canceled due to coronavirus fears.

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Sign of life at the river shore

 Steeples on Chestnut

 Over at the National Watch & Clock Museum

 This will never pass building codes.

 The historical marker that was found lying over last week has been tied upright temporarily, presumably to get it off the grass at the bridge plaza.

 Here’s a closer look.

 The first Civil War bridge pier is becoming a favorite hangout.

 There are chickens for sale at Burning Bridge Antiques.

 Don’t lose your head over coronavirus fears, as this lady apparently did.

 The CHI construction project at 401-403 Locust is moving right along.

Here’s a closer look at the front.

 It was busy at the construction site this week.

 Outside and in

 Looks like the window glass has arrived, too.
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Notices on the door of Living Stones Masonry

 Here’s a close-up.

The section of the posted document pertaining to this property reads:

Usdin Realty Management LLC is requesting special exception(s) and/or variance(s) for the business of purchasing, reconditioning and selling fire trucks at the property located at 53 North Front Street in the Riverfront Commercial (RC) zoned district.


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 These guys were apparently checking our gas lines this week.

 Here they are on the 400 block of Chestnut.

 One is carrying some sort of detector.

 Here’s their vehicle.

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 New windows were installed on this building on Bridge Street.

 Veterans Memorial Bridge

 Pentecostal Church at 3rd & Cherry

NAWCC
The Market House project continues.

 Here’s the beginning of the fancy – and expensive – awning on the Sadie Lane side.

 Looks like the Big Ass Fans will be staying. They were installed a few years ago.
(Yes, that really is the brand name.)

 Another look inside from the 3rd Street side.
(According to the Lancaster County Tax Assessment Office (3/5/2020), the Market House is assessed at $301,400. Borough Hall is assessed at $534,100, and the adjoining land is assessed at $78,000.)

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 Here’s the broken lamp at Columbia River Park after a pickup truck hit the post and left the scene.

 Here’s one way to practice isolation and social distancing, although that probably wasn’t the vehicle’s original purpose.

 Skateboarding isn’t really permitted at River Park, but youth finds a way.

Dusk

 A drama unfolded on the first offshore Civil War bridge pier on Saturday morning.

 A Canada goose seemed to be threatened by what looked to be a trumpeter swan.

 The goose launched several attacks against the swan.

Here’s a video of the action.

After the attacks, the swan sat on the edge of the pier and appeared to have blood on its underside.
Last week, Columbia Spy posted a few photos of appeared to be a dead trumpeter swan HERE, which was misidentified as a tundra swan. Was it the mate of this swan? What killed it is still a mystery.
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Out at the borough farm . . .

And out on Blue Lane . . .

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There was water rescue training at River Park on Sunday Morning:

 Participating departments included Columbia Borough, Wellsville, Western Berks, and Rawlinsville.

 Todd Stahl of White Cap Water Rescue Training LLC led the training.

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Over at the Columbia Water Company office:

Here’s a public notice posted at the main plant next to River Park.

Last but not least:  “Murder at the Miller Mansion” is coming soon.

All Pa. school districts closing for 2 weeks over coronavirus fears

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered all schools in the state to close for the next two weeks. 

The announcement came during a frenetic Friday afternoon that began with Lancaster County school districts initially announcing they would shut down for a week starting Monday. Schools are now expected to reopen March 30. 

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/all-pa-school-districts-closing-for-weeks-over-coronavirus-fears/article_eed7c8ea-6552-11ea-87b6-f72164c86146.html?utm_medium 

CANCELED: March 18 meeting on Veterans Memorial Bridge Project

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation planned to hold a Public “Open House Meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2020 for the SR 462 Veterans Memorial (Columbia-Wrightsville) Bridge Rehabilitation Project. However, per guidance issued by the Governor’s office on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), and as a precaution to the welfare of the community and the project team, this meeting has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.

Source

Pennsylvania’s health department is keeping coronavirus details from local officials

HARRISBURG — For the first time since the coronavirus hit Pennsylvania, state officials have released data on how many people have been tested, but refused to give out more information about where infected persons are located, despite calls from some county officials and lawmakers for them to provide specifics.
Because the state runs investigations into the virus in counties without health departments, officials say the information they collect falls under a 1955 law that gives the department broad discretion to keep the information about contagious diseases secret.
MORE:

https://papost.org/2020/03/12/pennsylvanias-health-department-is-keeping-coronavirus-details-from-local-officials/ 

Superior Court rejects appeal from man who killed his mother when he was 14 years old

A Columbia man who fatally shot his mother in 1976 when he was 14 will not get any relief on his sentence despite being eligible for parole for the past three years, a Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.

Gregory S. Sourbeer, now 58, argued that he should be resentenced to a shorter term and that his current minimum sentence of 25 years in prison is illegal, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

In 2017, Sourbeer was resentenced to 25 years to life and was given credit for his 41 years already served in prison, court records said, due to a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sentences of life without parole for juveniles convicted of murder.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/superior-court-rejects-appeal-from-man-who-killed-his-mother/article_f6cc9a52-63f0-11ea-a867-1757ace3a313.html

Columbia Students of the Month – February 2020

COLUMBIA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2020
February Students of the Month

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FEBRUARY STUDENTS OF THE MONTH!

Front Row, Left to right:

  • Lilliana West – Kindergarten
  • Akysha Colon – Kindergarten
  • Kole Bechtold – Grade 1
  • Cole Wolf – Grade 1
  • Analise Colon – Grade 2
  • Liliana Burkey – Grade 3
  • Aubrey Holker – Grade 5
  • Lilee Zahm – Grade 4

Back Row, Left to Right:

  • Alena Reilly – Grade 6
  • Savannah Creek – Grade 7
  • MacKenzie Burke – Grade 10
  • Elijah Kilhefner – Grade 11
  • John Smith – Grade 12
  • Morgan Bigler – Grade 10, January Student of the Month
  • Daniela Moreta – Grade 11, January Student of the Month

Not Pictured

  • Brie Sullivan – Grade 9
  • Kaitlin Scheele – Grade 8

Kindred Collections kicks off with 3-day grand opening extravaganza this weekend

Dena Krebs, co-owner of Kindred Collections, invites the public to a three-day grand opening extravaganza this coming weekend.

Dena Krebs invites you to the three-day grand opening extravaganza of Kindred Collections this weekend. Krebs, who owns the artist co-op at 452 Locust Street with Julie Hess, will hold the kickoff event (starting Friday at 4 p.m.) to present the handmade works of 72 artists, upcyclers, and vintage curators. The first 100 attendees on Friday will get a goody bag courtesy of the artists.

Friday will be more of an adult gathering, with wine tasting and live music. Saturday will feature artist demos, and Sunday is a family day.

Here’s just a glimpse of what you can expect…

Friday:
4 pm – Wine Tasting
6 pm – Live music

Saturday:
10 am- Demo of painting gourds with Linda Williams
12 pm – Damn Yankee Catering Samples
1 pm – Wreath making workshop (must pre-register)
2 pm – Enamel Jewelry Demo with CSW Jewelry
5 pm – Throwing pottery with Mayde by Meg
6 pm – Live Music

Sunday:
12 pm – Sweet Tulip Jam Tasting
1 pm – Kid’s Make and Take Craft
2 pm – Needlefelting demo with Whiskers & Strings
3 pm – Compass Columbia upcycling demo

Food and music all three days.

Public meeting March 18 to answer questions and hear input on Veterans Memorial Bridge project

The Veterans Memorial Bridge

The public is invited to ask questions and offer input on the Veterans Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation Project at a meeting on March 18, 3-8 p.m. at the District Administration Center, 200 North 5th Street.

The bridge project, which was to have begun this year, has been given a new start date of 2023. The meeting is intended to be a fairly informal, “drop-in” affair with borough officials and PennDOT representatives.

Columbia Spy posted the following information about the project on March 19, 2018, some of which may have changed in the interim:

The $54-60 million reconstruction and rehabilitation project will include a refurbished deck with an 8-foot-wide walking lane, two 8-foot bicycle lanes (on the north and south sides), and two 9-foot traffic lanes in the center. The narrower traffic lanes will be a deterrent for speeders, Lutz said. All lanes will be separated with white traffic lines. 

Additional construction will bring the bridge into compliance. Of concern is a bridge arch that has “frozen” into place above its bearing and caused a significant crack. (All bridge arches rest on bearings, allowing expansion and contraction.) Despite the cracking, the bridge is rated “fair” and is considered safe. The underside of the bridge will be completed before deck work begins, Lutz said. Lights might also be added to the underside to help keep mayflies off the road surface and to beautify the bridge.

Two options are being considered for construction: closing off one lane of the bridge and having traffic flow in one direction in the remaining lane; or shutting down the bridge entirely, allowing the project to be completed more quickly (in about a year), since workers would not have to interact with traffic. Lutz said the second option is unfavorable because a traffic accident on Route 30 could shut down the Wrights Ferry (Route 30) Bridge also, preventing all traffic from crossing the river. He added, however, that the four lanes of the Wrights Ferry Bridge could quickly be converted to two in such a case, using existing median barriers as “gates.”

A portion of Rotary Park will be used to stage construction equipment and materials, and the former Columbia #1 Fire Company building along Front Street could serve as offices, Lutz said. RK&K Engineering, PennDOT, and the Lancaster County Planning Commission have already met to discuss the project. Preliminary engineering design work is scheduled for the next year and a half.

LINK