COMMUNITY CONVERSATION ON AI DATA CENTERS — WEDNESDAY, JULY 1ST AT COLUMBIA'S LANCASTER DISTILLERIES, 230 N. 4TH ST. 6-8 PM

Deeds Recorded — Columbia Borough — June 29, 2026

Amgad A. Hanna conveyed 13 S. Second St. to Janine Natividad for $210,000.

Jusino Perez Jesus Emmanuel, Perez Jesus Emmanuel Jusino, Nieves Gregoria Perez conveyed 519 N. Second St. to Swarey Daniel E, Swarey Emma K. for $205,000.

Porreca Jonathan N, Porreca Melissa A. conveyed 951 Locust St. to Grim Adam, Grim Bridget Gabrielle for $340,000.

Christensen Cody, Vest Jessyka Sarang, Christensen Bruce Scott conveyed 728 Walnut St. to Odicio Family Living Trust for $241,000.

Schoelkoph Doris A, Schoelkoph Doris K. conveyed 1065 Ridge Ave. to Stephen P. Eck for $310,000.

About Town — June 28, 2026

This week's photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images. 

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

A small seaplane flew over on Thursday morning. It circled a few times, then landed on the Susquehanna River and was moored at a dock at Columbia River Park. 

The pilot said he flew from Raystown Lake and was on his way to Philadelphia. 

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Not to be outdone, this airliner flew over some time later.

Some scenes down by the river . . .

Fox43's Natalie Koranda filmed a segment about Riverfest at Columbia River Park Friday morning. 

Guess who's back.

There's the rarely seen and rarely used EMA trailer that taxpayers bought a few years ago. Was it deployed during the recent 4th Street fire?

Truth brings healing.

On the 100 block of Walnut Street . . .

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A drainpipe can double as a convenient bottle holder.

The borough will be responsible for mowing this mess at McGinness — until Saadia buys it.

He's been around town on-and-off for over 60 years.

There he goes.

Demolition on South 4th on Friday 

Seen at Tollbooth Antiques 

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Our own reflecting pool? 

Time to fix the lights? Or the camera?

You can tell which one's the supervisor. He never moves.

One of the painted hydrants in Marietta to commemorate the nation's 250th birthday. 

Marietta marked its parking spaces along the main street. Columbia officials said it can't be done here because it will actually create fewer spaces. Really?

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Lancaster City Council borrows extra money for $67M pipeline to move water from Susquehanna River

Part of the pipeline's route through Columbia 

TODD LASSA | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE

When: Lancaster City Council meeting, June 23. Vice President John Hursh was absent.

What happened: Council voted 6-0 to accept $15 million in interim short-term financing to cover inflated costs of construction for the Susquehanna Large Diameter Transmission Main overhaul — a major project that will replace the water main from the Susquehanna River intake to the Lancaster water treatment plant.

Background: The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority last December offered $49.29 million in funding for the water pipeline overhaul, but bids received indicate the cost has risen to $67.1 million, according to Daryl Peck, Concord Public Finance principal.

MORE: HERE

Columbia Spy documented Columbia's involvement in the project HERE.

Columbia Borough Council votes 5-2 to hire finance manager at $83,200

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbia Borough Council voted 5-2 at its June 23, 2026 meeting to hire Tracey Weaver as the borough's new finance manager, filling a position that had been vacant for roughly six months. Members Heather Zink and Joanne Geesey were the two "no" votes.

The position also carries human resources responsibilities, including payroll, benefits administration, and personnel matters.

Weaver is currently employed as Township Treasurer/Human Resource Coordinator for Mount Joy Township. According to her application and resume, she has worked in finance, bookkeeping, and HR roles for nearly two decades and has more than two years of municipal finance experience, which the borough's executive brief notes.

Weaver applied for the Columbia Borough finance manager position on January 30, 2026, and her application notes she had also applied previously, on May 20, 2025. The executive brief states that Weaver was interviewed by the borough manager, assistant borough manager, and the borough's finance consultant, and that all three agreed to move forward with hiring her. During the meeting, it was noted that councilors and staff also interviewed Weaver separately. 

Councilwoman Geesey raised concerns about whether Weaver meets the qualifications laid out in the borough's job description for the position. Reading from the document, Geesey said the finance manager role calls for the equivalent of four or more years of post-secondary education at an accredited college or university in accounting or a similar field of study.

Geesey: "I just think it's an an awful lot of money to pay, and it's over the budget." [File photo]

Geesey said Weaver does not have any college-level education in accounting, though she noted the two years of municipal experience. She argued that Weaver does not meet the educational requirements specifically outlined in the job description, and questioned the wisdom of paying that salary to a candidate who doesn't meet those qualifications.

Brommer: "She has a very good personality and indicates to us she likes to be busy and she's a worker, which is what we need here." [File photo]

Borough Manager Jack Brommer explained:

"She has a very good personality and indicates to us she likes to be busy and she's a worker, which is what we need here."

 

Council vice president Zink added:

"And honestly, you hire personality; you can teach skill."

The executive brief set Weaver's annual salary at $81,120 per year, contingent on a background check and medical evaluation. However, the salary was increased to $83,200 after Weaver made a counter offer, according to Council President Kauffman. Weaver will also receive training from Brown's, the accounting firm the borough is currently using.

Councilman Ethan Byers commented: "We are under significantly what she could be making in other places if she wanted to." Byers added that the standard salary for a borough finance manager is $104,000.

The executive brief notes higher costs incurred from paying outside contractors to cover finance work during the vacancy, and states that the borough manager and contractors had been handling finance and HR duties typically assigned to a finance manager.

The backstory 

Since 2020, Columbia Borough has experienced a high rate of turnover, going through six different finance managers or interim accounting solutions. The sequence of turnover and personnel in the borough’s finance department includes:

Kyle Watts: Served for two years until his departure in January 2021.

BGA&F Accounting Firm: Handled borough finances in early 2021 after a series of brief interim stints.

Tammy Bennett: Hired in June 2021, she served for three years before resigning in July 2024.

Karen Weiss: Hired in September 2024, she quit abruptly after a short time.

Michelle Jenkins: Hired in November 2024, she was later terminated in May 2025.

Brian Christensen: Hired in August 2025, he tendered his resignation in December 2025.

Former Columbia superintendent named Etown superintendent at $213K

Tom Strickler 

SUSAN GRUBB | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE and ASHLEY STALNECKER | Staff Writer

The Elizabethtown Area School District board unanimously appointed Tom Strickler to be the district’s next superintendent beginning July 1. Strickler, the district’s chief financial and operations officer, will be doing two jobs at once.

The board did not consider any outside candidates for the role and are not planning to fill the chief financial officer position. Strickler will continue fulfilling those duties as he takes on the superintendent role for a $213,106 annual salary. His contract allows for annual 4.1% salary increases and longevity bonuses. (In the 2025-26 school year, the top-paid Lancaster County superintendent, Keith Miles of School District of Lancaster, was paid $244,593).

Strickler’s salary as CFOO in 2024-25 was $139,725, according to openPAgov.org, a public education transparency project of the Commonwealth Foundation.

Strickler joined the school district as CFOO in 2023, after Columbia Borough School District replaced him as superintendent in 2020. The board voted in May 2020 to conduct a search for a new superintendent rather than renew Strickler’s contract — despite community backlash over the decision — and Columbia’s current superintendent, Ashley Rizzo stepped into the job in January 2021.

Strickler had started as the district’s superintendent in January 2018.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/elizabethtown-area-school-board-appoints-current-finance-and-operations-officer-as-superintendent/article_59d9b8b9-f9df-4f19-ab56-d04dd4bf9565.html