Columbia holds off Lancaster Mennonite for 73-65 win to claim L-L League Section 5 boys basketball crown

With its second-leading scorer Cole Fisher on the bench still recovering from an ankle injury, Lancaster Mennonite had to make some adjustments heading into Tuesday's Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Five boys basketball matchup at first-place Columbia.

The visiting Blazers stuck 6-foot, 6-inch sophomore center David Weaver in front of the basket on the defensive end, and switched back-and-forth from man-to-man defense and a 2-3 zone. It kept Columbia from attacking the rim in the first half. The strategy worked in the first quarter. Then the host Tide got hot from the perimeter in the second quarter, opened up a sizable advantage by halftime, and later staved off a Blazers' fourth-quarter comeback to come away with an eventual 73-65 victory.

Section champs: With the win, Columbia (6-0 league, 10-1 overall) won the Section Five crown, qualified for the L-L tournament and extended its winning streak to nine games, the longest current streak among any team in the league. The Tide also won back-to-back section crowns, a feat last accomplished by the program 31 years ago, when the league's all-time leading scorer Mike Wisler was in a Columbia uniform.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/sports/columbia-holds-off-lancaster-mennonite-for-73-65-win-to-claim-l-l-league-section/article_4a5e6be0-6b4e-11eb-8f1e-97a7f757fce8.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

10 people resign from Columbia Borough positions in 6 months. What's going on?

10 people have resigned from their positions with Columbia Borough in the last six months. What is going on?

• Last September, the entire HARB (five members) resigned on principle over council's decision to override a recommendation. (Mayor Leo Lutz cast the deciding vote. One member, Jeff Seibert, has rejoined a newly staffed HARB.)
• In November, Officer Barrell resigned from the police department.
• In December 2020, Quetsy Yates resigned from her position as accountant with the borough.
• In January 2021, Finance Manager Kyle Watts announced his resignation.
• Last week, Pam Williams resigned from borough council.
• And at the February 9, 2021 borough council meeting, Codes Manager Paul Paulsen's resignation was accepted.

Of course, it could be argued that the resignations are from various departments and due to various reasons - but the sheer number of departures within a relatively short time indicates a systemic problem. Has borough hall become a hostile work environment? Are things being mismanaged? Are there more resignations to come?

Borough taxpayers deserve an explanation.

32 restaurants, bars and clubs cited in Central Pa. for breaking COVID orders, including 9 in Lancaster County

Enforcement at Pennsylvania's licensed restaurants, bars and clubs continues amid the pandemic.

More than three dozen establishments operating in central Pennsylvania were cited in January by the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. Among them are Al's of Hampden in Hampden Township, Chick's Tavern in Hummelstown, Fenicci's of Hershey in Derry Township and Red Rose Restaurant & Lounge in York.

The bureau oversees enforcement of restaurants, bars and social clubs with liquor licenses and is ensuring Gov. Tom Wolf's COVID-19 mitigation orders are being carried out. The unannounced visits are part of regular compliance checks, but some are prompted by complaints submitted by the public.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/business/nation/32-restaurants-bars-and-clubs-cited-in-central-pa-for-breaking-covid-orders-including-9/article_f8d5ed61-236d-5e2c-8c3c-0207e35a5596.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Columbia school district calls for reform after it says it wasted $300,000 in cyber charter tuition

When: Columbia Borough School District board meeting, Feb. 2.

What happened: The school district is preparing to support funding reform after paying what it says were inequitable tuition rates to cyber charter schools for the 2020-21 school year.

Background: The district, according to chief of finance and operations Keith Ramsey, spent $922,995 in tuition, or $34,185 a learner, to enroll 27 special education students in cyber charter schools in 2020-21. That tuition rate, however, reflects an enrollment estimate from 2019-20 and not actual figures from the current school year. Ramsey stated the district would have saved nearly $300,000 on tuition fees this year if the charter schools' funding formula were based on actual figures rather than previous estimates.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-school-district-calls-for-reform-after-it-says-it-wasted-300-000-in-cyber/article_f5dbaebc-6a6b-11eb-b1d6-677b629bbc75.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Columbia Borough Police thank residents

GO HERE:

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/columbiapd/10552/post/columbia-borough-police-thank-residents 

Columbia rallies past Annville-Cleona for clutch L-L League Section 5 road victory | Sports

ANNVILLE — Roll Tide.

After a sluggish start, Columbia played a spirited, up-tempo second half, and the Crimson Tide kept a firm grip on its lofty District Three Class 2A ranking Friday night, rallying past Annville-Cleona 48-36 for a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Five victory.

Columbia (5-1 league, 6-2 overall) remained alone in second place in the section chase and atop the D3-2A rankings, overcoming a 23-16 halftime deficit with a game-ending 15-3 blitz to overtake the Dutchmen.

A-C (4-2, 4-4) needed a win to remain on Columbia's heels in the section chase; the Dutchmen and the Tide are still looking up at Lancaster Mennonite, which is in the driver's seat with a 7-0 league mark.

L-L LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS, STATS, SCHEDULES

"We weren't playing as aggressive as them in the first half," said Columbia junior Morgan Bigler, who scored 12 points. "So in the second half, we had to be aggressive, make shots, and just play better together as a team."

Done, done and done.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/sports/columbia-rallies-past-annville-cleona-for-clutch-l-l-league-section-5-road-victory/article_dd50f384-6827-11eb-9b2a-938f9fa91681.html 

Columbia Borough School Board to hold informational meeting Feb. 10 regarding school reopening

Columbia Borough School Board and administration will be holding an information session this coming Wednesday, February 10th at 6:30 pm regarding school reopening. The meeting will be accessible over Zoom. The link has yet to be posted, but when it is, I will link it here and on a separate post. Please consider attending!