COLUMBIA SPY

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Recently overheard at a local grocery store

I overheard the following fragment of conversation at the next checkout line over as I was paying for groceries:

"I'm supposed to build a detector to detect cosmic rays from the Big Bang. I don't know how I'm going to do it. My professor was at MIT and is studying the particle structure of dark matter."

Monday, January 7, 2013

Columbia Lore - Stories I've been told but can't quite verify

One anecdote says that a former councilman's brand new dentures reside within this brick wall.

Another story says that a Columbia resident, tired of the drug dealing in Columbia Park, beat up a dealer with an aluminum baseball bat several years ago. The drug dealer never came back.

According to another anecdote, there are bullet holes in the north and south faces of the town clock, resulting from someone shooting from an apartment across the street.

Here's the north face, and there do appear to be two holes, one next to the 6 and the other near the 12.

And here are a couple of close-ups:

But here's the south face, with no discernible "exit wounds."

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Columbia Borough Codes Regarding Dogs (and Cats)

My recent post linking to a Lancaster Newspapers article concerning the euthanizing of stray dogs in the borough has received a lot of responses. Commenters have expressed displeasure and frustration about dog nuisance issues in Columbia.
I found the following ordinances regarding these issues in the borough codes book:

§ 82-10. Restraint of dogs required.

[Amended 10-10-1983 by Ord. No. 581] All dogs shall be kept under restraint, either by a leash or by being kept in an enclosure. An animal shall be deemed to be under restraint if on the premises of its owner or if on a leash and accompanied by a responsible person and under that person's control.

§ 82-12. Control and treatment of animals.

A. It shall be unlawful for any owner to fail to exercise proper care and control of his animals to prevent them from becoming a public nuisance. Excessive, continuous or untimely barking or noise making, smell, mischief, molesting of passersby, chasing of vehicles, habitual attacks on other domestic animals or trespassing upon private property in such manner as to damage property shall be deemed a nuisance.

B. It shall be unlawful for any owner, keeper or custodian to fail to provide animals with sufficient good and wholesome food and water, proper shelter and protection from the weather, and veterinary care when needed to prevent suffering and to fail to provide them with humane care and treatment. It shall be unlawful for any owner, keeper or custodian to beat, cruelly ill-treat, torment, overload, overwork or otherwise abuse any animal or to cause or permit any dogfight, cockfight or other combat between animals or between animals and humans.

§ 82-13. Nuisances.

[Amended 8-9-2004 by Ord. No. 737]

A. It is hereby declared to be unlawful for any owner, keeper or custodian of any dog or cat to permit his or her dog or cat to discharge such animal's excreta upon any public or private property, other than the property of the owner of such dog or cat, within the Borough if such owner, keeper or custodian does not immediately thereafter remove and clean up such animal's excreta from the public or private property.

B. It shall be unlawful for any owner, keeper or custodian to have under his or her control or custody any dog or cat while on any public or private sidewalk, parkway, walkway, street, public park, public way, public grassy area or any other public areas, or upon private premises owned by any person, firm, or corporation other than the owner, keeper or custodian of such dog or cat, without having on his or her person a device which would be capable of removing any offal, feces or excreta of such dog or cat, which device shall not include the hands or feet of the owner, keeper or custodian.

§ 82-14. Violations and penalties.

A. Each day of violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be a separate violation hereof. Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a fine or penalty of not more than $600 for each offense, plus costs of prosecution, to be collected as fines or penalties are recoverable by law, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days.

B. In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, such violation shall constitute a nuisance and may be abated by the Borough by seeking appropriate equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.

For more information, go to the codes book HERE, and search for "dog."