Welcome to Wednesday September 21, 2016...
Waking up in Columbia once again.
Summer lingers on here, which (for me) is great. I'm dreading the coming days when we need to put on a ton of clothing just to step out the door. Today, I plan to launder those old jackets in preparation. Soon I'll be lining up the artillery to begin the long battle: salt, shovels, boots, gloves, scrapers, hats and coats. A battle that is all in vain, in the end the enemy melts away!
I attended the Public Works and Public Property Committee meetings last night:
Along the winter battle front, Ron Miller said that the Salt Shed is complete and came in on budget. Salt will no longer be stored under the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
A presentation was made by a group of young men led by Cullen Ferrell and Robert Irwin. It involves a new use for some market house space. Borough officials seemed highly interested in the idea. The proposal lacked any figures with regard to cost and did not state exactly who would fund the project. Please see the Columbia Spy for details of that meeting and the project.
After the meeting, at about 7:20 p.m. I saw police lights flashing on Locust Street in front of Wells Fargo bank. Police had a white van stopped there and some people (including police) were standing on the sidewalk. Columbia has been no stranger to excitement.
Nothing else at this time.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Here we are waking up to a rainy Monday morning, perhaps it will wash away some of the problems that Columbia saw last week...
Thursday night, September 15, was one filled with enough drama for an HBO mini-series. The school board meeting was "THE" place to be that night. About 100 residents filled the room and voiced their concerns to the board, at times it was uncomfortable to hear the accusations.
Some of their rage stemmed from a video taken of an assault in a classroom at the high school on September 8. Another recent video of a fight at the intersection of Ironville Pike and Kinderhook Road continued to fuel the flames.
The Columbia Spy has detailed this very well, so no need for me to repeat it here. Suffice it to say that residents are upset about the bullying among students and even among the school board members themselves. In the midst of all this turmoil, the principal has also resigned. Fasten your seat belt Dr. Hollister, you're in for a rollercoaster ride up and down the Columbia high school hill.
Dr. Hollister promised to address the bullying, but other than promises, I'm not sure there was too much anyone could count on.
I hope that the resident taxpayers will continue to fill the school board meetings. Keep the pressure on these people. Do not look the other way. Thanks to every person that had the courage to ask the tough questions.
Some of our tax dollars could be spent on educating the students about bullying. With all of the poverty in Columbia, maybe we need more practical classes like teaching children how to cope with dysfunctional family life. It seems many of Columbia's children come to school filled with anger and empty on love. I do not think that they know how to cope with their feelings. In a poor community such as this, maybe we need to spend more hours on making these kids feel like they have a safe place at school, where they are accepted. If we can accomplish that maybe then they will be able to actually "learn."
Thursday night, September 15, was one filled with enough drama for an HBO mini-series. The school board meeting was "THE" place to be that night. About 100 residents filled the room and voiced their concerns to the board, at times it was uncomfortable to hear the accusations.
Some of their rage stemmed from a video taken of an assault in a classroom at the high school on September 8. Another recent video of a fight at the intersection of Ironville Pike and Kinderhook Road continued to fuel the flames.
The Columbia Spy has detailed this very well, so no need for me to repeat it here. Suffice it to say that residents are upset about the bullying among students and even among the school board members themselves. In the midst of all this turmoil, the principal has also resigned. Fasten your seat belt Dr. Hollister, you're in for a rollercoaster ride up and down the Columbia high school hill.
Dr. Hollister promised to address the bullying, but other than promises, I'm not sure there was too much anyone could count on.
I hope that the resident taxpayers will continue to fill the school board meetings. Keep the pressure on these people. Do not look the other way. Thanks to every person that had the courage to ask the tough questions.
Some of our tax dollars could be spent on educating the students about bullying. With all of the poverty in Columbia, maybe we need more practical classes like teaching children how to cope with dysfunctional family life. It seems many of Columbia's children come to school filled with anger and empty on love. I do not think that they know how to cope with their feelings. In a poor community such as this, maybe we need to spend more hours on making these kids feel like they have a safe place at school, where they are accepted. If we can accomplish that maybe then they will be able to actually "learn."
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Good Sunday morning to all readers,
This past week has been extremely eventful for one of our Rivertowns.
Columbia saw more than its share of excitement, beginning with a Sunday wake-up call on September 11.
A shooting occurred in the 200 block of Locust Street. The shooting happened just as Venues, a new event space was closing at 3::00 a.m.
One neighbor reported seeing patrons running from the building outside to the street. When police arrived no victims were found. Reportedly two people were shot and apparently taken to the hospital in private vehicles. One supposedly was treated at LGH and the other is in Hershey Medical Center.
Oddly enough one week later no names have officially been released. One victim went public saying that he was shot. The second victim's name has not been made public. No word either on the gunman.
Nathan May along with a few Venues supporters attended Monday's Borough Council meeting. May spoke in defense of the business. Mayor Leo Lutz said the trouble with venues like this is that there are no rules and regulations.
Lutz spoke about making changes to legislation, saying this is not a personal matter, but rather municipal and legislative. He said an entertainment license may be enacted. The license would require compliance with a set of stipulations. Also the three-strike residential rental regulation may be expanded to include commercial. If police are called for three legitimate incidents the business would be evicted.
This took another twisted turn when Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz presented the media with a proclamation that cited zoning violations. The enforcement notice along with the proclamation were posted on the door of Venues 237 Locust Street, ordering it to cease business.
A few hours later, the mayor recinded the proclamation, after consulting with an attorney.
A group of Venues supporters led by Nathan May, operations manager, attended the Community Development meeting on Thursday night. The topic of the shooting and/or the Mayor's proclamation were not brought up during that meeting.
Venues was open for business on Friday evening. About a half dozen staff members were out front on the sidewalk awaiting patrons.
That was only one-third of Columbia's week of excitement. The other stories will follow...
This past week has been extremely eventful for one of our Rivertowns.
Columbia saw more than its share of excitement, beginning with a Sunday wake-up call on September 11.
A shooting occurred in the 200 block of Locust Street. The shooting happened just as Venues, a new event space was closing at 3::00 a.m.
One neighbor reported seeing patrons running from the building outside to the street. When police arrived no victims were found. Reportedly two people were shot and apparently taken to the hospital in private vehicles. One supposedly was treated at LGH and the other is in Hershey Medical Center.
Oddly enough one week later no names have officially been released. One victim went public saying that he was shot. The second victim's name has not been made public. No word either on the gunman.
Nathan May along with a few Venues supporters attended Monday's Borough Council meeting. May spoke in defense of the business. Mayor Leo Lutz said the trouble with venues like this is that there are no rules and regulations.
Lutz spoke about making changes to legislation, saying this is not a personal matter, but rather municipal and legislative. He said an entertainment license may be enacted. The license would require compliance with a set of stipulations. Also the three-strike residential rental regulation may be expanded to include commercial. If police are called for three legitimate incidents the business would be evicted.
This took another twisted turn when Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz presented the media with a proclamation that cited zoning violations. The enforcement notice along with the proclamation were posted on the door of Venues 237 Locust Street, ordering it to cease business.
A few hours later, the mayor recinded the proclamation, after consulting with an attorney.
A group of Venues supporters led by Nathan May, operations manager, attended the Community Development meeting on Thursday night. The topic of the shooting and/or the Mayor's proclamation were not brought up during that meeting.
Venues was open for business on Friday evening. About a half dozen staff members were out front on the sidewalk awaiting patrons.
That was only one-third of Columbia's week of excitement. The other stories will follow...
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Greetings to all and welcome to "The Rivertown Register."
This is an idea born of the need that locals want more and faster coverage of news in their towns.
With this creation, I will attempt to cover Columbia, Marietta and Wrightsville. This is a big project to launch and therefore I would ask that you bear with me as I begin slowly.
Even in our small towns, there are plenty of stories. Once established, I hope to provide daily posts.
Thank you
This is an idea born of the need that locals want more and faster coverage of news in their towns.
With this creation, I will attempt to cover Columbia, Marietta and Wrightsville. This is a big project to launch and therefore I would ask that you bear with me as I begin slowly.
Even in our small towns, there are plenty of stories. Once established, I hope to provide daily posts.
Thank you
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