Saturday, September 26, 2015

Columbia feet take to the street on Fourth Friday

Despite cloudy weather, Columbians turned out for Fourth Friday events, including Feet in the Street on the 500 block of Locust Street . . .

 Participants chalked the street with various designs . . .

. . . that began to evolve into a temporary mural.
(Could this be the rebirth of surrealism?)

 About those feet - there they are now. Attendees dipped their feet in tempera paint and walked along butcher paper, trailing colorful footprints along the way.

 A similar procedure was used for hands.

 Sweet Life provided music in the gazebo.


Children adorned pumpkins with splashes of color.

 Here are some of the finished products.

 Several more to go.

Others allowed themselves be the canvas for the artist's brush.

 A little later, it became obvious that the butcher paper had been well traveled.


Surfing on hay bales was a popular activity . . .

. . . as was eating ice cream on them.

 Down at Through the Fire Gallery, William Chambers, in 1950s-era service station garb, invited people to participate in a performance event. In answer to the question "What's missing?" (written on a mirror at the station) one could embroider a response on a cloth dangling from a dispenser, or write in a notebook.
Further information on this project can found HERE.


 The studio also featured an exhibit by artist Todd Geiger . . . 

. . . as well as the usual display of glass-wrangling.

This sign recently appeared in a display window next to Hinkle's.  The heading says, "The Arts @ Hinkle's."  

A voyeur's view of Susquehanna Center Creative Arts, 224 Locust Street.

Happening now at Columbia River Park

Movie under the Stars

         The movie is "The Never-ending Story"
                             Admission is free.


Thursday, September 24, 2015

WGAL's Katelyn Smith reports on bypass project

WGAL's Katelyn Smith was in town this afternoon to report on the progress of the Route 441 bypass project. (Columbia Spy reported on the project yesterday.) According to the WGAL report, the project will be completed before the end of October.





Emergency crews investigate empty kayak on river

Emergency crews responded this morning to a call about an empty kayak caught on the rocks on the Susquehanna River, above the Wrights Ferry Bridge. As of this posting no owner or occupant has reportedly been located.




Albatwitch Festival this Saturday


Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Halloween must be right around the corner

If this display at Bootleg Antiques is any indication, then Halloween is right around the corner. 




Traffic lights are powered up at Front and Walnut

Workers turned on the electricity to the traffic lights at Front and Walnut Streets this afternoon, in preparation for the lights becoming operational.



Gas pipeline signs installed

 Signposts indicating a gas pipeline were recently installed on Mill Street at the bridge over Shawnee Creek.

Unfortunately, one of the signposts was pulled out and thrown into the creek.

Route 441 bypass paving is underway

Workers paved a section of the Route 441 bypass today, from Route 30 to Bridge Street.







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.

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.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

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.

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?


Fall Festival slated for October


Monday, September 21, 2015

Just seen at River Park


Albatwitch – sort of a mini-bigfoot – focus of Saturday festival in Columbia


Bigfoot's little cousin, the albatwitch, will be celebrated again from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in Columbia on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County.
The Columbia Historical Preservation Society and the National Museum of Mysteries and Research Center launched the annual Albatwitch Festival last year, based on a legendary

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Did the cameras catch this?

More inane graffiti recently appeared on this bench and elsewhere in Locust Street Park. Did the surveillance cameras catch who did it?
We hope so.

Columbia runners take home medals at Saturday's Invitational

Columbia runners took home medals on Saturday at the Ben Bloser Bulldog Invitational Cross Country Classic at Big Spring High School in Newville, PA. Jordan Haberstroh won first in the girls' Class A race, and Codie Wetherite came in 18th in the boys' Class A race. Runners from Donegal, Hempfield, York Suburban, Camp Hill, and others participated in the run which lasted until 2 p.m. in sweltering conditions. About half a dozen unregistered schools showed up, pushing back the 11:15 a.m. medal ceremony.


Runners from various local districts participated on Saturday.

Columbia's Jordan Haberstroh, second from left, placed first in the girls' Class A race.

 Runners took refuge from the sun.

The 11:15 medal ceremony was delayed until early afternoon due to unregistered schools and other complications.








Results are HERE.