Book signing at the library on Wednesday

Cynthia Martinez, a local author, will be signing (and selling) copies of her book "Midnight Horror Tales" on Wednesday, March 29, at 6 PM here at the Columbia Public Library. Cost of book is $5.40

Meetings for the Week of March 27, 2017

Two Borough properties up for review

The Lancaster County Planning Commission will review a proposed request for certification of 301 N. Second St. as blighted property.

 The Lancaster County Land Bank Authority will review a resolution authorizing acquisition of 551 Avenue H.

MORE INFO:

http://lancasteronline.com/insider/community/lancaster-county-government-calendar-march/article_40457cd2-1267-11e7-8193-a7a4372799dd.html

Columbia School District overspent by three quarters of a million dollars

The Columbia Borough School District exceeded its general fund budget appropriation by $732,000 in the last fiscal year, according to a 2015-16 Audit Report from Sager, Swisher, and Company. Mike Reiner, a partner in the accounting firm, announced the finding when he presented the report to the school board at its March meeting. When a resident questioned where the money went, Keith Ramsey, acting business manager for the district, said the majority of the overspending was due to a doubling up of transportation costs. The district moved from one carrier, IU13, to the Hempfield School District. Due to the way the IU bills through the transportation subsidy, the cost for the previous year was contained in the figure, essentially making it a double expenditure, according to Ramsey. Going forward, such costs will be only those of Hempfield.

The report also showed a budget of $20,700,000 for the 2015-16 fiscal year, with expenditures of $21,400,000.

At Columbia High, students and teachers tackle hands-on lessons by raising trout in classroom

After months of excitement about the prospect of raising trout in their classroom and releasing them into a local stream, the big day arrived for about 20 Columbia High School students.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/at-columbia-high-students-and-teachers-tackle-hands-on-lessons/article_da4ddb40-10c7-11e7-9303-cbe2081e7225.html

Columbia man sworn in as ORCA animal cruelty officer

Jeremy Robinson, 28, of Columbia, who served as a humane society police officer with the Organization for Responsible Care of Animals about six years ago, was recently sworn in as the organization's second badged officer, joining John Kondravy.

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/organization-for-responsible-care-of-animals-adds-animal-cruelty-officer/article_c50089d2-0e78-11e7-8b54-6bd5d228c43b.html

Defends property tax reform bill | Letters To The Editor

School property tax elimination would not shift the tax burden onto regular, hardworking citizens. 

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/defends-property-tax-reform-bill/article_79212fa2-0b3b-11e7-ae44-8710dda91d8f.html