Fourth Friday in Columbia today

Street sweeper still down

National Night Out August 4

When your call's no emergency, use 211; it's free and it's local

There is a number to receive non-emergency help: It's 2-1-1 and the local referral service is confidential, free and based right here in Lancaster County.
MORE:
http://m.lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/when-your-call-s-no-emergency-use-it-s-free/article_0c5253f6-2ff5-11e5-8b4f-8b599447f967.html?mode=jqm

Movement at condemned house

Belfor Property Restoration was at 208-210 Locust Street for most of the day today constructing a plywood barrier around the front of the condemned building there. A little over a month ago, the building was thought to be in danger of imminent collapse. (Go HERE for more info.)  The building was since shored up inside the front wall. For over a month, wooden barricades and caution tape were placed around the front of the property to direct pedestrians away from the building - but unfortunately into the street. A few weeks later, wire construction fence was added along the sidewalk.

Belfor was there this morning.

Pedestrians had to walk in the street to get around the construction fence and workers today.

 As work progressed, this couple had to walk in the street to get around the construction site . . .

 . . . and in the process had to dodge a cavalcade of cars traveling up Locust.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the work appeared to have been completed, producing this unsightly structure. Although it will undoubtedly keep pedestrians away from the building in question, it does nothing to increase its safety.  In fact, we wonder if the daylong drilling and hammering may have added to its instability. 

A preliminary report indicated there would be a sort of "tunnel" through the wooden structure to accommodate pedestrians on the sidewalk.  Unfortunately, this turned out not to be the case, as one of the workmen locked a makeshift plywood "door" at the lower end.

The property is owned by Samuel and Cynthia Bigler, who were recently cited by the code enforcement department and face a hearing before Magisterial District Judge Robert Herman in the near future.

(Click on the images below to see them more clearly.)

Mounted police in town today

Lancaster City Mounted Police were in town this morning to lead a funeral procession originating at St. Paul's Church on the 500 block of Locust Street.

Road work on the southern end

Streets are rough in a few places on the southern end due to road work. Currently, work crews are continuing a paving project on Manor Street between Fourteenth and Fifteenth, where the street was milled recently. 

(From Wikipedia:

"Pavement milling (cold planing, asphalt milling, or profiling) is the process of removing at least part of the surface of a paved area such as a road, bridge, or parking lot. Milling removes anywhere from just enough thickness to level and smooth the surface to a full depth removal. There are a number of different reasons for milling a paved area instead of simply repaving over the existing surface.")

And Twelfth Street is rough to drive on between Barber and Manor, due to recent milling.