OVERFLOW!

OH NO!

A tanker truck overflowed this evening while being filled from the hydrant near the Columbia Water Company.  The truck driver quickly shut the water off and got things under control.

What I saw recently

Some shots from around town over the last week or two or three . . .

 Sure sign of spring

 At the crossroads

 Bluer than blue

 Heavy clouds but no rain

 Big and bad?

 Stone in the ground

 Stroller into the river

 Trooper in town

Animals only

Accident on 441

Just after two o'clock this afternoon, emergency crews were dispatched to Route 441, just down the road from the entrance to Breezyview Park, for a vehicle accident, Class 2, involving a Chrysler Pacifica.

Soon to be another entrance ramp onto Route 30

As part of the Route 441 bypass construction project, traffic will soon enter Route 30 from Cedar Street via another route, according to a workman at the site.

The existing entrance ramp from Cedar Street onto Route 30 heading east will soon be closed permanently. Traffic will be directed along another route, shown on the far left in the photo above (where a workman is standing). Vehicles entering Route 30 will first have to stop at the stop signs (partially covered in the photo) and then turn right and proceed onto 30.

(Click on the photo to see a larger view.)

Getting wired

Workers in bucket trucks replaced aging wires on utility poles near Third and Locust this morning.  A portable transformer (shown in last photo below) was set up to avoid power interruptions.

Babies on board

Monday morning at Third and Locust . . .

(Click on this pic for a clearer view.)

Columbia's past, alive and well, points the way to its future

Several presentations on Columbia's history, particularly its role in the Civil War, were offered at the opening of the Northwest River Trail Services Building at Columbia River Park on Friday.  

 Columbia's Glenn Bachert portrayed Captain Henry Haines, who served as captain of Co. B, 45th Pennsylvania Regiment.

Historian Randolph Harris (above) and Chris Vera, president of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, led several historic river tours during the event. Of particular note were the remains of the piers of the Civil War-era bridge that was burned by Pennsylvania militiamen from Columbia to prevent the advance of Confederate forces. At the time, the structure was the longest wooden covered bridge in the world.  Harris rightly asserts that this area was the high water mark of the confederacy, and the bridge burning directly precipitated the Battle of Gettysburg and changed the course of the war and the nation.

 A rendering of the bridge burning from a slide presentation at the Trail Services Building

A photograph of Stephen Smith's lumber mill.

The structure stood on the same spot as the new Trail Services Building. Smith was a prominent African-American of the day. 

 In the 19th century, Columbia was a refuge for runaway slaves.  The underground railroad may have originated here. 

 A Civil War reenactor

 A Union soldier talks to Lydia Hamilton Smith, portrayed by Darlene Colon. Smith was the long-time housekeeper for Thaddeus Stevens and became a prominent businesswoman after his death.

William Whipper, portrayed by Columbia's Robert Brinson.

Whipper was an African-American abolitionist and businessman.