COLUMBIA SPY

Loreto's tomato sauce - from Columbia

Accident reconstruction personnel were still on the scene of this afternoon's accident at the intersection of North Second and Chestnut Streets, three hours after the incident. The intersection was still shut down, but traffic to and from the Veterans Memorial Bridge was routed through the entrance and exit roads at the bridge.

A vehicle accident involving a motorcycle and an automobile occurred shortly after 2 o'clock today near the entrance to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. The female motorcyclist sustained several injuries and was taken by ambulance. She was reportedly wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. The vehicle was a blue Kia.  The driver was interviewed at the accident scene.

This cartoon - including title, and characters and their names  - is copyrighted.  All rights reserved.

Ashley Curry A fund has been set up for Ashley Curry's legal fees. The backstory - from the funding site: "On Feb. 3rd, 2015 Ashley Curry was harassed and assaulted and in defending herself was wrongfully charged for exercising her 2nd amendment right." For more information and to access the site, go  HERE .

The self-congratulatory article is  HERE

From LNP

Construction of a 6½-foot dam across the Susquehanna at Columbia in 1839 led to the most vicious of our local shad wars. The water held back by the dam was channeled into the Pennsylvania Canal paralleling the river. MORE: http://m.lancasteronline.com/opinion/the-scribbler-when-fishermen-fought-over-susquehanna-shad/article_0034ad06-054f-11e5-b83c-9b4c4429dc03.html?mode=jqm

Some recent town sights . . .  Sails on the river Sun-kissed bridge First leg of the journey?

Residents have occasionally criticized the codes department, often with just cause, but the department has recently been pursuing resolution to code issues at 320 Perry Street.  This notice, dated May 6, references several code violations. And this is a posting of an application for a search warrant.

Answer: There are at least two blatant violations of park regulations.

This photo was taken at Columbia River Park this afternoon. During the discussion of River Park at Tuesday night's Meeting of the Whole, residents and councillors noted that people are using one of the docks as a home base for swimming in the river. This particular dock is designated for boat loading and unloading only, and is clearly marked "NO SWIMMING." Installing additional signage to address the issue was suggested, although the problem is not poor signage, but lack of enforcement. If the existing park regulations are not being enforced anyway, why not designate an area alongshore for swimming at one's own risk? Now that Locust Heights is gone, Columbia needs a swimming area. What better place than this great resource running right along our shore?

A lot of folks have been wearing pajama bottoms around town these days - in public, during the day, as some sort of socially acceptable rebellion, or simply out of sheer laziness. Do they wear the same clothes to bed, after tromping around the streets, sitting in public places, and possibly using public restrooms? Let's hope not. A few decades ago, Frank Zappa wrote a song that might be seen as a backhanded tribute to the public pajama wearers of today:

Loreto's tomato sauce - from Columbia

On May 27, 2015, the Columbia Borough and Municipal Authority sold the sewer collection system in the Borough to Lancaster Area Sewer Authority (LASA). LASA is now responsible for operations and maintenance of the sewer collection system. LASA is a regional sewer authority that provides sewer service to 33,000 customers in the townships of East Hempfield, West Hempfield, Lancaster, Manor, and Manheim and the boroughs of East Petersburg and Mountville. For more information about LASA, visit their website at  www.lasa.org . Sewer Problems or Emergencies To report a problem or emergency with your sewer service, contact LASA at the following numbers: Monday – Friday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm – Call 717-299-4843, select Option 3 Evenings, Weekends, and Holidays – Call 717-396-9619 (24 hour Call Center) Billing You will receive one final sewer bill in mid-June from Columbia for sewer service through the end of May. After that, you will receive your sewer bills from LASA. LASA's bil...

At last night's meeting of the whole, several residents questioned borough council's intention to back a proposed call center at Columbia #1 Fire Company.  Resident Cleon Berntheizel expressed concern about parking needed for the endeavor, since parking is already limited in the borough. He cited  SGHA's proposal for Columbia Crossing which would require a large number of parking spaces.  He noted that the borough would be taking away three parking lots in the downtown for one business. He also questioned the amount the borough will spend if awarded the project. "If the borough's going to spend close to a million dollars on helping one business developer create 135 jobs, I would think you could probably give about 20 businesses - mine included - in Columbia a couple thousand dollars to have an extra employee or two or five," he said. He questioned the wisdom of taking away most of the available downtown parking that other businesses now rely on, including ...

NOTE: In the previous post, it was stated that Columbia Borough Council President Mike Beury said during the meeting that he was resigning from council.  He also stated he had written up his resignation during the meeting. When Item 13c of the agenda (sale of wastewater treatment plant) was discussed, he said he could not resign until he signed papers related to the sale on May 27 (this morning). As of this writing, it is not known if he actually tendered his resignation. At the end of last night's meeting, council adjourned to a personnel session. A second summary of the highlights of the May 26 Meeting of the Whole: Chiques Rock Outfitters Jim Cox, proprietor of Chiques Rock Outfitters, asked to install a bait vending machine at River Park. Councillor Barry Ford read him a lengthy statement from the borough's solicitor detailing stipulation for such a venture.  In summary, the project must be bid out. Columbia Kettle Works Bill Collister, Columbia Kettle Works propr...

  Last night's Columbia Borough Council Committee of the Whole meeting lasted nearly five hours and addressed a multitude of issues, including many concerns brought forth by residents. The sometimes contentious meeting almost derailed several times as residents occasionally spoke over each other and out of the order of the agenda. Following is part one of a summary of the highlights of the meeting: Audit Report for Fiscal Year 2014 The meeting opened with an Audit Report for Fiscal year 2014 by Mike Reiner of Sager Swisher, LLC. The report included the expected discussion of tax revenue, debt, expenses, etc. One significant item discussed was the police pension plan which is underfunded by $1.7 million. However, Mr. Reiner said that council is conservatively budgeting revenues and are under-budget on expenses. Councillor Jim Smith said, "We have to pay attention." SGHA Presentation of Columbia Crossing Representatives from the Susquehanna Gatewa...

The Columbia Borough Parks and Recreation Commission will be providing a summer playground program for children entering 2 nd  grade through 6 th grade.   The playground program will be located at Rotary Park and Makle Park starting June 15, 2015 through July 24, 2015.   The hours for the playground program will be 9:30 AM until 12:00 noon Monday through Friday. There will be various sports related activities such as basketball, softball, soccer, football, kick ball, jump rope, whiffle ball, horse shoes, quoits and various board games. Parents will need to complete a registration and waiver form in order for their child/children to participate.   In addition, parents, babysitters, or guardians are responsible to pick up their child/children each day.   In case of inclement weather, the playground will be cancelled for that day.    There is no cost to participate in this program. Open the following link to fill out the Registration form. Preregistration forms can be dropped off ...

Shown below is a request letter to council from IBS President William Roberts regarding the proposed call center at the current Columbia #1 Fire Company building.

Loreto's tomato sauce - from Columbia

Columbia Borough Council will hold its Committee of the Whole meeting tonight, Tuesday, May 26, at the borough offices, 308 Locust Street, at 6 p.m.

Due to time constraints, a full article will not be posted as planned on this site about last week's meeting concerning the proposed call center. However, reporter's notes (i.e, not a final article) can be accessed by clicking  HERE .  Click  HERE  for LNP's summary of the call center issue.