Last week at the library: reptiles and a dedication

Herpetologist Jesse Rothacker finished out the Columbia Public Library's summer reading program series with "Rockin' Reptiles" Thursday evening - to the delight of children and adults. Rothacker, the founder of Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary, presented a variety of reptiles - snakes, lizards, crocidilians, and a tortoise named "Abraham" - to onlookers in Locust Street Park. Children were permitted to handle and touch some of the animals. 

A volunteer handles a snake.

Rothacker's son Kenny wears a snake.

And so does Dad.

A green iguana has its eye(s) on some grapes.

Kids give the show a thumbs-up.

Kenny holds a baby alligator.

There's no shortage of volunteers.

www.forgottenfriend.com

Lisa Greybill, the library's executive director, helps out with a snake.

Kids touch a snake, here and below...

Abraham the tortoise dines on grass.


*****

It was a busy week for the library. Besides hosting several events, staff and volunteers held a dedication ceremony on Sunday in Locust Street Park. Attendees included board members, architects, and state, county, and local officials, and residents.

Melanie Cruz-Bernard sang the National Anthem. She is shown here flanked by Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman (left), PA Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera, and Lancaster County Commissioner Joshua Parsons.

Pioneer Girls led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Several dozen attended the dedication. 

Pedro Rivera offered remarks...

as did Ed Wickenheiser...

Mayor Leo Lutz...

Craig Lehman...

and Representative Stan Saylor...

as attendees listened.

Speakers offered remarks from the gazebo.

Pioneer Girls watched and listened from the sidewalk.

Pedro Rivera spoke with some of them after the ceremony.

CPL Board President Jeanette Shirk and Board Treasurer Gregg Dubbs cut the ribbon. 

Guests toured the renovated library afterwards. 

Guests got to see new computers...

new furniture...

a bust of Columbia poet and painter Lloyd Mifflin...

and lots of books.

Lisa Greybill, the library's executive director, was pleased with the renovations. 

The director's new office space...

and a view of the outside.

The basement held more shelves...

and a reading/meeting area.

Columbia trolley schedule for the rest of the season

What happened to our streets? (A Friday morning walk through town)

Recent excavation on our streets has left an ugly assortment of patches, seams, and steel plates. Although some of the work has been completed, excavating is still going on. UGI and its subcontractors, and the Columbia Water Company are the worst offenders. Over the past few weeks, some areas of town were virtually impassable due to lack of planning and overlapping projects. At this point, it's unclear if flowable fill has been used after excavation. It's also unclear who will repave the streets once all projects are finished, or if anyone in the borough is overseeing any of this. 

Following are a few of the streets we saw this morning.

North 5th Street near Walnut

The 500 block of Walnut

The 200 block of South 8th Street

On Wright Street looking towards South 8th

Along South 9th Street

South 9th Street

South 9th Street

South 9th and Mifflin

South 9th

South 9th Street and Ridge Avenue

South 9th

800 block of Locust

800 block of Chestnut

800 block of Chestnut

Knox Box: WITF hosts discussion with councilman, fire chief, and business owner

This morning's Knox Box discussion on WITF-FM's Smart Talk is scheduled to be re-broadcast tonight at 7 o'clock. The discussion includes Councilman John Novak, Fire Chief Doug Kemmerly, and business owner Keena Soukup, and focuses on Columbia Borough's ordinance requiring business owners and others to install the boxes. The discussion can be heard online HERE and at 89.5 FM on the radio.

The following synopsis is from the WITF website:

Also, at the end of last year the Columbia Borough Council unanimously voted to enact an ordinance that requires Columbia businesses, apartments and nursing care facilities to have lock boxes, also known as Knox Boxes, installed outside their buildings. The boxes are intended to contain keys and building blueprints to be used by emergency personnel responding to events like fires.

Business owners are pushing back against the ordinance, citing concerns about cost, security and privacy. The boxes cost hundreds of dollars up front, and workers are also worried about who will cover the expense of repairing or replacing the boxes if they are tampered with. In addition, some Columbia residents and business people oppose the lock boxes because they fear they will be easy to break into and might give people unwanted access to their buildings.

We're joined by Columbia Borough Councilman John Novak and Fire Chief Douglas Kemmerly. Keena Soukup, business owner of Soukup Automotive in Columbia, created a petition opposing the lock box ordinance. She joins us on Friday's Smart Talk to discuss the legislation.

Is Colonial Metals having a garage sale?

A recent craigslist post lists various foundry items for sale. The accompanying street map shows the location of Colonial Metals, 217 Linden Street, which closed in June. The posting is HERE.