Rebecca Young sworn in as Columbia School Board Director

The Honorable Robert Herman swore in Rebecca Young as school board director at Tuesday night's Columbia School Board meeting. 

In a unanimous vote at Tuesday night's Columbia Borough School Board meeting, former school board director Rebecca Young was appointed to the vacant board seat left by the resignation of Christine Misciagna. 

The Honorable Robert Herman was present for the meeting and swore in Young.

Young was the lone applicant for the position.

Case of Columbia teen charged with fatally stabbing boyfriend heading to county court

A teenager accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend in their Columbia apartment last month will have her charges decided in Lancaster County Court.

Janiyah Ann Torres, 17, waived her preliminary hearing Monday before District Judge Miles K. Bixler. She is charged with third-degree murder and homicide, both first-degree felonies.

In Pennsylvania, homicide is automatically treated as an adult crime, but a minor can petition to have the case moved to juvenile court, which focuses on rehabilitation and includes supervision until age 21.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/case-of-columbia-teen-charged-with-fatally-stabbing-boyfriend-heading-to-county-court/article_4c5cf26c-5724-11ee-a381-a3d6b81f0144.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Agenda - Columbia Borough Planning Commission Meeting - September 19, 2023

 

The meeting packet is HERE.

Deeds Recorded - Columbia Borough - September 18, 2023

Duane M. Reese and Christina L. Reese conveyed 202 Poplar St. to Lara Guest for $258,000.

John R. Moody, Melissa Moody and Melissa A. Moody conveyed 746 Locust St. to Kyle Anthony Warfel for $85,000.

Thomas C. Metzger and Elizabeth A. Metzger conveyed 335 Avenue G to Daisy Sanchez for $168,000.

The estate of Anisa Mahadeo conveyed 219 S. Third St. to DS Sherman LLC for $110,000.

Jeffrey J. Seibert conveyed property on a public road to Christina L. Reese for $245,000.

Arlette Warren conveyed property on North Fourth Street to Lancaster Area Habitat For Humanity Inc. for $175,000.

About Town - September 17, 2023

This week's photos of Columbia 

(Click/tap on photos to see larger, sharper images.)

'Tis the season

When you're missing a femur but you feel like dancing anyway - 

or performing a Shakespeare soliloquy

Meanwhile, on Kinderhook Road . . . 

A big-boned skeleton crew

And what's that coming toward us in the distance?

It's some sort of werewolfy creature.

And remember: When you spray for spiders, they sometimes come back bigger and badder than ever.

*****************

Bigfoot or Albatwitch?

Glittery jack o'lantern

Miss Evangelista after the transcription error?

In the window of Obscure Relics

There's the name.

Seen on the 200 block of Locust

If that's the Cross of Coronado, it belongs in a museum.

Green heron along shore

Is it the same one seen HERE?

Some leaves are different, but they're all part of the same tree.

No problem here

HOG

USGS on the bridge again

When you go against the grain - and the traffic.

A truckload of critters

Tractor in the morning light

The flower's almost done, but the moth isn't.

Here's one in fine form.

In case you want to light up your life

Draw your own conclusions.

What's coming?

*****************

Surveyor on the upper end of Heritage Drive

Units responded to a car fire at 13th & Manor Friday night.

[Submitted photos and video]

'Til next time . . .

Albatwitch Day coming October 14 at Columbia River Park

 

What we've got here is failure to communicate - Mayor scolds citizen and accuses reporter of "retribution"

 

At the September 12th Columbia Borough Council meeting, resident Frank Doutrich criticized the behavior of a borough official (Mayor Leo Lutz) towards a citizen who questioned the borough's response to the August 5th shots fired incident at 3rd & Cherry Streets. Doutrich noted the borough's rules of civility and decorum for public meetings were not enforced and that council does not understand what the rules are.

The borough's rules of civility and decorum for public meetings

"One of the people in the audience got up and made some statements and then one of the elected officials just, absolutely just laid him in the ground," Doutrich said, referring to a verbal exchange at a previous meeting. "Which council - all sit there - didn't say a word. That's why I think you don't know the rules."

Council President Heather Zink replied: "Unfortunately, that person made a personal attack, and it was responded to."

"In that manner?" Doutrich asked.

Yes," Zink responded.

"Oh, that was ok, the decorum in that manner the way he responded," Doutrich said.

The exchange Doutrich was referring to occurred at the September 5th council meeting in which Lutz angrily responded to resident Brad Chambers who commented on the borough's handling of the shots fired incident, especially the lack of communication. A recording of the exchange shows that Chambers' comments were calmly stated observations, and the mayor's were condescending and angry.

Chambers: "I don't know if you understand the optics - and respectfully, I'm not saying this is what you're doing - but the optics are that you're either A. incompetent, or B. you don't really care, because you don't live down here."

[Columbia Spy file photo]

Excerpts from the exchange (including comments from other officials) are as follows:

Chambers: I'm sure that Chief Brommer and Mayor Lutz are actively looking into this, but I don't know if you understand the optics - and respectfully, I'm not saying that this is what you're doing - but the optics are that you're either A. incompetent, or B. you don't really care, because you don't live down here. So, I don't know how long it takes to send out a text, like you could tweet, you could send out a Facebook message, you could do an Instagram, you could do all of them at the same time. I don't know if you're aware of that, but . . . I mean how long does that take? Could you do it 30 minutes after it happened? Could you do it an hour? Could you do it two hours after it happened? Maybe three hours? What am I supposed to believe? [Chambers was concerned, because he lives near the site of the incident.]

Councilman Eric Kauffman: The practice has been, do your job. And as the chief will tell you, the officers that were on duty were working an investigation.

Chambers: I'm not saying they weren't working. I'm just saying misconceptions can be formed.

Kauffman: So, this is where we're at right now, though. This is the discussion happening. We don't have, as a borough, a plan in place to do the rapid communication. So, I'm not faulting anybody, because that's the way it's always been. What we're saying is we recognize that that issue that you're talking about at 3rd & Cherry was a problem, and . . .

Zink: And we need to come up with a better solution.

Kauffman: With the technology we have available to us today, we need to look to create a plan to use that technology.

Chambers: I'm not here to repudiate anyone, so if sounded like I'm here to [...] blame . . .

Lutz: "You ain't been around here long enough to know how I care about this community."

[Columbia Spy file photo]

Lutz: It did, and I take issue with that. Let me tell you something, young man. I was born and raised downtown. My mom still lives downtown. I care about everybody in this community, and I will get the information out as soon as we possibly can. There are things that factor into everyone. There's not a one size fits all in this issue. But don't come 'round and tell me or insinuate that I don't care about what happens downtown. You ain't been around here long enough to know how I care about this community.

Chambers: Well, that is your opinion and I do appreciate that, but . . .

Lutz: I don't appreciate your opinion.

Chambers: You said you're working on it and the fact that it hasn't been resolved - I do think it appears to be an issue, and as I said before, you're welcome to feel how you feel - but I'm not casting blame - but like there seems to be a problem with why this hasn't been resolved. So, you know, if this happens tomorrow and somebody lights the block up again, what's the solution?

Brommer: Brad, it won't happen again.

Chambers: OK

Brommer: And we do care. Absolutely.

Zink: "We're not doing a good enough job here then if residents are looking for someone to assure them that it's going to be ok - and no one's there."

[Columbia Spy file photo]

Earlier in the discussion, Zink said she was watching the news on the evening of the incident and noted that a WGAL reporter on the scene said that residents from the area were concerned that the mayor and police chief were not on the scene, nor was anyone else from the borough. "That kind of struck me like, wait a minute, we're not doing a good enough job here then if residents are looking for someone to assure them that it's going to be ok - and no one's there," she said, adding that she doesn't have a problem with telling the press that the borough has no comment. "But if I have to say that with surprise in my voice because I didn't know there was an incident going on, that's not good."

Lutz replied by alleging that the reporter's statement was "retribution" for a police officer telling her to get out of the way. "I knew what was going on. The chief knew what was going on. That reporter tried to make a story because she was told to get out of the way," Lutz said.

The entire conversation, too lengthy to post here, can be found on YouTube HERE, starting with a discussion on the need for a public relations firm at 1:14:40 on the recording. Chambers' comments start at 1:35:12.

NOTE: Brad Chambers is a Democratic candidate for Columbia Borough Council.