Street Invasion Purge Meet draws crowd Saturday night

The smell of burning rubber saturated the air around the AutoZone parking lot along Columbia Avenue as clouds of smoke drifted overhead. About 100 people with over three dozen vehicles, including cars, trucks, and bikes, converged on the lot Saturday night. The Street Invasion Purge Meet featured revving and burnouts, most in the nearby McDonald's parking lot. Squealing tires and roaring engines dominated the night for over an hour as drivers were urged on by spectators who recorded the action with cellphones. At one point a female employee of McDonald's approached the motorists and shouted at them to leave. Although the crowd was high-spirited, no fighting or vandalism occurred.

Shortly after 9 p.m., a line of vehicles abruptly left the lot in anticipation of police arriving. After the mass exodus, two police cruisers – one each from West Hempfield and Columbia - appeared after most of the participants had left.

This video was shot by Angel Rodriguez

This video was shot by Angel Rodriguez

Firefighters extinguish dumpster fire at Family Dollar

Units from Columbia and West Hempfield responded to the Family Dollar Store at 24 South 18th Street, Lancaster Avenue shortly after 7 o'clock this morning for a reported dumpster fire. Firefighters extinguished the flames and checked the building exterior for damage.

Library Happenings - Saturday, October 15, 2016 - Knit and Chat

No nude dancing at Club Good Times - Topless only

A Lancaster County judge's ruling that would have allowed nude dancers to start shimmying at a club in Columbia was shot down Thursday by a panel of Commonwealth Court.

The state court's decision means that, for now at least, the dancers at Club Good Times on Union Street will have to settle for going topless.

MORE:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/10/nude_dancers_cant_start_shimmy.html

Medicare Open Enrollment at Columbia Library November 3 & 22

Motorcycle/vehicle accident on Route 30 Bridge Wednesday night

Aquaponics for the market house to cost $96,500

Robert Irwin (center) and associates discuss aquaponics at Monday's borough council meeting.

Industrial Designer Robert Irwin and two associates presented a proposal to borough council Monday night for an aquaponics operation in the market house. Aquaponics is a system combining conventional aquaculture (raising fish in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) with the aim of selling fish and produce year-round. They are asking the borough to invest $96,500 for the project.

The operation would consist of a market kiosk that would act as an automated farm for year-round produce sales. The crew would build and operate the system for the borough. From construction to operation will take about eight weeks. For example, using January 1 as the start date, the enterprise could be up and running by the middle of February, with a few additional weeks to get plants and fish operational. The proposal includes estimates of 3200 plants produced per year (10-11 harvests per year) and 500 pounds of fish per year.

Irwin suggested that once the project is operational, an agreement - possibly for five or more years - could be worked out. The plan is to use the kiosk as an "educational platform for the borough" with headquarters at the borough farm. During the winter months, the system would need to be kept above freezing.

The cost estimate shown below is good until the end of November. Irwin and his associates told council that they want to share liability with the borough and are not interested in taking a loan out for the enterprise. He explained that they did not seek private funding or investors. When questioned about the figures he presented (number of plants, etc.) Irwin said he has "no idea" if they are accurate.  He described the proposed financial arrangement as a business loan that gets paid back to the borough through a return on investment, with a projected 28-month payback time.

 Cost estimate

Aquaponics concept sketch