Columbia Borough to apply for $100,000 grant to advertise Market House

From LNP:

• When: Borough Council meeting, Nov. 22.

• What happened: The borough will apply for up to $100,000 in federal grant money to advertise the Columbia Market House, director Chris Vera told council members. The money, offered through the USDA's Farmers Market Promotion Project, can go to businesses that focus on farmed products, Vera said.

• Quotable: "You can't sell T-shirts," Vera said after the meeting. "We can use the money for billboards, newspaper advertising and signage," he said.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-to-seek-grant-money-to-advertise-market-house/article_9b3137c8-78f8-11ed-bbd3-579ed0479e63.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Columbia Borough street signs available for purchase| Columbia Borough Police Department

https://lancaster.crimewatchpa.com/columbiapd/10552/post/columbia-borough-street-signs-available-purchase 

Columbia Borough school board reelects president

In unanimous votes, the board reelected Charles Leader as board president and Lauren VonStetten as vice president. The chairs and members of the board's six committees will be voted on at the board's Dec. 15 meeting.

Terms: With none of the board members' terms expiring in 2022, all nine current board members will continue to serve on the board in 2023. Six board members are serving terms that expire in December 2023 and three board members are serving terms that expire in December 2025.

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https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-borough-school-board-reelects-president/article_211f9c0e-7434-11ed-bf87-1359963acc28.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Public not in danger after fatal shootings, Lancaster County DA says

With suspects still at large in shootings that killed three people and wounded two across Lancaster County over the span of just a few days last week, the district attorney said Thursday that the general public is likely not in danger.

Investigators have not said if the shootings – two in Lancaster city and one in Columbia – are connected in some way or what the motives are, and District Attorney Heather Adams declined to give specific comment on any of the cases, citing the active investigations.

Police in Lancaster city and Columbia have made no arrests and remain tightlipped about three homicides.

Have they identified suspects? Do they know what the motives might be? Are the shootings connected in some way? Did the killers act at random or did they target Sanchez, Jones and Lewis?

Is the public at risk?

Elected leaders and law-enforcement officials paid at taxpayer expense to respond to media inquiries are saying very little of substance. Police officials declined to make their chiefs available to answer questions.

Police say someone shot at two men inside a Dodge Challenger in Columbia borough in a residential neighborhood near Bridge Street. Police said one person – later identified by Diamantoni as Lamar Lewis, 41, of Philadelphia – was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency responders took another person to the hospital with a gunshot wound, but police have not yet identified him.

Diamantoni determined Lewis died of a gunshot wound to the chest and ruled his death a homicide.

Witnesses saw a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and fled east on Avenue F toward North Third Street after the shooting, police said. Detective Matt Leddy declined to say at the time if the shooting is being investigated as a homicide.

Columbia police chief Jack Brommer did not return a call for comment Wednesday. Columbia Borough Council President Todd Burgard referred a reporter to Borough Manager Mark Stivers, who did not immediately respond for comment.

Court documents show Lewis has a record of drug and firearms charges out of Berks and Montgomery counties, as well as an escape charge out of Philadelphia County from 2011.

Anyone with information about the Columbia shooting should contact Leddy at 717-684-7735. Lancaster police ask anyone with information related to either of this week's shootings to call 717-735-3301.
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https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/public-not-in-danger-after-fatal-shootings-lancaster-county-da-says/article_649ed4e4-7741-11ed-bc20-b322c28bd199.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share

Columbia Borough school board hears of pandemic-influenced learning loss reflected in standardized testing

Superintendent Ashley Rizzo provided an update on the district's most recent standardized test scores and demographic data.

Test scores: Rizzo noted the district's scores have dropped since before the pandemic and stressed it is going to take time to recover from the learning loss that occurred due to COVID-19. The biggest percentage change for elementary school students was in English language arts, with 29% of students testing at or above proficiency, compared to 51% before the pandemic. The district's middle school students English language arts scores were nearly equal to pre-pandemic scores, but proficiency in math dropped to 8% and science proficiency dropped to 20%.

Demographics: The district had roughly 1,250 students enrolled as of October 2022. Of the district's students, roughly 43% are white, 41% are Hispanic, 9% are multiracial and 7% are Black. Roughly 6% of students enrolled are English language learners. Rizzo noted that 72% of district families are considered low-income and 5% of families are in transition or experiencing homelessness. Of the students in the districts' current senior class, 55% have been enrolled at Columbia Borough School District since kindergarten or first grade.

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https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-borough-school-board-hears-of-pandemic-influenced-learning-loss-reflected-in-standardized-testing/article_89145692-7245-11ed-b6d1-8387d1f05fcb.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

At the Library - Tuesday, December 6

 

Santa is in town collecting for Toys for Tots

 

He'll be down at the Veterans Memorial Bridge plaza all week, starting today (Monday, December 5).