COLUMBIA SPY

A two-vehicle accident occurred shortly before 6 o'clock tonight at 2nd and Chestnut, near the entrance to the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Today is Election Day. Voting hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Polling Locations in Columbia Borough  Go  HERE  for more information. Columbia School Borough Council Candidates Go  HERE  for more information. Columbia School Board Candidates Go  HERE  for more information. Information on candidates can be found by searching  HERE . Two candidates who shared information are  Barry Ford  and  Kelly Murphy . Information on ALL Columbia Borough Council candidates can be found  HERE .

"Conflicts over fish passage date to the early 1800s, as canal companies began building dams along the river and its tributaries. Of particular concern was a wood-and-stone dam built in the 1830s near Columbia, PA, just 45 miles upstream from the Bay. Complaints about its impact on shad spurred the Pennsylvania legislature to pass a law in 1866 requiring fishways at dams. But the fishways at that time proved largely ineffective. Some fish still managed to get upstream. The canal dams were relatively low, and some shad made it upstream as dams were breeched by ice flows or inundated by high springtime river flows." MORE: http://www.bayjournal.com/article/judge_to_hear_arguments_over_fish_passage_at_conowingo_dam

Happenings from around town today . . .  Sealing the parking lot at Columbia Plaza Replacing windows at Saint Peter Apartments . . . Working on the Route 441 bypass project at Front and Walnut . . .  A workman at Front and Walnut confirmed the two-week timetable for completion of the project. LASA cleaning lines along Front Street . . . Also . . .  That's correct.  The Northwest River Trail is open only to the Route 30 (Wrights Ferry) Bridge, where it terminates in a chain-link cul-de-sac.  Negotiations are currently underway to extend the trail.  Wire sculptures a la Jeff Koons - and other artwork - displayed at The ARTS @ Hinkles   Finishing up A new ADA-compliant section of sidewalk on the 100 block of Locust

Dozens of visitors enjoyed the Route 441 bypass walk-through this afternoon, and it's been a long journey to the road's completion. According to Borough Councillor Jim Smith, PennDOT officials told the Columbia Business Alliance in 1990 that it would take 25 years for a bypass proposal to move up its project list and come to fruition. The goal was to eliminate truck traffic through town, after business leaders identified that as a major concern.  For decades, a continual barrage of trucks had rumbled through Columbia, following Route 441 to the lower end and points beyond. In the process, residents had routinely been disturbed, automobile traffic disrupted, and foundations of centuries-old historic buildings shaken. In a year-2000 update, PennDOT said it would take 15 years for the project to continue up the docket - in line with its previous prediction. Today, November 1, 2015, with only a week or so until completion, the project is essentially a reality. "This is...