38-pounder is the winning catch in "Catch the Fat Cat" tournament

Columbia's first annual "Catch the Fat Cat" catfishing tournament was "a great day for Columbia," according to organizer Chris Vera. 22 boaters and 11 shore fishermen launched from Columbia River Park Saturday afternoon in search of the big one, following a send-off from Vera.

A 38-pound whopper was the linker winner, with a 35-pounder to follow. Team Benedict and Shultz caught the big one. "There was a nice crowd for weigh-ins," Vera said. He added that boaters were pleased and will be returning for next year's tournament.

The prizes were as follows:

Grand Champion - $500 and trophy (for biggest cat)
First place - $1,000 and trophy (for boating champion with 3-fish weigh-in)
Second place - $750 and trophy
Third place - $500 and trophy

Tournament organizer Chris Vera

A close-up of a tournament trophy

Columbia students will not have indoor recess during eclipse

At last Thursday's school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Robert Hollister addressed the district's plans for the upcoming solar eclipse on Monday, August 21. Hollister announced that students in the Columbia Borough School District will not be held inside for recesses, unless parents make such a request. Hollister said the danger of looking at the eclipse is the same as looking at the sun on any other day. "There's no significant danger to students if they're outside," he said.  Students will be dismissed at the normal time on Monday.

According to the website timeanddate.com, a partial solar eclipse will begin in Lancaster County on Monday, August 21, at 1:18 p.m. It will reach maximum at 2:42 p.m. and end at 3:59 p.m., for a total duration of two hours and 41 minutes. The website also features an animation simulating the eclipse.

Lancaster man accused of attempting to break into Columbia home

A 41-year-old Lancaster man was allegedly captured on surveillance video attempting to break into the home of a friend's residence in Columbia early Tuesday morning, according to West Hempfield Township police.

MORE:

http://fox43.com/2017/08/18/lancaster-man-accused-of-attempting-to-break-into-columbia-home/

Pipeline builder strikes out in early bid for Columbia nuns' land

The nuns say Transco, a subsidiary of Atlantic Sunrise builder Williams Partners, should have no right to take their property because Transco is a private, for-profit company seeking financial gain.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/pipeline-builder-strikes-out-in-early-bid-for-columbia-nuns/article_7e5ffea6-844b-11e7-9150-3fb00da38964.html#comments

Catfishing Tournament at Columbia River Park Saturday, August 19

Draft Agenda - School Board Meeting August 17, 2017

Mayor Lutz featured in video about improving water company

“Bay 101: Monitoring and Modeling the Chesapeake Bay" features Mayor Lutz and includes many beautiful shots taken in Columbia. Mayor Lutz is active in the Pennsylvania delegation of the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) to the Chesapeake Executive Council. The video discusses tools to determine what local communities can do to improve water quality both locally and downstream.

THE VIDEO IS HERE.