today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “Regardless of what lies ahead for Obamacare, the government’s latest action shines much-needed light on a complex and often bewildering hospital pricing system.” -  Extracted from this Lancaster New Era editorial.

• “Monday May 13th was a new experience for the Concert Choir from Our Lady Of The Angels School, Columbia.  They had the opportunity to sing and make a recording in the new music recording studio at Millersville University. Before doing this the students were taught about the equipment and had to be very careful not to make noise.  The microphones were very, very sensitive.  There were stops and restarts during the session.  Four songs were recorded.  After the session the students were given a brief tour of the recording area itself.  They were able to hear how the recording sounded with the piano accompaniment music.  This was a free session sponsored by “Music For Everyone”.  This was arranged under the guidance of John Gerdy, director of “Music For Everyone”. Jaye Grochowski, Music Teacher, Our Lady Of The Angels School.” – news release, Our Lady of the Angels School [View a video of the Concert Choir here.}

• Columbia election results - Lancaster County Board of Elections and Registration Commission Website – Click here to go to the Website. Then click on “Historic Election Results” to see the meager voter turnout in Columbia.

• Who cares? Voter turnout at the polls yesterday was very light. Sadly, apparently not too many people care. The tragic outcome of that will be more “self-seeking” elected (by the minority) “public servants” as the spiral continues.

• Derek L. Chrismer of Columbia, received a Bachelor of Science in sport and exercise science, cum laude, from DeSales University on May 18. – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• These area residents were among 163 students who graduated Tuesday from YTI Career Institute. –  Criminal Justice Read the rest of this entry »

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “Keep them union raises coming, keep on raising them taxes” – Kevin L., commenter to this MyColumbiaNews article: “Columbia school board drafts 5.7% tax hike.”

• Columbia Borough School District’s proposed budget

• Lancaster issues Drinking Water Advisory – Lancaster Website

• It’s election day. It’s your opportunity to vote for terrible elected “public servants.” But … it’s your opportunity, too, to vote for really great people of character. If you don’t vote; you are casting an “in absentia” ballot for the terrible ones.

• Balloting expected to be light – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• Rental unit check ups are needed – Lancaster New Era editorial

• “The following area students, listed with major, were named to the dean’s list for the winter term at Central Penn College: Steven Henry of Columbia, business administration; Knowledge Mancotywa of Columbia, business administration and Karen Weber-Zug of Columbia, physical therapist assistant.” – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• “The annual Marietta Garden Tour is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 9, 2013, with proceeds to support the Marietta Community House.” – Marietta Community House Website

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “The state workers are not to be blamed. They are just taking everything they can get. The people who gave it to them are the ones to blame. They feathered their own nest also and we voted them into office.” – Ronald Richards, in this letter to the editor of the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

• Columbia Police Department news releases: (1) Stabbing suspect (2) traffic and break in

• “Police have accused a Columbia man of stabbing two people in the borough Monday morning.” - LancasterOnLine

• 150th anniversary will bring heavy traffic to Gettysburg - York Daily Record
  

Russell Rupp, veteran assistant wrestling Columbia High School coach, looks at the award he received for coming to the assistance of 11 victims of a car crash last June. (PHOTO: K. Scott Kreider | Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era)

• Outgoing Columbia wrestling coach honored for heroism – MyColumbia News

•  Scranton Times report: “oil and gas development damaged the water supplies for at least 161 Pennsylvania homes, farms, churches and businesses between 2008 and the fall of 2012 “

• Sarah E. Frank of Columbia, a junior English major and a graduate of Penn Manor High School was inducted into the Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society and Keifer R. Kemmerly of Columbia, a senior music and English major and a graduate of Columbia High School was inducted into the Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society at Lebanon Valley College. – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! 

Quote for today… “The hospital turned it over to a collection agency after a year of haggling and I ended up paying $30,000 (my IRA). The only reason they didn’t get anymore is because I have zero assets – no house, no car, etc.” – Salome, a Virginia commenter to this New York Times article (New Jersey Hospital has highest billing rates in the nation.) after paying on a $220,000 hospital stay for heart surgery.

• “In the Columbia Borough School District, special education students declined from 383 to 314 over the 12-year period studied; but costs rose from $1.5 million to $4.1 million, and special education spending as a percentage of the overall budget rose from 13.1 percent to 20.1 percent. ‘It’s always a hot topic, people saying the reason we’re having money issues is special education,’ says Jennifer Zolenas, Columbia’s special education coordinator. ‘You have to do what’s right and what’s best for the kids. But it does put a strain on the budget.’” – from a page one article in today’s Sunday News about special education funding in schools.

• You are if you bought your ticket in Florida - Sunday News

• You’ll have to hit the lottery, because UGI’s planned two rate increases this year – Sunday News

• Hospitals can be hazardous to your health! Watch this video. - ProPublica

• Klawitter to return as superintendent: This article in today’s Sunday News states: “Former Columbia superintendent Kenneth Klawitter will return to the school district in July as acting superintendent for the coming school year. Klawitter will replace Superintendent Barry Clippinger, who announced his retirement in September. Despite having nine months to find a Read the rest of this entry »

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “I think this sends a great message! I in no way think they used this as a cover up. It is to promote awareness!” – Brenda Benedict, commenting on the article at MyElizabethtownNews.com, “Watch 600 Elizabethtown middle school students lip dub ‘Home’ by Phillip Phillips.”

• “Firebugs” caught – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era
  

• E-town’s anti-bullying program: Lip-dub. – “The Elizabethtown Area Middle School has begun its second year of implementation of the Olweus Bully Prevention Program. EAMS has decided to really focus on the building of a strong community within the school. To accomplish this goal EAMS has taken on the project of creating a Lip Dub. Our Lip Dub is centered on bully prevention and student empowerment. EAMS has been in the planning stages since September 2012. We involved several community members and local businesses in the completion of this project. We are so excited about the final project and the AMAZING students.”

• Tuesday is the primary election day Read the rest of this entry »

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… ““Do the right thing, Red Lion.” – Issak Oliver Wolfe, student addressing the Red Lion Area School Board on diversity last night. – York Daily Record

• Class of 2013 graduation – “Columbia — Commencement is at 7 p.m. June 6 in the high school auditorium; baccalaureate is at 7 p.m. June 4 at Columbia United Methodist Church. Graduates each will get five commencement tickets; additional tickets may be available upon request.” – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• Eastern High School’s graduation information is online at its Website

• LEGAL NOTICE, published in the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, May 17, 2013 – “LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Columbia Borough Council (committee meeting of the whole) has been rescheduled from Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. to Tuesday, May 28, 2013 at 6:00p.m. This meeting will be held in the Columbia Borough Municipal Building, 308 Locust Street, Columbia, PA. If you are a person with a disability wishing to attend this meeting and require an accommodation to participate, please contact the Columbia Borough Office at 684-2467. Samuel F. Sulkosky Borough Manager.”

• PowerBall soars to half a billion plus, thanks to California – York Daily Record
  

• UGI seeks rate increase: “Gas Division (UGI) has announced that its purchased gas cost rates will increase on June 1, 2013. As a result, the total bill for the typical residential heating, commercial and industrial retail customer will increase by 7.2%, 7.2% and 7.4% respectively on June 1.” – Advertisement in Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• Letters to the editors in today’s Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

Hieronymus - (SOURCE: The New York Times)

• The real IRS scandal - The New York Times

• Corporate lobbyists buy more breaks for big banks – The New York Times

“Smart car 2009″ - craigslist

• Susquehanna Bank closing three Lancaster County sites – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “Our Legislature is built to bungle. Think about it. The nation’s largest full-time Legislature routinely spits out something like 5,000 bills each two-year session.“ – John Baer, Philadelphia Daily News columnist, in this column: Lawmakers need a ‘one-thing’ rule.

• “Swoyersville Borough Council wants a summit meeting with the fire chiefs” – The Citizens-Voice, Wilkes-Barre, PA

• $antorum’s back … this time as a newspaper columnist in the Lancaster New Era (“Rick Santorum joins the New Era editorial page, starting today.”)

• “Pa. fire chief slammed for son’s use of fire truck at prom” - FireRescue1 and “Pa. chief chided for using fire truck as prom limo” – Connecticut Post

• Jumping ship: York school’s board members’ and superintendent’s resignation – York Daily Record

• “There was no Powerball winner on Tuesday night, and the jackpot is now an estimated $475 million.” – Harrisburg Patriot-News

• 300 pound blueberry pie at “Red, White & Blueberry” day – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• “Jeremy K. Beckley of Columbia recently received the Jordan Earth Science Scholarship of $332. He will graduate from Columbia Junior/Senior High School and attend Millersville University this fall to study environmental geology.” – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• “SI story is really about PSU political maelstrom that lingers long after Joe Paterno’s firing, death – Harrisburg Patriot-News [Click here to be directed to the lead to the Sports Illustrated article.

• Economic development continues with these just opened enterprises in Columbia: Mullen Books, Kozee Kandles and Columbia Fryer Chicken Shack – MyColumbiaNews & The Merchandiser
  

Click on the picture of Mullen Books above

Click on the picture of Kozee Kandles above

Click on the picture of Columbia Fryer Chicken Shack above

• Lancaster New Era editorial on school funding proposal

• EMS Week 2013 – One Mission. One Team. - US. Fire Administration

• Letters to the editors in today’s Read the rest of this entry »

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “‘We dishonor them,’ (President Barack) Obama said, ‘when we turn things like this into a political circus.’ Indeed. But it’s what we turn almost everything into.” -  Extracted from this New York Times column: “Our Ceaseless Circus.”

• “psychological barrier” against school tax increase - LancasterOnLine

• “clean opinion” on Columbia’s annual financial audit – MyColumbiaNews

• “Ephrata’s new open-air market will debut Saturday. Located in Whistle Stop Plaza outside the borough’s 124-year-old train station, the market will feature a mix of baked goods, locally grown produce, processed food from small, in-home businesses and arts and crafts.” – LancasterOnLine

• “Suspect in custody after search near Park City Mall” - Fox43-TV

• Crime city:” … York ranks higher than Baltimore on a list of the top most dangerous cities in the U.S.  Neighborhood Scout ranks York 18th.  Baltimore is 27th most dangerous and Harrisburg is 30th on the list. Sarasota, Florida is at the bottom of the list of 100. To see the complete list click here.  – Fox43-TV

• The Columbia Borough council May “meeting-of-the-whole” will be held on Tuesday, May 28. This announced change of dates was made at Monday’s council meeting. The change is necessary because the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, May 21. That’s the same date for the primary election; the borough council chambers is a designated polling place.

• “Taking the politics out of legislative redistricting could be a ridiculously easy task: Do what Iowa has done for years. Let a computer draw the lines, based solely on population, with a law that specifically prohibits political or even demographic considerations.” – Harrisburg Patriot-News

• There was discussion about the reduced revenue from the “liquid fuels tax” at the Monday evening council meeting. One councillor said this is a problem because people are driving less. This New York Times article lends to that premise: “Young Americans Lead Trend to Less Driving.”

SOURCE: Emergency Management Magazine

• Curiously coincidental article considering the recent water incident in Columbia: “Protecting the Water Supply Requires a Multipronged Approach” – Emergency Management

• News release – Columbia Borough Police Department

• The drawing for the estimated $360 million jackpot is tonight.

• Hickernell to Host Veterans ID Card Event in E-Town - Representative Hickernell’s Website

• Another topic that received a good bit of discussion at Monday’s Council meeting was ACT 46: “Pennsylvania Workers’ Read the rest of this entry »

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “This archaic and highly partsian redistricting system is inefficient and costly. It caters to politicians rather than to the people they serve.” – Excerpted from the editorial about “redistricting” in today’s Intelligencer Journal: “Enough Seahorses.”

• ” … and why would anyone want to watch? “Brenda Heist grants interview to Dr. Phil” – LancasterOnLine

• News release – Columbia Borough Police Department

• OPINION: The above-mentioned editorial about redistricting serves the “same-old” menu: We have way too many self-serving career politicians at all levels in this country. Vote them out! Get them away from the trough!

• “massive and unprecedented intrusion” – “U.S. Justice Department secretly obtains Associated Press phone records, won’t say why” - Harrisburg Patriot-News

In the 2008 commemorative event “Flames Across the Susquehanna,” 25 wood-fueled fires burned atop the stone piers that still remain from Columbia-Wrightsville Covered Bridge, which was deliberately burned during the Civil War. (Lancaster Newspapers file photo)

• Not enough Amish Mafia? Unbelievably, there’s going to be a season two. -Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era
  

Nice work!

• “More remnants of the former Gundel Funeral Home are being sold at a two-day sale this weekend in Conestoga.” - Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• Dr. Joyce Brothers dies – Los Angeles Times

• Letters to the editors in today’s Read the rest of this entry »

today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “And that’s the problem with white America — we are racist and we don’t even know it.” – Dawn Cutaia, in this column in the York Daily Record: “Being white is awesome, so how could we be racist?”

• The latest “trusted employee” incident: “The treasurer of the Hershey Volunteer Fire Department is charged with stealing nearly $130,000 from the organization, according to police.” – WGAL-TV

• “The federal government has refused to overrule Pennsylvania officials and declare the Lower Susquehanna River impaired.” – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• “York County grief camps important for children of suicide, experts say” – York Daily Record

• “A motorcycle rider was killed after his bike collided with a pickup truck Sunday in Manor Township.” - Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• “The following (Columbia) area residents recently graduated from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology:” Ryan Hess, Autumn Moore,  David Hilt, Franklin Jimenez, Cameron Krushinsky, Alexander Parmer, Joel Rivera, Alan Sauerwald, Jacob Sentz and Mason Widener. – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• Frost tonight – Harrisburg Patriot-News