Friday, January 22, 2016

Snow emergency declared in Columbia Borough

                       Source: wgal.com


Below is information on the Snow emergency that starts tonight at 7:00 PM. If you must be out driving somewhere during the snow storm please drive safely and allow extra space between you and the vehicle in front of you. The less traffic on the roads the better it will be for emergency crews and public works department to safely clear the roads. If you have a fire hydrant near your house please remember to dig it out as well. The Columbia Borough Fire Department will appreciate it. Have a safe weekend!
January 22, 2016
SNOW EMERGENCY
A Snow Emergency will be in effect in the Borough of Columbia beginning at 7:00 PM, Friday, January 22, 2016. The Snow Emergency will remain in effect until further notice. The Snow Emergency will be to facilitate clean-up efforts in the Borough.
Vehicle travel on Borough Streets marked as “Snow Emergency Routes” shall be in accordance with the Borough’s “Snow Emergency Ordinance” except for emergency situations. No person shall operate a vehicle on any Snow Emergency Route in such a manner or in such condition as to allow or permit such vehicle to become stalled on a “Snow Emergency Route” either by reason of the fact that the driving wheels are not equipped with chains or proper tires, by the exhaustion of the fuel supply to the vehicle, or by abandonment of the vehicle.
Parking on “Snow Emergency Routes” shall be prohibited. Parking is available in Borough Parking Lots located at Front and Locust Street, next to Borough Hall on Locust and in the former telephone company lot in Avenue H between 2nd and 3rd Street. Parking will be permitted after the street has been cleared. Residents are reminded it is illegal to throw snow in the street and to place various items along Borough Streets to reserve parking.
The Borough shall have the authority to remove and impound, or to order the removal and impounding of any vehicle parked or abandoned on a “Snow Emergency Route” during the Snow Emergency and to remove any items left on the streets. During clean-up residents will be notified to move their vehicles on a street by street basis.
Residents are further reminded to remove snow from sidewalks per Columbia Borough Code.
The following Streets have been designated “Snow Emergency Routes”:
Locust Street, Front to Fifth Street                                North Third Street, Locust to Cedar Street
Chestnut Street, Second to Fifth Street                         North Fifth Street, Chestnut to Locust Street
Lancaster Avenue, Locust to Malleable Road               Kinderhook Road
Ironville Pike, Ninth to Borough Limit                             Ninth Street, Ironville Pike to Lancaster Ave

Double-parking - Things can only get worse


Unfortunately, double parking has become a Columbia tradition. Quite often, drivers too lazy to park properly simply park in the street, blocking traffic and creating dangerous conditions. As shown above, the situation on the 200 block of Walnut Street was especially challenging yesterday. The driver of an SUV (center) had to wend his way through a veritable maze of vehicles - three cars and a truck - that were double-parked. One can only imagine how bad conditions will get when the impending snowstorm hits the area this weekend.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Warning: Shoveling out from winter storm could be deadly


Major snowstorms combine a perfect storm of factors that can cause heart attacks, as well as back injuries, pulled muscles and falls, and hand injuries resulting from clogged snow blowers.
MORE:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/01/shoveling_heart_attack_snow_ti.html

Online Chat Leads to Columbia Man’s Trial Conviction of Child Sex Abuse | Lancaster County District Attorney's Office

GO HERE:
https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/da/11617/post/online-chat-leads-columbia-man%e2%80%99s-trial-conviction-child-sex-abuse

What comes down must...go up?

New signposts were being installed at Columbia Plaza this afternoon, near the Lancaster Avenue entrance. The original signs and posts were torn down earlier today.





Gov. Wolf Declares State of Emergency Ahead of Winter Storm | Governor Tom Wolf

January 21, 2016

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf today declared a state of emergency in preparation for the winter storm expected to impact Pennsylvania, especially in the southeast and south central regions of the state. The disaster emergency proclamation enables state and local authorities to respond to any unmet needs as quickly as possible as a snowstorm is forecasted to blanket snow across much of the state.

"Declaring a state of emergency allows the commonwealth to deliver state resources wherever they're needed as quickly as possible," said Governor Wolf. "We have multiple state agencies working at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to monitor weather conditions across the state and we will respond to help local governments and residents in need."

Governor Wolf and state officials from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the Departments of Transportation and Health will hold a 2:30pm media briefing that will be broadcast live at http://governor.pa.gov/live.

The proclamation authorizes state agencies to use all available resources and personnel, as necessary, to cope with the magnitude and severity of the situation. The time-consuming bid and contract procedures, as well as other formalities normally prescribed by law, are waived for the duration of the proclamation. The State Emergency Operations Center, located at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency headquarters outside Harrisburg, is staffed by personnel from multiple state agencies.

https://www.governor.pa.gov/governor-wolf-declares-state-emergency-ahead-winter-storm/

900 block of Barber Street closed

Barber Street is currently closed between Plane and Tenth due to a water main break.