Columbia Spy

The bugs are so intensely dangerous to our state’s wildlife — which hasn’t had a chance to evolve natural defenses against them — that the counties where they’ve appeared are under an actual, real quarantine.

There are 14 counties under lockdown, enforced by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. That means residents have to inspect all  materials they move in and out of the counties.

Also, businesses are required to obtain special permits if they want to transport things in or out of the lanternfly zone during the course of their work.

Last month, five counties in western New Jersey were put under quarantine too.

A Conoy Township woman who had been missing since Sunday night shot herself, Susquehanna Regional Police said.

The body of Sarah M. Kunish, 36, was found about 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a wooded area about 75 yards from the Susquehanna River.

THE ISSUE

There are big ideas being bandied about in Columbia. The Urban Land Institute has proposed a series of small and large initiatives for the borough that include an anchor hotel, a pocket park, the designation of a town square, bike racks and “dramatic changes to pedestrian and vehicle traffic to direct tourists to shops and hikers to the Susquehanna River and its network of scenic trails,” LNP’s Junior Gonzalez reported for Thursday’s edition. The ideas are generating positive feedback from residents, business owners and elected officials, some of whom have their own thoughts to add to the mix.