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

• Today’s Weather! 
• Today in History!
• Traffic Cam Rts. 30 & 441
• The Official Time! – Population Clock (U.S. and World)

Quote for the day: “Most avoided directly answering a reporter’s question as to whether they would support or oppose legislation that includes tougher restrictions on semiautomatic weapons and ammunition.” – From an article in today’s Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era about a reporter’s interviews with local elected “public officials on the question of their positions on gun control. And what else is new!

• “In spite of financial challenges, a clean audit report for Columbia Borough School District was presented to the board on Thursday, Dec. 13.” – MyColumbiaNews

• Eastern York School District’s quick communication response to unsubstantiated rumor and proactive response to Sandy Hook incident. – Eastern York School District Website

• “A 26-year-old Ephrata man who died after being struck by a train Tuesday in Columbia, had gone missing earlier in the day from an area hospital where he was being treated for mental health issues, officials said.” – MyColumbiaNews

• Dead Sea Scrolls online – “More than six decades since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls — and thousands of years after they were written — Israel on Tuesday put 5,000 images of the ancient biblical artifacts online in a partnership with Google (GOOG).” – York Daily Record

• “Concealed carry” count up – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era

• POLICE LOG – “MANOR TWP.: Scarlet Musser, 43, of Mountville, has been charged following a traffic stop Nov. 13 on Columbia Avenue. Police said her blood-alcohol content was .11 percent. – Kathy Pierce, 41, of Lititz, has been charged following a traffic stop Nov. 9. Police said she was driving erratically, and her blood-alcohol content was .19 percent. – MANOR TWP.: Cash totaling $50 was taken from an apartment in the 3700 block of Columbia Avenue Dec. 11.” – Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era. [NOTE: Arrests and charges concerning criminal activities from a dozen or so County municipalities and jurisdictions were listed in the POLICE LOG; none were listed from the county’s municipality with the “third most police calls.”]

• No tax increase, but … – “Middletown Borough Council approved a 2013 budget on Tuesday night that won’t increase real estate taxes but could eliminate up to eight borough positions.” – Harrisburg Patriot-News

• LEGAL NOTICE published in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era, December 19, 2012: “FICTITIOUS NAME St. Joseph Health Ministries, 1929 Lincoln Highway East, Suite 150, Lancaster, PA 17602 did file in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on or about December 5, 2012 registration of the name: Children’s Dental Services of Columbia under which they intend to do business at 1929 Lincoln Highway East, Suite 150, Lancaster, PA 17602 pursuant to the provisions of the Act of Assembly of December 16, 1982, Chapter 3, known as the “PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the West Hempfield Township Zoning Hearing Board will hold a special meeting on Thursday, January 3, 2012, at 7:30 P.M. at the West Hempfield Township Office, 3401 Marietta Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17601, to consider the following pertaining to the property located at 786 Kames Hill Road, West Hempfield Township, PA which is leased by Joseph Meyer (Allimax Farm) from Chiques Rock Farms, Inc and which is zoned Rural Agricultural: request of Joseph Meyer (Allimax Farm), of 1620 Snyder Corner Road, Windsor, PA 17366, for modification of two conditions previously imposed by the Zoning Hearing Board in a decision dated March 11, 2008; request of Joseph Meyer for clarification of the area on the property suitable for outdoor lighting; and, continuation of a hearing on an appeal by Joseph Meyer from a decision of the Zoning Officer of West Hempfield Township.”