Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Deeds Recorded - Columbia Borough - August 29, 2022

Timothy B. Funk conveyed property on a public road to Jonathan Stevens for $182,000.

Lancaster County Land Bank Authority conveyed property on Alley H to Millers Investment Properties Limited Liability Co., Benjamin A. Miller and Benjamin Miller for $10,000.

Michael F. Reilly Jr. and Amber J. Reilly conveyed property on a public road to Traeden Schatz and Victoria Quinn Schatz for $189,900.

Susan R. Bowers conveyed 228 Perry St. to John N. Creek Jr. and Rachel M. Shoff for $104,000.

Riverwalk Property Solutions LLC and Dylan Thomas conveyed 206 S. Second St. to Revive Real Estate Investing LLC for $90,000.

Brandon J. Miller and Heather M. Miller conveyed 141 Pheasant Drive to Robert J. Lapp and Erica N. Lapp for $299,900.

Sunday, August 28, 2022

About Town - August 28, 2022

Recent photos of Columbia

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


Study in black and white (and red and green)

Cap and flag

This bridge plaza cannon is federal property.

Columbia is allowed to keep it as long as we maintain it.

His season's almost over.

A component of the water company intake project, no doubt. It was being unloaded this past Friday.

The project continues.

Mission accomplished - Smoke & Chill at 4th & Cherry

Father and son are reeling in an air conditioner - and who can blame them?

This appears to be where a fire was intentionally set about two weeks ago, damaging the base of the mural along Front Street. On Sunday morning, water from a drain line was dripping onto the area.

Railroad workers at "The Columbia Mural"
Not everyone who donated to the mural got a mention - just the heavy hitters.

This car was removed from the backyard of one of the fire-damaged houses on the 500 block of Locust Street on August 19. A suspect who was allegedly stealing copper from the property may have used it.

This plaque is filthy, almost to the point of illegibility.

Medallion marking the grave of a World War II veteran at Mount Bethel

Green Drive

Jody and Shane keep peeking through at the bridge.

Left behind at Mount Bethel?

How much time is on this meter?

Hopefully it started.

That looks like hell.
(Maybe the repairs will be part of the upcoming bridge rehab.)

The USGS monitoring station at Columbia River Park had problems, so the antenna was moved.

Cormorant showing off and all proud of himself

Boaters out on an outing

Stars and Stripes and stripes

Second Amendment  Flag and U.S. Flag
(Where's the First Amendment Flag?)

Detour signs that are already confusing are likely to become even more so when new detour signs are installed for the upcoming Malleable Road Bridge project.

The mayflies are still with us.

Hanging out and hanging on

Spiny bullrushes, aka teasel

This seagull seems proud of his catch - a fish head.

This apex predator would probably find that laughable - if he could laugh.

551 Avenue H
This blighted property has been the proverbial thorn in the borough's side since at least 2015. The current plan is to rehab it, as announced at the July 12, 2022 Columbia Borough Council meeting, although it's still listed for demolition on the Lancaster County Land Bank website.


It's on the 300 block of Chestnut Street (Route 462) and is the only one remaining of nine Lincoln Highway markers that had been in Columbia. It's the easternmost marker that still exists in all of Pennsylvania.

A Dunkin is coming to a former bank in Marietta.
Mayor, get your scissors ready for the ribbon cutting.




The final lines of Dean Young’s last manuscript:

“Ecstasy is willingness.
I dare you to find a river any other way.
I dare you to breathe.
Some cries never reach us
Even though they’re our own.
The best endings are abrupt.”


Columbia native Dean Young died from Covid last Tuesday. His Wikipedia page is HERE.


Saturday, August 27, 2022

Columbia school board approves new formula for paying coaches, online ticket sales for games


District business manager Keith Ramsey said staff had developed the formula as a way to improve coach recruitment and retention. He explained the average head sports coach in Lancaster County is paid about $5,800, while the average coach at Columbia Borough School District is paid roughly $1,800.

Details: Factors like the length of a sport's season, amount of prep work required, and whether the sport is collision, contact or no-contact are taken into account in the new formula, Ramsey explained. He added that the formula will be implemented incrementally, with the goal that in five years coaches' pay will be near the average for the county.

Quotable: "Our head coaches are (paid) the lowest in every sport in the county," Ramsey said.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-school-board-approves-new-formula-for-paying-coaches-online-ticket-sales-for-games/article_36f7d748-263d-11ed-93aa-bfe46b3ad028.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Your license plate frame is enough for police in Pa. to pull you over, court rules


Your license plate frame is enough for police in Pa. to pull you over, court rules
The judges found the state's vehicle code prohibits any part of the plate from being covered, including the visitpa.com website of the state's tourism office.

https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2022/08/pa-police-license-plate-frame-pulled-over-traffic-stop/ 

Turnover, yes, but news for Columbia football is not at all bad

So while the Tide is coming off a memorable campaign, they have the feeling of having received a fresh coat of paint heading into 2022.

There's new skipper Brady Mathias, a former Hempfield football player and wrestler turned first-time head coach. While Mathias, 25, is the youngest coach in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, he spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant at Hempfield and Columbia. He's also a social studies teacher at Columbia and inherits a roster with 15 total returning starters.

"We're in a good spot," Mathias said.
MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/sports/highschool/football/turnover-yes-but-news-for-columbia-football-is-not-at-all-bad/article_5f77606e-2208-11ed-86a0-3732c08f4a2b.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

How to pay for Pennsylvania's bridges? An open question


(The Center Square) – The defeat of PennDOT's plan to toll bridges across the commonwealth ended one transportation battle, but it did not solve another question: how to pay for transportation infrastructure.

The Senate Transportation Committee met on Wednesday to learn more about the issue.

The goal, as Chairman Wayne Langerholc, R-Clearfield, noted, was to find a "holistic approach" for transportation funding that also emphasized "fiscal restraint and spending." 
MORE:

https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/how-to-pay-for-pennsylvanias-bridges-an-open-question/article_ec3e81fc-23ee-11ed-9e74-af26b23c087e.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share