Homeless killer's appeal rejected, life sentence stands for riverside slaying

Tyrick D. Walker, 34, is serving a life sentence for beating, strangling and drowning 41-year-old Mark McLaughlin on April 4, 2011, at a makeshift homeless camp by the river in West Hempfield Township.

On Monday, his bid for a new trial was rejected by the state Superior Court, according to a release Wednesday by the Lancaster County District Attorney's office.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/homeless-killer-s-appeal-rejected-life-sentence-stands-for-riverside/article_d76b274a-6211-11e5-b400-27485332d9f5.html

Bill would protect local farmers with methane digesters from limits on electricity they sell to utilities

Columbia Borough had been considering a digester to produce electricity from manure from local farmers and food waste from various sources.

"They were looking it pretty closely," Zimmerman says. "When the rulemaking came about, they shelved it."

Borough Manager Ron Miller said officials were indeed worried about the uncertain Public Utility Commission limits. But he said lack of funding also played a role in not moving forward with the project.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/bill-would-protect-local-farmers-with-methane-digesters-from-limits/article_62f6a94a-6165-11e5-9226-4b489d6279c4.html

Today is the first day of Fall

The first day of Fall (the Autumnal Equinox) arrived at 4:21 a.m. today.

Winning $2.65 million Match 6 Lotto ticket sold at Stover’s News, Columbia

A jackpot-winning Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $2.65 million sold by a Columbia,  Lancaster County retailer for the Monday, September 21, drawing was the game’s highest jackpot win thus far during 2015.

The ticket correctly matched all six winning numbers, 10-14-15-16-23-25, to win a jackpot of $2,650,000, less 25 percent federal withholding. The jackpot had been growing since one ticket matched all six winning numbers in the July 6 drawing.

Stover’s News, 24 N. 3rd Street earns a $10,000 bonus for selling this winning ticket.  The identity of the jackpot winner cannot be confirmed until the prize is claimed and the ticket is validated. Match 6 winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.

MORE:
http://fox43.com/2015/09/22/winning-2-62-million-match-6-lotto-ticket-sold-at-stovers-news-columbia/

Albatwitch sighting in Columbia

An albatwitch has been seen lurking on Locust Street, no doubt awaiting this Saturday's Albatwitch Festival.

Who bought the winning ticket?

WGAL was sniffing around at Stover's this afternoon, trying to discover who bought the winning ticket in the Match 6 game.  The jackpot is $2.65 million, but to date no one has stepped forward to claim their winnings.

What's happening in Columbia this weekend?