About Town

Recent sights around Columbia…
 The first two legs of the journey?

 A contrail . . . and a shadow?

 Oil trail on North 5th, extending from Maple to the Columbia Plaza

 Another ghost sign:
LUCAS MANUFACTURING CO.

 They’re still here.

 Let’s pray for our bicyclist friends as they cross at the intersection of Bridge Street, Front Street, and the Route 441 bypass.

 And pray for them here, too…

as they cross the tracks to River Park.
In both locations, they’re competing with vehicle traffic.

 Three ladders, one step at a time.

 To prevent extinction, walk your triceratops at least once a day.

 Fly by day

 Sweeping up

 Watchdogs

 Bootleg night shot

 Could this be the new location of the borough offices?
Plenty of room, but we’ll need a feasibility study first.

Well, that didn’t pan out.

 UFO
Unidentified Floating Object

 Clock lion at 5th & Chestnut

 Weeds be gone!

 Probably not street-legal

 Heritage Drive is looking wider and flatter these days.

 Pokemon people on public and private property

 That’s a mighty big moose down at the Moose.

 That’s one way to haul a ladder.

 A name that many of us readily embrace.

Morning glories in all their morning glory.

“Hi” from the JLG

 Brown bunny

 Zoning permit

 Hidden signs…

 somewhere.
***
There’s trouble down below:

 A red-tailed hawk!
 So, what’s the plan?

***
 Blue buggy

 Uh……………

 Feeling superior?

 Picture yourself in a boat on a river…

and then you catch a fish.

 Goldfinch on the fence.
Moderates always think they’re right, but they’re just afraid to pick a side.

 Nodding off

 Monarch
PennDOT just chopped down one of its Columbia habitats.

 Mallard in “cloudy” water

 Read and heed.
Clean that crap up!

 Big boat back from checking the bridge

 Who says dogs and cats don’t get along?

 Bike basket passenger

Till next time . . . arrivederci!

PennDOT mows down butterfly habitat in Columbia

A reader from Marietta wrote to LNP with a concern about milkweed being mowed in Columbia at the Route 441 interchange of Route 30.
The reader’s worries, which appeared in a letter to the editor, were about the impact on monarch butterflies since the distinctive black and orange butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. The larvae become striped caterpillars that eat the leaves as they develop into butterflies.
MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/insider/lancaster-watchdog-utility-pole-replaced-in-ephrata-township-butterfly-habitat/article_7c090e4c-89d0-11e7-9d3c-d37d4926f87a.html

Without vaccinations, about 100 Columbia Borough students will be barred from classes Monday

Bob Hollister is starting his second year as superintendent of both Columbia and Eastern Lancaster County districts, and said the districts have made “extraordinary efforts” to work with parents.

But as of Friday afternoon, he said, there were about 100 Columbia students who will not be able to attend classes Monday.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/insider/without-vaccinations-about-columbia-borough-students-will-be-barred-from/article_807346f0-89f3-11e7-a0ca-e31ba0d32f72.html

Columbia Market House hosts United Artists Behind Bars exhibit opening Friday

About Town

Far too many photos of our town over the last week…
An eclipse watcher?
No, a Pokemon Go watcher!
 Pokemon Go players periodically congregate in various areas of town in pursuit of the game.

 Here they are at South 4th & Locust.

And here are more at the clock plaza at North 5th & Chestnut.

***

The mayor recently discussed cracking down on uninspected, unregistered, or abandoned vehicles in the borough. Here are a few:

***
 The secret way to Manor Street School. For some reason, students would get in trouble with the teacher if caught using these steps to enter or leave school.

 Today’s eclipse created a weird, white, LED-type light, seen here at places on the surface of the bridge.
(This photo was taken about an hour after peak.)

 The bright glare is seen here also, as this tank truck driver took a water sample.

Gargoyles on Locust
(An eagle, too.)

 Taping a crack at North 3rd & Locust

 Staring heavenward

 Atop the former Columbia News building

 Backless and strapless

***

Council considered approving the purchase of the following two properties – 400 Locust and 166 Bridge Street (including a portion of 185 North Front) – at last week’s borough council meeting. Each motion failed due to the lack of a second. The seller proposed a purchase price of $125,000 for the Locust Street lot. A purchase price of $375,000 was requested for the Bridge Street property.

400 Locust Street

166 Bridge Street

***
 New sign at Columbia Life Network

 Video Pipe Services: For doing a colonoscopy of your pipes.

***
The following eight photos show a heron on a fishing expedition at Columbia River Park.  Photo #5 shows him catching something.

***
Censored!

 This hulk, possibly named Cerberus, blocked the sidewalk on the 400 block of Locust the other day. Although leashed, he was allowed enough leeway to stand in a TREE well.

 New nail salon in town

 427 Locust Street

 About those trucks cruising through the center of town…

 Reflecting on flies

 Low ri-der

 By God, here comes another one!
Wasn’t that 441 bypass supposed to keep these things out of here?

 CLOSE CALL!

 New fashion?

 Photo essay on the 200 block of Locust.
Nice pics, but they were attached to a poster board that was attached to the outside of a shop window.

***
This building and the mobile home shown below might be getting “demoed” soon to make way for an apartment building. More on that story later – stay tuned.

***

 A little furniture and a bike – what else could you possibly need?

 In the golden light of morn

 This varmint must not have seen the sign when he knocked over the trashcan.
(Actually, high winds the night before probably did the job. The squirrel was just taking advantage of the opportunity presented to him.)

 Another ghost sign – This one’s on Bridge Street.

 The top reads “KEYSTONE.”

 Really?

 So, is someone supposed to mow the alley?

 We often see these markings spray-painted on borough streets prior to digging or drilling.
Here’s what the colors signify:

 This notice is posted on the door of the house near the church at North 6th & Chestnut. This is the house with the consistently overgrown, unkempt yard.

 This mattress has been here a while, so it’s probably good and infested by now – if it wasn’t before. 
(400 block of Avenue I)

 Ordinances are passed.  Some are enforced. Others just fade away.

 Shoo-mac!

 And here’s a secret “arboretum” on the 300 block of Avenue I.

 It’s time for this to be fixed.
(200 Block of Avenue I)

SHOO-MAC!!!

 Downed horse – a result of high winds

 Another feral. Back in the day, they were called alley cats.

 Progress on the Front Street storage bins

 They’re a bit behind schedule. The goal was for completion in late July/early August.

 But contractors always have an excuse…

 Supply shortages, manpower shortages, plagues of locusts, etc.

 A part of Shawnee Run

 The secret lair of the borough vehicles

 Pipes for the new LASA plant.
Projected completion date: March 2018.
Think they’ll make it?

 Under the railroad bridge at the bottom of Plane Street.
We used to call this “the tunnel.”

 Patriotism on display along Rink Row

 Sunflower shining down

 On Plane Street, a tribute to veterans

When items become obsolete, they sometimes become objets d’art.