About Town 3/1/20

This week’s photos of Columbia

 GOOD GOD DON’T JUMP!

There, that’s better.
They just wanted to admire the scenery from one of the Civil War bridge piers.
 Is the Flash in town?
 No, just this suave-looking equine

Lookin’ sharp, especially when you consider it used to look like this:

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Bocce bear on Locust
Columbia’s bocce team will advance, along with 14 other regional champions, to the Special Olympics Pennsylvania/PIAA State Championships scheduled for March 18-19 at Hershey’s Giant Center.
Go Columbia!
Brian Myers (left) and Preston Eberly (right) of Eberly Myers LLC held a discussion at their property on the 100 block of Locust Street this week. Their plan for a 33-unit apartment building there fell through reportedly due to insufficient funds. Unfortunately, demolition of existing properties was completed before construction began, leaving a giant hole in the ground. The hole was recently filled.
On the agenda for this week’s borough council meeting is an item for
“Discussion 2nd Amendment Sanctuary.”
The United States of America is already a Second Amendment sanctuary.
Citizens need to trust in the Constitution.
(By the way, where’s that well-regulated militia?)
 Old-timey dumbbell?
Speaking of old-timey…

 Might as well make this sign permanent
(Looks like an expletive was crossed out.)
 Nick Mills shrine at 3rd & Walnut

Loop

Meanwhile, down at River Park

The start of Phase 1 of Phase III?
The completed Columbia River Park expansion is estimated to cost $8-9 million, as Columbia Spy reported HERE. It will include a 700-person amphitheater, pavilion, an expanded pier, a playground and more.

Another item discussed was getting rid of invasive species (which are actually indigenous species). 

 Wired up and charging

 Cardinal with a snack at Shawnee Run at 4th Street

 Struttin’ his stuff!

Shawnee Run at 4th Street

Walking the wagon

Are we?

 Reaching for Andy’s

 Different directions

Making sure

 Call the exterminator. The boot’s infested again.

 Full stop

 Also in Shawnee Run

Secret headquarters?

 You won’t find it on the map. It’s hidden away.

 OILZUM!

Signs of a garage

A couple o’ big ol’ rolls

 Ready to roll!

 Apartment living

Time to pressure wash the sidewalk?
(Columbia Plaza)

Thataway to the ATM that’s no longer there

Don’t put it away just yet.

Call before you dig. You dig?

A sudden urgent need to be upriver

Skater skating

Running down the elusive two-engine, one-car Norfolk Southern train:

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 What was to be another service station is now – another used car lot?

 Trash in town
[Submitted photo]

The street sweeper might be back in action in mid-March.
[Submitted photo]
Here’s a spot it won’t be able to reach – the tree grates on Locust which have become cigarette butt receptacles.

It won’t reach here either – trash under Route 30 at the high school hill. Not a good image for our school district.

 High school scoreboard

 Not quite a stairway to heaven, just steps to the cemetery
(which are related concepts, if you think about it)

 Something somewhere is going to happen on this date and time.

 Another hidden business

 Time to update this sign

 This one’s fine.

 Back at 401-403 Locust 

 Spraying the surface Sunday morning

And voila – a new look!
(Temporarily anyway)

 Remember when filling your tank was a simple matter?
(This is at the Sheetz store in West Hempfield but is typical of present-day gas pumps.)

 Has technology made us better off, or worse?

We even get a commercial while we’re pumping gas. At least it’s not country music like that other gas station plays.

And finally, this is just around the corner

'Norfolk Southern doesn’t like trails': Railroad company concerns could halt trail extension

A $50,000 study continues to examine whether a five-mile trail can be built between Columbia and Washington Boro to connect two existing recreation paths in western Lancaster County.

But officials at railroad company Norfolk Southern said they already have the answer, and it’s time to put on the brakes.

“Norfolk Southern has advised that this project is not feasible due to safety and liability reasons,” railroad spokeswoman Rachel McDonnell Bradshaw said.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/norfolk-southern-doesn-t-like-trails-railroad-company-concerns-could/article_2d72e892-5a62-11ea-894d-47e404eab9f5.html?utm_medium 

Columbia council makes interim borough manager changes official, hires new permanent manager amid more concerns

On Tuesday, the board ratified its decision to terminate former interim manager Candice L. Johnson’s contract effective Feb. 19. It also voted to appoint borough police Chief Jack Brommer to replace Johnson.

The board also unanimously approved hiring Mark Stivers as borough manager at salary of $90,000. His tentative first day is March 30.

The personnel moves involving Johnson and Brommer were decided at an executive session held on Feb. 18. The meeting was attended by all seven council members and labor attorney Michael McAuliffe Miller.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/columbia-council-makes-interim-borough-manager-changes-official-hires-new/article_7c241b68-59aa-11ea-bafb-abde00d494ba.html?utm_medium 

Rachael Kedney resigns from Columbia Borough School Board

Rachael Smith Kedney, who has resigned, was sworn in as Columbia Borough School Board director by District Magistrate Miles Bixler at the April 6, 2017 Committee of the Whole meeting.

Rachael Smith Kedney resigned from the Columbia Borough School Board, effective February 21, 2020, it was announced at this evening’s school board meeting. Kedney was not present at the meeting.

She was sworn in as school board director on April 6, 2017, when she filled the seat vacated by former director Iris Garrido, who resigned in March 2017. Interviews for a replacement will be held March 19, 2020. No other details are available at this time.

Linking trails makes dollars and sense for Lancaster County

The 14-mile Northwest Lancaster County River Trail (which includes Marietta and Columbia) and the 5-mile Enola Low Grade Rail Trail in lower Manor Township have drawn praise over the past half-decade

But they are isolated from each other, and linking the two river trails will not be easy.

Two options, each with pros and cons, are under consideration in Manor Township.

— A mostly level route from Columbia to Turkey Point would closely follow the Susquehanna River between Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and Route 441 for 5 miles. It would require permission from the railroad, the likely construction of a fence and the OK of private landowners along the route.

— The second route is 2 miles longer and “would mostly follow an existing PPL power line through Columbia and up-and-down hills through farmland,” Crable wrote. It would feature an elevation gain of 1,260 feet, perhaps limiting its appeal to casual walkers and bikers.

MORE HERE.

Theft at Burning Bridge Antiques – Can you identify the man in the photos?

Police are investigating a theft that occurred on 1/10/20 at approximately 2:40 pm at the Burning Bridge Antiques, 304 Walnut St., Columbia, PA. The pictured suspect stole an item from one of the stands. 

If you can identify the male please contact the Columbia Borough Police at (717)684-7735 or text LANCS to 847411.  
Date:  Friday, January 10, 2020 
Reference ID:  CB-20-00204 
Case Status: Current 
Case Type: Criminal 
Source:  Columbia Borough Police Department

Sourced via CRIMEWATCH®https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/columbiapd/10552/cases/theft-8

Pa. lawmakers black out details of why they spent tax dollars, claiming ‘legislative privilege’

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania legislature is attempting to shield records showing why it spends some of the roughly $360 million in taxpayer money it receives each year, citing an obscure protection it claims gives lawmakers immunity from total transparency.

The House and Senate have turned over thousands of pages of financial records in response to recent public records requests from The Caucus and Spotlight PA. But many contained vague descriptions of expenses or had redactions that made it impossible to see their purpose.

The redactions primarily concealed who legislators were meeting with, and why.

In defending their decision to keep the information secret, legislative officials cited an obscure clause in the state Constitution that they claim protects lawmakers’ ability to speak and debate without retribution — a right they call the “legislative privilege.”

But good-government advocates countered that such an interpretation warped the intent of the speech and debate clause, which, they said, was meant to allow lawmakers to speak freely in official proceedings.

MORE:

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/02/pa-lawmakers-black-out-details-of-why-they-spent-tax-dollars-claiming-legislative-privilege.html 

Students, grades 7 to 12 can win prizes just by showing up and engaging with potential employers at the Career Fair Thursday night (Feb. 27)

How do you win?

All you need to do is: 

1. Show Up (get a ticket) 

2. Bring adult friends (each friend is worth a ticket) 

3. Engage with employers (get a ticket)

That's pretty much it: show up, bring friends and be engaging! 

The winner of these awesome prizes shown will be drawn next day at school!

Full information and details about the prizes will be at the Career Fair. 

When is the career fair you ask?

When: Thursday, February 27, 2020

Where: Columbia High Cafeteria and Gymnasium

Time: Dinner from 5 to 6pm, Career Fair 6 to 8pm

Who: Students Grades 7 to 12 – Friends, Parents and Family

Dinner: Pork BBQ, Roasted Potatoes, Peach Cobbler & Assorted Cakes

No Need to Register, this event is FREE!

Meet employers that want to hire immediately!

https://www.columbiabsd.org/article/197200?org=cbsd