SOURCE: Harrisburg Patriot-News
Archive for the ‘Opportunities’ Category
Pennsylvania: Up there with Utah
In Everyday Living, Government, History and Heritage, Opportunities on May 5, 2013 at 5:51 amMecca for sports enthusiasts: Spooky Nook Sports
In Everyday Living, Opportunities, People on May 4, 2013 at 4:55 amYepper, when this wonderland opens on June 3, sports enthusiasts from near and far will be trekking to this nearby attraction in Lancaster County.
It’s a wonderland for speed, sweat, athleticism, enthusiasm, power, passes, volleys, hitting, parrying, climbing and almost everything imaginable. There’s even going to be an on-site orthopedic clinic.
10 magnificent hardwood courts, complete with scoreboards and shot clocks, provide an amazing facility for kids of all ages to play Naismith’s “peach basket” game.
Statue of James Naismith, founder of basketball, the game in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusets
[NOTE: The Naismith statue is not at Spooky Nook Sports.]
Former Ephrata High School basketball star, Mike Matto is the Director of Basketball programs at Spooky Nook. Give him a call for information about programs, leagues, camps and lessons.
The numbers and facts.
A huge game area
All the courts, fields are open and well lighted.
tennis
soccer
wall art
It’s scheduled to open on June 3, but you can call for information now. Or visit the Website.
“Safety first: The motorcycle death toll argues for a helmet law” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In Education, Everyday Living, Government, Opinions, Opportunities on May 4, 2013 at 4:18 am
(photo source: Fat Jack’s Erratic Rants)
“In America, freedom and responsibility often don’t ride together — as evidenced by motorcyclists allowed to ride without safety helmets, a practice that courts senseless death.
“The operation of any vehicle — autos or motorcycles — is a privilege, not a right. States license drivers and riders and rightly insist that they follow rules in the name of safety, like the seat belt requirement for motorists.
“But since 2003 most motorcycle riders in Pennsylvania have been allowed to go helmet-less in the name of freedom. The results have been predictable. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports a rising national epidemic of motorcycle fatalities, including 210 in Pennsylvania last year — a 5.5 percent increase.
“More than 5,000 riders died in the nation in 2012, only the third time that has occurred. The report points out that the number of motorcycle deaths more than doubled between 1997 and 2011, even as overall traffic fatalities fell by 23 percent.
“The Alliance for Bikers Aimed Toward Education, a group that lobbied hard to gut Pennsylvania’s helmet law, argues that more people are riding motorcycles and therefore more are being killed. ABATE is right about that. But the problem is really that more people are riding and riding without helmets — meaning they aren’t part of the general improvement in traffic safety.
“Dangerous situations demand helmets. Football players don’t play without them, soldiers don’t fight without them and competitive motorcycle racers strap them on. The human brain is fragile. When an unprotected skull hits the roadway, the brain usually loses.
“In fact, the exceptions to the state law — helmets are mandated for riders under 21 and for older riders in the first two years of being licensed — underscore how dangerous riding can be.
“Motorcycle tragedies do not happen in a vacuum — they involve first responders, emergency physicians and hospital staff and insurance companies. Families are stricken and the costs spread to society at large.
“It’s time to end Pennsylvania’s failed 10-year experiment of condoning needless injuries by reinstating a comprehensive motorcycle helmet law.”
(SOURCE: Opinion, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Town Meeting notes, part III
In Education, Everyday Living, Government, In Columbia, Opinions, Opportunities, People on May 3, 2013 at 5:00 amObviously, the better way to find out what happens and what is said at any gathering of people, is to be there. Listen to what people are saying. Watch the Power Point presentation, if there are any. Look at who is saying what to whom. Observe who tends to sit with whom and who gathers together for small group discussion during breaks.
For those who were not in attendance at Tuesday’s Columbia Town Meeting, media reports and reports from those who attended become the source of information.
Here is one observer’s account of the town meeting: “Columbians seek to boost town’s quality of life.” - MyColumbiaNews
This is the third installment of Columbia news, news & reviews’ reporting of the note-taking of that meeting.
Police chief Jack Bromer followed the mayor’s Power Point presentation with his own Power Point presentation about the Columbia Police Department’s resources and statistics. The presentation included staffing numbers; call reports from the county’s 9-1-1 system; and the department’s upgraded weaponry. The mayor injected that the weapons were acquired at minimal cost to taxpayers; the new 40 mm hand guns and AR-15′s were obtained using grant funding.
The chief made references to the need for increased staffing. He spoke to the citations issued so far this year for dog violations; there’ve been 20.
The mayor and police chief agreed that speeding is a problem; the mayor said, “Ninth Street is a raceway.” The department is working on enforcement in town and on Routes 30 and 441. The mayor said the department will be getting “one-officer” radar speed abatement
The chief commented on his department’s responses to direct calls to the department as well as the recorded calls to the 9-1-1 system. He related actions and activities that the police department has been involved with; that list includes: making sure that the borough’s curfew is observed. The borough’s curfew ordinance appears online; it states, “The Borough Secretary/Treasurer shall provide notice of this chapter and of the curfew regulations established by it by having copies of this chapter posted in, on or about such public or quasi-public places as may be determined by the Mayor, the Borough Council and Police Department in order that the public may be constantly informed of the existence of this chapter and its amendments and regulations.”
“The Borough Council of the Borough of Columbia, recognizing the problem of crimes committed by and committed against juveniles during the nighttime and believing that it can be dealt with more effectively by regulating the hours during which minors less than 18 years of age may remain in public places and certain establishments without adult supervision and by defining more clearly certain duties and responsibilities upon those who have the custody and responsibility for the care of such minors, hereby enacts this chapter for the purpose of promoting the general welfare and protecting the general public through reduction of juvenile violence and crime within the Borough of Columbia, promoting the safety and welfare of the Borough citizens under the age of 18 years whose youth and inexperience renders them particularly vulnerable to becoming the participants in criminal activity and in being victimized by perpetrators of crime, and fostering and strengthening parental responsibility for children.
“The period of time between the hours Read the rest of this entry »
Town Meeting notes, part II
In Everyday Living, Government, In Columbia, Opinions, Opportunities, People on May 2, 2013 at 5:00 amWhen most people think of the town meeting, they think of the open forum, all topics and issues brought to the forefront and debated convocation of the shareholders.
In its most pure form, the town meeting begun and practiced in New England’s states and commonwealths, was an open forum of voting citizens in a town. In Vermont, “It is the day when all the legal voters of a town have an opportunity to air their grievances; a day when true town business is addressed; and the source of a much-needed social respite towards the end of a long Vermont winter.”
Wikipedia says it this way: “A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government.
“The term has more recently been expanded to cover public meetings that draw people in a geographic area to discuss issues but not vote on any legislative or administrative action. Notably, the term is commonly used by politicians in the United States to describe forums at which voters can ask questions.”
Was Monday’s meeting a town meeting?
At Monday night’s town meeting in Columbia, the “openness” and the general airing of grievances by citizens was limited as the unpublished agenda evolved as the mayor and police chief showed Power Point presentations. The mayor’s focused on observations about what the mayor’s observed around town and what he believes is needed; the police chief’s was a show about the police department’s resources and needs.
Yard sales: The mayor’s Power Point began with a slide showing yard sale signage and the mayor held up a yard sale sign that he’d gotten over the weekend. He went on to say that the uncontrolled yard sales (1) violate utility company policies when people post signs on utility poles; (2) that the signs not removed give a bad appearance to visitors ; (3) that the nails, tacks, staples and devices used to affix the signs present a safety hazard; (4) that signage taped to surfaces can scar and remove paint when removed and that the sale of food at yard sales by individuals can present a health risk.
The Columbia Website page headed ZONING says this about yard sales: “It is Read the rest of this entry »
First “Town Meeting” held last night
In Everyday Living, Government, History and Heritage, In Columbia, Opportunities, People on May 1, 2013 at 5:55 amLast night’s Columbia Town Meeting drafted by mayor Leo Lutz and police chief Jack Bromer brought together an assembly of around 80 people … citizens, business owners, religious leaders, the new borough manager, the departing borough manager, all of the councillors, the codes officer, the Columbia Economic Development Corporation and members of the school board of directors. The Town Meeting began at 7:00 pm and concluded just after 10:00 pm. At the conclusion, just under 40 persons were in attendance.
Those assembled for the Town Meeting, held at the Columbia Borough School District’s headquarters at the corner of Chestnut and Fifth streets, were welcomed by the mayor and police chief. Each shared Power Point slide shows. Chief Bromer welcomed the community’s shareholders then turned the program over to the mayor who began the meeting with a slide show showing some of the highlights of Columbia’s successes over the past years.
He identified the Yardwaste Facility, the Town Square, the Route 462 project through town, the new streets, the Market House, the added parking lots, the downtown streetscape, the River Park and more.
He then introduced Ray D’agostino, the executive director of the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP) and Jim Shultz, program development manager for LHOP. Each of them shared success projects about reclaiming neighborhood housing opportunities from the City of Lancaster. D’agostino and Shultz each spoke to the importance of bringing community shareholders together to develop planning to determine what they want their community to be in the future. D’agostino stressed that planning is great, but plans need resources to come to fruition.
He and Shultz announced and entertained questions about Community First Foundation initiative that will make some of those “resources” available – in the form of a grant opportunity of $100,000 a year for five years for the borough under the long-term creative solutions matching fund program: “To invest in creative solutions to benefit low-income residents in Lancaster City and Columbia.”
D’agostino continued by indicating that there is the potential for continuation and Read the rest of this entry »
“How much do you know about Storm Water?” Storm Water runoff?
In Education, Everyday Living, Government, Opportunities on April 30, 2013 at 4:24 amThe works of Emerging Artist: Christine Ott at Jonal Gallery on Fourth Friday
In Everyday Living, In Columbia, Opportunities, People on April 26, 2013 at 4:11 amYou’re Invited to attend …
An Artist Reception – Friday, April 26, 2013, 5-9pm
”The Works of Emerging Marietta Artist - Christine Ott – Part II”
AT:
Jonal Gallery/Alverta Arts Shop
653 Locust Street
Columbia, PA 17512
jonalgallery.com 717.681.9400
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“Part II” introduces seven exciting new acrylics on canvas to her collection of framed acrylic works.
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SEE YOU AT THE GALLERY, JOHN and DALE
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Be sure to stop by the Mount Bethel Caretaker’s Cottage, 700 Locust Street
for a very special April FOURTH FRIDAY event 5-9pm*:
A one time exhibit of Columbia Artist Gardiner C. Criswell (1901-1968)
This special event is brought to you by the Mount Bethel Cemetery Company and the Columbia Public Library. All Gardiner C. Criswell works on display are courtesy of the Columbia Public Library collection and individual private collections. Admission is free, donations will be great fully accepted and benefit the Mount Bethel Cemetery and the Columbia Public Libary. Light refreshments will be served.
*This exhibit repeats on Sunday, April 28, 2-4pm.
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Celebrate Earth Day on Saturday!
In Everyday Living, History and Heritage, In Columbia, Opportunities on April 25, 2013 at 4:57 am
Photo follow up to Monday’s council meeting
In Everyday Living, Government, In Columbia, Opinions, Opportunities on April 24, 2013 at 6:54 amO-o-p-s! As observed in yesterday’s post about the Monday evening council meeting, a Fairview Avenue resident said “he woke up one day, and the street he lives on had been changed from an Avenue to a Street.” Seems hardly anyone or any organization was made aware of that change. The United States Postal Service, too, recognizes that thoroughfare as “Fairview Avenue.” The street sign just appeared one day; now it’s time to correct the sign to read “Fairview Avenue.”
Poo bags! One of the councillors and the mayor talked about the benefits of having “doggie poo bags” available around town for those “less-than-responsible” dog owners who walk their dogs with no thought of cleaning up after their pets. Customers who stop at Rita’s Italian Ice just outside Mountville are offered bags for their pooches. The mayor stated that the Columbia Police Department has been finding some Columbia dog owners helpful in contributing to the Borough’s coffers when the dog owners dispute a police officer’s observation that dogs must display a license and rabies tag and a means (poo bag) to clean up after their dogs.
Improvement at the gateway to River Park! The entrance road’s to the River Park and the Columbia Water Company’s facility’s been macadamed. Just guessing the water company chipped in to help pay for this?
