today’s news and information gleanings from here and there! Today’s Weather!   Today in History!

Quote for today… “Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.” –  Benjamin Franklin

• Six injured in Saturday Marietta Pike crash (Lancaster Sunday News)
• National Night Out will be largest for York (York Dispatch)
• Emily Detz, daughter of Jeffrey and Christine Detz, of Columbia, was awarded a scholarship from the Lancaster County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association. She will pursue undergraduate studies. (Lancaster Sunday News)
• Here’s one contributing aspect to the economic difficulties in the US … corporate outsourcing to other nations. In a word, wrong! (Source: ad in Lancaster Sunday News)
• POLICE REPORT: “COLUMBIA: Someone broke into a residence on Iron Bridge Road on July 23 by forcing open a door. Missing are a jar filled with coins and a dog. Ephrata state police ask anyone with information to call 721-7667.” (Lancaster Sunday News)
• COLUMBIAN’S LETTER TO SUNDAY NEWS ‘SPORTS EDITOR” – “According to the boating article in the July 24 Sunday News, all boats with gas engines must have at least one Coast Guard-approved fire extinguisher (portable) mount on the boat. The Pa. Boating Handbook says motorboats less than 26 feet in length powered by outboard motor and not carrying passengers for hire are not required to carry fire extinguishers. Anyone willing to clarify which one is correct?” – Bub Bachman, ColumbiaEditor’s Note: Here’s the clarification, according to the state’s boating handbook: Motorboats less than 26 feet in length powered by an outboard motor and not carrying passengers for hire are not required to carry fire extinguishers unless they have one or more of the following conditions:
  1. Closed compartments under seats where portable fuel tanks may be stored.
  2. Double bottoms not sealed to the hull or not completely filled with flotation material. (Open boats such as johnboats where an after-market solid wood or metal floor is installed and is not completely sealed to the hull are not required to carry a fire extinguisher).
  3. Closed living spaces.
  4. Closed storage compartments in which flammable materials are stowed.
  5. Permanently installed fuel tanks.

  Boats with one or more of these conditions are required to carry fire extinguishers.

• Restaurants and dining facilities inspections this week: In York, nine restaurants failed. In Lancaster, here is the report (restaurant inspections 07-07) listed in today’s Sunday News; a fuller database of inspections appears at the LancasterOnline Website. All facilities in Lancaster and York counties, except those in Columbia, are listed at the Pennnsylvania Department of Agriculture Website.