Wednesday, March 29, 2023

'The fight is far from over': SDL says Gov. Shapiro's budget falls short in funding public schools | Local News | lancasteronline.com


Pennsylvania's Level Up program directs funds to the 100 most underserved districts in the state (including Lancaster County's SDL, Ephrata Area School District and Columbia Borough). Shapiro didn't include any new Level Up funding in his budget.

SDL received nearly $4 million of Level Up funding from the state's 2022-23 budget.

"Any dollar we don't get, that's just one sacrifice we have to make," Przywara said. "With each new dollar we get, we only really can invest anywhere from 40 to 60 cents on every dollar, because we're still making up from the recurring deficits for the last more than a decade."
MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/the-fight-is-far-from-over-sdl-says-gov-shapiros-budget-falls-short-in-funding/article_fea0d87a-cda0-11ed-9f5b-532cf5ffd8cb.html 

Columbia’s Watch & Clock Museum gets $1 million in state funding


PA State Senator Ryan Aument announced yesterday that the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) approved $1 million in funding to replace the HVAC system at the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia Borough. By law, the CFA distributes revenue from taxes on gambling to support local projects in the public interest across the state.

In an email to constituents, Aument said, "local residents will benefit from this funding to provide more enjoyable recreational opportunities and tourist attractions in the Columbia community."

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Artist is restoring entrance to Columbia School of Music

Stacia Hummel, armed with a heat gun, is removing old paint from a historic door frame at the Columbia School of Music on Walnut Street. The frame and door will eventually get a new paint job.

Artist Stacia Hummel is restoring the entrance of the Columbia School of Music at 401 Walnut Street. The process entails navigating the ornate details of the historic door and frame while painstakingly removing several layers of old paint. The final paint job will include marbling around the door frame and walnut grain on the door itself.

A detail of the door frame

Hummel, who started the project about a week and a half ago, is a graduate of the Pennsylvania School of Art in Marietta (now PCAD in Lancaster). She operates Curio Decorative Painting & Restoration and has pursued restoration work for 30 years, according to her Facebook page HERE.


Kleen-Rite president wants to preserve part of the Columbia Borough Farm

Mike McKonly (above) wants to buy a 26-acre parcel on the borough farm to put into agricultural preservation.

Mike McKonly wants to buy 26 acres of land from Columbia Borough. McKonly, president of Kleen-Rite Corporation, floated the offer at the March 14 Columbia Borough Council meeting, telling council he wants to add the east side portion of the borough farm to his adjacent farmland. The borough farm is located along Blue Lane and mulching and other operations are done on the west side of the farm.

McKonly explained that he wants to buy the land for his animals and that it will be put into agricultural preservation, adding that his existing 30 acres are already preserved.

McKonly said he had discussed the potential purchase with Mayor Leo Lutz and Borough Manager Mark Stivers and was told by Stivers to bring the offer forth to council. No price was discussed at the meeting, and no vote was taken on the offer.

Agenda - Columbia Borough Council Meeting - March 28, 2023

 


The meeting packet is HERE.