About Town

This week's pics from around Columbia...

We got a couple of unseasonably warm days last week, as this dog could attest to, if he only could speak English.

 He kept "sticking around" down at the river.

 Here are some shapes of nature along the shore.

 And here are some tundra swans - 

reliable harbingers of spring, groundhog be damned.

 Here's yet another sign of spring.

 And here's an entranceway in Avenue H, with broken window pane for ventilation - yet another sign of spring?

 Construction notice at the Veterans Memorial Bridge

 Yes, there is a Hill Campus.

A student reportedly made threats against the school here last week, but the issue was quickly addressed by the school resource officer.

(In typical Columbia opaque fashion, however, no notification of the incident has been posted on the school district website.)

 The awnings at Hinkle's have been changed from blue to burgundy. The larger awnings are about to get the same treatment. The frames can be seen in the photo above.

 T-bone aftermath at 3rd & Walnut?

 This is why trash bags should be placed in a container.

 Time for this Xmas tree to be X'ed out.

 As seen on Lawrence Street. Note the upper left. This property is currently listed at $169,900.

 Missing asphalt near 320 South 2nd, complete with a protruding rock.

 Could conditions lead to a sinkhole here?

 Airing out...

 ...atop a chimney along Shawnee Run.

 Form follows function?

 Now open at 2nd & Mill

 Something happening in Avenue G

 This is where the fire took place a few years ago.

Go HERE for more information on this property.

 Cruiser at Mid-Way Collision Shop

 Obvious front-end damage

 Another sign of spring: daffodils poking through.

At Locust Street Park..."The Returned Soldier" with the light-festooned tree behind him.

 But what's happening to the lights?

 Several have been knocked off the tree.

 Some are broken.

 Was it the wind...

 ...or something nefarious?

 Surely, one of the borough's "covert" cameras would have caught any perpetrators.

 The library topping-off ceremony has been postponed until March 3.

 Park Elementary School playground

But the sign says...

 And these signs say...

 Down Avenue H, at the Historic Society

  Something there is that doesn't love a downspout.

(Apologies to Robert Frost)

 Several downspouts that were installed just last year have been damaged.

 Here, too, in Avenue I...

Police transmissions are now encrypted, blocking public, emergency responders from hearing broadcasts

The public — including firefighters and fire emergency medical services — has been blocked from listening in on police radio broadcasts in Lancaster County.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/radio-silence-police-transmissions-are-encrypted-thursday-blocking-public-emergency/article_d99d4274-1820-11e8-80a9-4747acdb2417.html

Library "Topping Off" Ceremony Postponed to March 3

COLUMBIA PUBLIC LIBRARY TOPPING OFF CEREMONY POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN - Due to the recent rain which has lead to muddy site conditions, as well as the rain forecast for Saturday, the Topping Off Ceremony has been re-scheduled to Saturday, March 3rd at 1:00 pm at the Columbia Public Library. Please join us on Saturday, March 3rd to help us celebrate this exciting milestone of the expansion of the Columbia Public Library.

14-year-old student charged after making threat of violence toward Columbia Middle School Hill Campus

An eighth-grade student at Columbia Middle School's Hill Campus was charged after making a threat to commit an act of violence at the campus Thursday, according to police.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/year-old-student-charged-after-making-threat-of-violence-toward/article_38cd4ace-17f3-11e8-8048-7b8dc4a0412f.html

Support your public library

Student Charged with Terroristic Threats at Hill Campus | Columbia Borough Police Department

On Thursday, 2/22/18 at approximately 0824 hours, Columbia Police Department School Resource Officer Troy Engle was notified by Columbia Middle School (Hill Campus) staff of a threats incident that just occurred at the Columbia Middle/High School Hill Campus.  Officer Engle received a report that a 14 year old male 8th grade Columbia Middle School student threatened to commit an act of violence at the Columbia School District Hill Campus.  The student was taken into police custody and removed from the school. 

Columbia Police consulted with the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, the Lancaster County Office of Juvenile Probation, and the student's parents.  The student will be charged with Terroristic Threats.  The student was released to the custody of his parents.  The investigation has not shown any signs that the student took steps towards acting on the threat, and the threat was not directed at any particular person or persons.  Additionally, the student was not in possession of any weapons.  The investigation into this threat continues.  The Columbia Police Department would like to encourage anyone with information related to threats of violence to contact the Columbia Police Department at 717-684-7735.   

Date: 

Thursday, February 22, 2018

Case Status:

• Current

Case Type:

• Criminal

Source: 

Columbia Borough Police Department

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/columbiapd/10552/cases/terroristic-threats

Takeaways from February's Borough Council Meeting

Community Climate Initiative

Superintendent Tom Strickler said the district wants to get a handle on issues and develop an action plan.

School District Superintendent Tom Strickler and Dr. Gregory McGough, director of curriculum, explained the Community Climate Initiative and presented a "climate survey." Strickler said there have been problems with students after school and the district wants to get a handle on the issue and develop an action plan. The Pennsylvania Department of Education and IU13 are helping the district's initiative.

Dr. Gregory McGough laid out the stages of the process.

McGough said that one of the first steps is to create a vision of what we all see the school as. He said the process began with preparation and planning at the school level, and we are now at Stage 2: Delivering assessments to all stakeholders. Stage 3 will be to understand the findings and develop an action plan. Next will be the implementation phase, working with short, defined goals. The final step will be to reevaluate and start the process over.


Programs and Funding

Mayor Leo Lutz mentioned Manos House and Benchmark Programs to help with problems with youth in the community. He said the programs can't be possible or sustainable if the borough has to solicit funds to pay for them.

"This is a community problem, this is a problem we must address. We need to fund these programs so that they're sustainable," he said. "We can put lights in the downtown, but that's not going to help these kids."

He said the challenge is trying to find grant money and getting organizations to donate. "We will not arrest our way out of these problems," he said.


Our Home of Hope

Our Home of Hope received a $10,000 donation from council.

Council considered a donation request from Our Home of Hope for $30,000 to defray costs of facility repairs /renovations and operations at the 223-225 Cherry Street facility but in the end approved a donation of $10,000.


208-210 Locust Street

Council donated the former Bigler property at 208-210 Locust to the Lancaster County Land Bank.

Council voted to donate the 208-210 Locust Street to the Lancaster County Land Bank Authority.  At its November 2017 meeting, council approved $70,000 for the Lancaster County Land Bank to assist Brookline, a historic preservation company, with restoration of the property. Brookline’s budget for the project is $232,000. According to the agreement, the company will purchase the building for the token fee of $1 with the intent of restoring the facade and performing structural repairs. Brookline will then move its sister company, Lancaster Lime Works LLC, into the building.

MORE INFO HERE.


Funding for Study to Relocate Borough Offices

Council authorized an application to the Municipal Assistance Program. The program covers half the cost of a study the borough is undertaking to consider possible relocation of the borough offices and police station from its current location to other sites in the borough, one of which is the school district's administration center building at 200 North Fifth Street.

One-Way Streets

The borough approved the following one-way streets to accommodate traffic calming methods and new parking areas and to address a safety issue:

*Rotary Ave (Front to Commerce Street: East)
* Commerce Street (Rotary Ave to Walnut Street: South)
* Tenth Street (Ironville Pike to Spruce Street: South)
* Bethel Street (Ridge to Locust traveling North) changed to (Locust to Cherry traveling South).


Quick Ticket Complaints

Residents voiced concerns about quick ticket citations.

Borough Manager Greg Sahd said there were 70 snow code quick tickets issued on one day in January. He said that a resident who posts a $100 fee for a hearing will have the amount returned "probably net of the fine" at the hearing.

Resident Gerald Maurer said the borough should exercise discretion on citations.

A resident argued that the borough should exercise discretion when citing residents for a small amount of snow on the sidewalk. Officials said that any amount of snow can be considered unsafe.

Councilwoman FitzGerald said that she received a quick ticket for snow as well and paid it.

Another resident said he received a quick ticket regarding his trash bag being out for pickup without being placed in a trash receptacle.

A landlord asked for a meeting with the borough manager and the code manager. He expressed concern about something said to him although he did not give details publicly. He said he was frustrated with the lack of response from borough officials.