Truck gets stuck, blocks traffic

Just before noon on Thursday, a Dollar Store tractor trailer got stuck at the rear inclined exit of Columbia Plaza shopping center, blocking Barber Street. As the driver was making the tight left turn onto Barber, the trailer's landing gear became hung up in the sidewalk concrete. Police arrived, setting up cones and flares and directing traffic, as three tow trucks - including a large rollback - attempted to free the landing gear. The large rollback backed under the trailer and lifted the back wheels off the ground, and the driver then broke the trailer free. Delivery trucks and other vehicles were redirected for over an hour.

Above photos by Angel Rodriguez

CASH ONLY AT WINE & SPIRITS STORES

We just learned that Wine & Spirits stores across Pennsylvania are able to accept cash only today (Thursday). Credit/debit cards cannot be used. According to a local store employee, the state attempted to implement a new chip system in its card readers today and consequently crashed the system statewide. Each cash transaction takes about three minutes.

Historic house was Underground Railroad station

Historic house was UGRR station:

http://www.ydr.com/story/news/history/blogs/cannonball/2016/06/15/historic-house-in-wrightsville-was-ugrr-station-and-later-a-confederate-artillery-position/85915916/

Barry Ford resigns from Council

On Monday night, Columbia Borough Council accepted the resignation of Barry Ford, a longtime councilman. Barry allowed us to share his resignation letter, shown below. We will miss his presence on council and wish him all the best.

Ground-penetrating radar used to scan bridge

Penetradar Corporation used ground-penetrating radar to scan the Veterans Memorial Bridge today. Several radar devices were used to investigate aspects of the bridge's construction, including the location and condition of rebar buried within the bridge's concrete deck. Two technicians used a portable device to scan sidewalks. They also used a van with four units mounted on the front to scan the roadway. Columbia Spy caught up with them on the Wrightsville end of the bridge.

According to the technicians, a month-long process will follow today's collection of scan data about the bridge. All information will then be relayed to RK&K, an engineering firm, to be analyzed in conjunction with PennDOT, as a possible first stage in an upcoming bridge renovation project. According to PennDOT officials, the planning phase could take four to six years.

Penetradar technicians discuss the project.

Penetradar van at the Wrightsville entrance to the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

A portable radar unit used to scan the bridge sidewalk.

Brackets on the front of the van hold four radar units for scanning roadways.

Yet another painting project, this time on the river

A much-needed and long-awaited painting project was underway at Columbia River Park this afternoon. Using duct tape, cardboard stencils and a small paint roller, this intrepid painter began reviving the faded numbers and level marks on the river level depth marker scale on the first river pier of the Veterans Memorial Bridge. He stood on the deck of a pontoon boat to access the lower numbers.  The higher ones will present more of a challenge. 

The last photo below shows the height of 1972's Hurricane Agnes at 241 feet. Numbers indicate height above sea level. Not shown here but indicated on the pier is a mark denoting the normal height of 227 feet at this location.

Two vacancies on borough council

Bridge lights to be turned off due to mayflies

Final Agenda Columbia Borough Council Meeting June 13, 2016

It was announced at the beginning of the meeting that Items II.10.i. and II.16.a. were removed from the agenda.

What kind of country do we want?

Now's the time to think about what kind of country we want. 

With that in mind, here's some food for thought from around the web:

Columbia holds community conversation on heroin

Last Tuesday, June 7, local leaders and others held a community discussion at Columbia Jr./Sr. High School to address the heroin epidemic in the area. Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz and Columbia Borough Police Chief Jack Brommer led the discussion. An audience of about 70 people listened to a panel of six describe their encounters with the drug and users under its influence. Audience members also addressed the panel in a subsequent question-and-answer session.

Go HERE for more information on the community conversation.

Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz lead the community discussion.

Judge David Ashworth explained that heroin addiction has reached a crisis point.

Joel Jakubowski urged parents to act in their children's best interest.

Borough Council Meeting tonight

Columbia Borough Council will meet tonight, June 13 at 7 p.m. at borough Hall, 308 Locust Street.

The meeting is open to the public.

Agenda items to be discussed can be found HERE.

Ghost sign brought back to life

Columbia Spy has been spying on the progress of a painting project at Bootleg Antiques on Bridge Street recently. Newly applied paint has revived a "ghost sign," a faded indicator of a faded industry, in this case, the Superior Laundry Machinery Company. (Go HERE for links to the company's history.) Various stages of the repainting are shown below.

Kudos to Bootleg for bringing back a bit of Columbia's history.

Racist graffiti rears its ugly head

Columbia Spy recently received reader-submitted photos taken at the rear of a property in the 300 block of Avenue H, showing a piece of plywood with a spray-painted racial slur and two boys allegedly trying to damage it. The plywood appears to block a building entrance. A source tells the Spy that the graffiti was previously reported to the borough code office.

The entire area at the rear of this building is in disrepair and is an eyesore, clearly visible to patrons exiting Burning Bridge Antiques' parking lot.

Victorian era building gets dutiful makeover

Columbia's Cle Berntheizel at his Victorian era building at 22 South Second Street.

Cle Berntheizel has a special affinity for his building at 22 South Second Street. He believes it represents a significant piece of Columbia history and therefore feels a particular responsibility for its upkeep. Recently, under his direction, the building - part of Columbia's Historic District - underwent an extensive exterior re-painting by Dave Knapp (and some interior painting as well).

According to Berntheizel, his grandfather, Lt. Colonel Cleon N. Berntheizel, helped found the American Legion and established the first Columbia post there on the second floor in 1918.  Berntheizel and Columbia's General Edward C. Shannon founded the organization in Paris right after World War I. The Detwiler family, then-owners of the building (as well as the First National Bank just up the block), rented it to the legion for a dollar a year. (Years later, the organization moved to the former Strickler home at 329 Chestnut, where it's still located.)

The building encompasses a century and a half of Columbia history, having housed the Boston Five & Dime in 1870, and it may have been the office of the original Columbia Spy newspaper. More recently, it was used as a bicycle showcase by Western Auto.

Today, the building, newly painted, houses Berntheizel's Garth Gallery & Custom Frame Shop and the second-floor Cafe Garth and represents the newest phase of the building's history.

A recent photo of the building, before painting.

And after.

Trail is now open

The section of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail from Columbia to Marietta is now reopened. Paving of the trail started Wednesday and was completed yesterday.

Draft Agenda for June 13, 2016 Columbia Borough Council Meeting

Falcon fledge watch on now

No safety committee meeting tonight June 8

How's Ricki the bear doing?

Ricki was moved in February 2015 after living most of her life at Jim Mack's Ice Cream in Hellam Township. The impetus for the move was a petition and a public-nuisance civil suit, filed by several local residents, who said Ricki was not receiving proper care.

The bear drew national attention, including comedian-actor Ricky Gervais 

MORE:
http://www.ydr.com/story/news/2016/06/08/hows-ricki-bear-doing/85590472/