COLUMBIA SPY

A Lancaster County man who was convicted of possessing child pornography in April of 2022 has been sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office. https://www.abc27.com/local-news/lancaster-county-man-sentenced-for-possessing-child-porn/

Come this weekend, Columbia resident Dereda Bennett expects to head to Florida as a volunteer with the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region after Hurricane Ian moves through the state. Her job will be to feed people, perhaps serving hot meals out of a Red Cross emergency response vehicle, or maybe feeding 1,000 people at a shelter. "I know how to cook and know how to bake. So my thing always will be feeding people," said Bennett, 55, who spent 25 years in the food service industry. MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/columbia-resident-ready-to-go-to-florida-with-red-cross-mennonite-disaster-relief-poised-to/article_49919ddc-3f7c-11ed-8082-5f148b60d330.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share  

The coroner's office is interring the cremains it has had in storage the longest and keeps those of more recent deaths on hand in case relatives come forward. A complete list of the county's unclaimed cremains is available online here:  https://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/DocumentCenter/View/12604/INDIGENTS-MASTER-LIST The remains will be buried at 1 p.m. Oct. 12 at Millersville Mennonite Cemetery, 435 Manor Ave. The service is open to the public. The cemetery donated the burial plot; one vault was donated to the county and a second was provided at a discount. Several funeral homes provide cremation services for the county and generally do so at discounted rates, Diamantoni said. Relatives who want to claim the cremains of a person can contact the coroner's office at 717-735-2123. MORE: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/cremated-remains-of-90-unclaimed-bodies-at-lancasters-morgue-to-be-buried-in-single-grave/article_d0b27e32-3f75-11ed-aa4e-cbecca59a0a6.html?utm_medium=socia...

Bad news for drivers and others tired of the UGI project along Route 462 through Columbia. According to Columbia Borough Manager Mark Stivers, the project will not be finished for at least another year, since the stretch of road from 9th Street to 18th Street will be tackled next. Stivers made the announcement at Tuesday night's borough council meeting. UGI is currently seeking authorization from PennDOT to get as much done through the winter as possible. The borough is requesting that metal plates to cover excavated areas not be used after a certain date due to winter road maintenance. Instead, those areas will be backfilled and compacted along the way. Resurfacing of the road from Cherry Street to 9th Street will be finished this year, according to Stivers.

 

  Download the meeting packet  HERE.

A huge PPL transformer, accompanied by a convoy of trucks, was transported along Route 462 through Columbia this morning on its way to Penn Township. The 19.4-mile journey, which originated at the NS Railyard at 103 Bridge Street, is expected to take about six hours.Its destination is the South Manheim Substation on 375 Bucknoll Road, south of Manheim Borough.The transformer will travel along Route 462, Route 741, Route 30 and Fruitville Pike.

 

Deborah J. Smith and Deborah J. Weisser conveyed property on South Fifth Street to PVJ Properties LLC for $100,000. The estate of Teresa M. Odonnell and The estate of Teri M. Odonnell conveyed 1037 Locust St. to Nicholas Stone Boitnott for $169,500. Angela M. Kauffman conveyed property on Poplar Street to Awakened Properties LLC for $163,500. Robert L. Ross and Elizabeth A. Ross conveyed property on a public road to Robert P. Guignet and Katelyn M. Guignet for $300,000.

 

Recent photos of Columbia (Click/tap on photos to see larger, sharper images.)  Two albatwitch sightings (here and below) The Albatwitch Day Festival is Saturday, October 8, 2022. Columbia Spy reported on the event in years past, including the first one in 2014: Albatwitch Day 2021 Albatwitch Day 2017 Albatwitch Day 2015 Albatwitch Day 2014 About 10 of these black-hatted cyclists rode through town Saturday morning. The ever-fascinating Mount Bethel Cemetery features many unique tombstones, some from back when drapery was king. This marker features a humanoid form, most likely to memorialize an infant death. This one's sinking fast. Those downtown buildings have nothing on this apartment building. Veterans' markers ******************** Fragments of the Past: an old time wooden wheelchair with doll and ouija board And a nifty Halloween display Abandoned unicorn Abandoned bike This heron just wanted to be alone. But these mallards kept encroaching. Like unwanted company, they jus...