When: Columbia Borough school board meeting, Aug. 14.
What happened: Superintendent Ashley Rizzo unveiled a back-to-school headquarters online, which has a wealth of information on registration, calendars, logistics, meals and much more for new and returning students.
Where to find it: The back-to-school headquarters can be found under the “About Us” tab on the district’s landing page.
More: Rizzo encouraged families to use this centralized resource, as well as a new “Rooms” communications platform that has new features like multi-language automated translation.
A Columbia man who was convicted in June for his role in a 2023 armed carjacking in the borough is also charged with shooting a man to death during a drug robbery in Pittsburgh three years ago.
Sammie Edward Lane Jr. waived his preliminary hearing on homicide and related charges on Aug. 1 in Pittsburgh Municipal Court in the death of Tayrod Ford.
Lane had been scheduled for sentencing on Monday in Lancaster County Court, according to his docket here in the carjacking case. He was convicted June 13 of robbery, simple assault and related charges.
In that case, according to prosecutors, Lane, 37, Destiny Delgado-Diaz, and Alexander Ethan Delgado-Diaz, lured a man to Columbia on Dec. 31, 2023, began strangling him, threatened him with a handgun, and stole his Dodge Durango SUV and items he had in the vehicle.
Destiny Delgado-Diaz, 23, of Columbia, is serving a 27-month to 10-year state prison sentence after she pleaded guilty on May 1 to robbery and related charges.
Alexander Ethan Delgado-Diaz, 25, of Columbia, is awaiting resolution of his case. A status conference is scheduled for Oct. 2.
According to charging documents filed by Pittsburgh police, on Aug. 14, 2022, Lane and another man, Kevin Rivera, of Wilkinsburg, planned to rob Ford of drugs. During the robbery, Rivera shot Ford once in the shoulder and Ford told the men to take whatever they wanted and begged for his life.
Lane then shot Ford once in the head and the men fled, charging documents said.
The documents said Sadie Watson, of Pittsburgh, told police that Lane said he wanted to kill someone. She is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and evidence tampering; police said she, Rivera and Lane discussed robbing Ford via text, then deleted the messages.
The day after Ford’s death, Lane took a bus to Harrisburg, police said.
Pittsburgh detectives interviewed Lane at Lancaster County Prison, where he was being held in the carjacking case, on March 3 and filed charges on March 6. He is being held at Allegheny County Jail without bail.
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office has applied to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s task force program, which would provide specialized training for one of its detectives, according to an August 15, 2025 LNP article. This move comes as part of a broader expansion of ICE partnerships throughout the county, with five other law enforcement agencies already approved for the program since the beginning of the year.
According to the article, Erik Yabor, spokesperson for the district attorney, explained that ICE officials reached out to encourage the DA’s office to apply because one county detective already participates in the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force. The office intends to train only this same detective through ICE’s program, with no current plans to extend training to additional personnel.
The certification process requires 40 hours of online training and is limited to U.S. citizens with at least two years of law enforcement experience. According to Yabor, the purpose is to ensure the detective “has the knowledge and awareness of current practices so they can understand how to handle such cases as the need arises.” Importantly, the trained detective will not be tasked with conducting immigration searches or raids.
Columbia Borough takes stand against sanctuary policies Last year, Columbia Borough Council passed a resolution pledging cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, positioning itself as a direct response to Lancaster City’s “Welcoming City” ordinance. At the March 12, 2024 council meeting, a 6-0 vote (with one absence) made Columbia the first local municipality to adopt what officials call a “non-sanctuary” resolution.
Columbia Borough Council passed this resolution at its March 12, 2024 meeting.
Council President Heather Zink said that while Columbia has been cooperating with ICE all along, the resolution serves as a public declaration of “where we stand.” The measure doesn’t materially change existing practice.
The resolution criticizes Lancaster City’s February 2024 ordinance, which codified a long-standing policy prohibiting city officials and police from asking about immigration status except when required by law or court order. Columbia’s resolution claims such policies create sanctuary cities that experience increases in migrant crimes and financial strain on social services.
Scope and limitations of local immigration enforcement Borough Mayor Leo Lutz and Police Chief Jack Brommer clarified that Columbia police lack the authority and intent to engage in proactive immigration enforcement; officers cannot stop individuals solely to demand identification or question their immigration status.
Instead, the department takes a reactive approach. When individuals are detained for criminal activity, traffic violations, or outstanding warrants, officers may refer cases to ICE if evidence suggests undocumented status. Chief Brommer noted that such referrals “do not happen often.”
“Our officers cannot just walk up to someone and demand to see their identification,” Lutz said at the March 2024 meeting.
Regional response and political divisions Oneunitedlancaster.com noted that contrasting approaches between Lancaster City and Columbia Borough reflect broader partisan divisions on immigration policy. Lancaster’s council is entirely Democratic, while Columbia’s is completely Republican.
Columbia officials expressed concerns about potential spillover from Lancaster’s welcoming policies, worrying that immigrants might relocate to the borough for lower housing costs. “Lancaster city can’t handle it,” Lutz said. “They’re going to spread out somewhere.”
Lancaster City Council President Amanda Bakay expressed disappointment with Columbia’s resolution, arguing it’s based on misinformation about Lancaster’s ordinance. She defended the city’s policy, stating that “codifying that long-standing policy into an ordinance makes our city a better place because residents will not be afraid to report crimes or make other requests to the city government,” according to a March 14, 2024 oneunitedlancaster.com article.
Growing county-wide movement Since Columbia’s declaration, several other municipalities have adopted similar resolutions, including Pequea, West Earl, East Cocalico, and West Cocalico townships. This local trend is part of a broader trend of Lancaster County law enforcement agencies either joining ICE task forces or applying for training programs.
The debate reflects national tensions over immigration policy, with advocates arguing that sanctuary cities do not experience higher crime rates, while opponents say that noncitizens account for a disproportionate number of federal criminal arrests.
[Sources: LancasterOnline, OneUnitedLancaster, Columbia Spy]
Burger King No 2605, 531 N. Third St., Columbia, Aug. 7. Pass. Observed a tan, slimy residue on the deflector plate of the ice maker. Observed lids for sodas stored with food contact surface exposed to hand contamination. The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view. A working container of degreaser was stored on the same shelf with food equipment in the dishwashing area.
Foresters of America, 201 Locust St., Columbia, Aug. 7. Pass. No violations.
Turkey Hill No. 68, 342 Chestnut St., Columbia, Aug. 7. Pass. No violations.
This chicken was wandering unaccompanied near the former Shannon Armory on Walnut Street Thursday morning. Is it an “illegal”?
JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
A Columbia Borough resident’s request to keep chickens in his yard has prompted local officials to review current zoning regulations.
At the July 29 council meeting, Jesse Rabinowitz explained that his family has been growing more of their own food in response to rising costs. However, when he looked into raising chickens in his backyard, he found that borough ordinance requires properties to have at least 10,000 square feet – a threshold his property does not meet.
Rabinowitz asked council to reconsider the current ordinance, arguing that the square footage requirement prevents residents from keeping chickens.
Mayor Leo Lutz said waste is the primary issue with backyard chickens. Borough Manager Steve Kaufhold said “We would have to change the zoning ordinance in order to do that, so we would need to look at at that internally,” Kaufhold told Rabinowitz, adding that his only recourse currently is to request a special exception from the zoning hearing board. Council President Heather Zink said council could put it on their legislation list.
In addition to the 10,000 feet requirement, current regulations require permits for any chicken coop or animal enclosure and mandate that such structures be placed at least 20 feet from residential buildings and 100 feet from food service establishments.
Residents interested in keeping chickens are advised to contact Columbia Borough Hall for current regulations and permit requirements.
.png)
Columbia Spy 