Motorcycle hits van, cyclist thrown

Emergency crews responded to the scene of a vehicle accident today at 5:17 p.m. on Lancaster Avenue, near the entrance to the Columbia Plaza. Reportedly, a motorcyclist traveling east on Lancaster Avenue collided with a westbound van that was turning left into the Plaza parking lot. The motorcycle hit the passenger side of the van near the rear wheel and spun into the opposing lane.  The cyclist was thrown about 50 feet from the point of impact before coming to rest in the westbound lane. The motorcycle's front wheel assembly broke off during the collision.

The female cyclist, who was wearing a full face helmet, was conscious at the scene and was treated by medical personnel before being transported by ambulance. The van, a Chrysler Town & Country LXi, sustained passenger side body damage and a rear driver's side flat tire.  The male driver of the van appeared to be uninjured.

Website lists Columbia data - home sales, crime rates, costs

Go HERE to visit the website CityData.com which offers facts and figures about Columbia Borough.  The data appears to be accurate; the site often lists its sources and includes bar graphs comparing Columbia's figures with state averages. Unfortunately, the data is several years out of date. However, anyone following local trends over the past few years could estimate current figures with a fair degree of accuracy.

Following are examples of information found at the website:

 Columbia home sales from 2012 through the third quarter of 2014

 Crime rates 2001-2013

 Religion in Columbia

Local government payroll as of March 2012

Columbia sees real estate value decline

According to the Lancaster County Assessment Office, Columbia was among four boroughs in which the assessed value of taxable real estate declined slightly. The others are Millersville, Denver and Ephrata. Columbia experienced a decline of 1.46% ($-5,231,500).

MORE INFORMATION HERE.

About Town

Columbia Plaza parking lot this morning.

 Words of wisdom

 Out for a walk

 This starling was sitting on a fence in Avenue H.

 Unafraid of the camera, he started to sing.

 He may have thought he was auditioning for American Idol.

 Afterward, he stopped and looked, as if to ask, "How'd I do, folks?"

 Yardwork at the former Cookman Church at Sixth and Chestnut

 He's been metal-detecting around town a lot lately.

Here he is in Locust Street Park.

 Hangin' with the goyles. The gargoyles, that is.

(Global Time Wizard, 500 block of Locust)

 Pit lovers assure us that it's not the breed, it's how they're raised.

 Door numbers - well, that's a start.  Now fix the rest of the building.

(North Second and Locust)

 Lined up and ready to go.  Yard waste pickup began April 4.

Delusions of grandeur

Then the king had one more question of the child: "How many seconds are there in eternity?"

And the boy replied: "In the hinterlands of Pomerania, there is a mountain made of the hardest diamond. It's one hour deep into the earth, one hour up toward the sky, one hour long and one hour wide. To this mountain comes a little bird, once every hundred years, to sharpen its beak."

"And when the bird has worn away the whole mountain, the first second of eternity will have passed."

2 charged with stealing guns, home break-in in Columbia

Columbia Borough police have charged a Columbia man and a Marietta man for breaking into a home in the borough and stealing four guns and other items on the morning of April 29.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/charged-with-stealing-guns-home-break-in-in-columbia/article_256d707c-0ec6-11e6-b0c9-672ae92d2b48.html

11 great places for a bike ride in Lancaster County

Northwest Lancaster County River Trail

The 14-mile Susquehanna River stretches from Columbia to Falmouth near the Dauphin County line. Families with younger children can do the Columbia-to-Marietta section of the trail. Start at the newly opened Columbia Crossing River Trails Center in Columbia River Park and ride the trail north through Marietta.

MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/sponsored/countdowntosummer/great-places-for-a-bike-ride-in-lancaster-county/article_2e4ca11a-0d3e-11e6-a669-af3d5217465d.html

Fan of Mrs. Hinkle and restaurant | Letters To The Editor | LNP

GO HERE:
http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/fan-of-mrs-hinkle-and-restaurant/article_35c26888-0ce6-11e6-b790-27953f3a646b.html