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

Quote for today… “If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money it values more, it will lose that, too.” – W. Somerset Maugham

• PUC to investigate Columbia Water Company rate increase – LancasterOnLine

• Tire slashings and broken vehicle windows; more in this Columbia Police Department news release … and all of the listings in the news release appear in today’s Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era as well.

Columbia Water Company notice in The Merchandiser this week.

• Interesting that the above ad appears in the June 12 issue of The Merchandiser; try to find anything about the hydrant flushing at the Columbia Water Company Website. What great communicators … the Columbia Water Company Management.

• Lemoyne’s citizens are up in arms too … about the big hike in sewer charges. – Harrisburg Patriot-News

• Here we go again; we never learn: “Obama to step up military support of Syrian rebels following new chemical weapons assessments” – The Washington Post

• There is a full page ad listing Columbia’s Commemorative Activities in the June 12 Merchandiser too. The Civil War 150 RiverTowns celebration is a big “to do.” Here is a link to the activities for the latter part of June. – PACivilWar150.c0m

• And … here’s the link to the Civil War 150 River Towns facebook page

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

• Today’s Flag Day: 9 things you never knew about the American flag. – PolicyMic

• State VFW convention in Lancaster ends today – Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

• MANHEIM, PA – Children at the Nook Kid’s Camp had an exciting Wednesday afternoon experiencing an up close adventure with the animals from Lehigh Valley Zoo. More than 30 kids had the chance to observe and pet four animals brought by the zoo.  Among the four animals were a sloth, tarantula, lizard and snake.  ‘The kids were memorized at first then they became very inquisitive, asking a ton of questions,” said Staci Chamberlain, Youth Programming and Activities Manager.  More upcoming events are trips to Ozzu’s Family Fun Center, Independence Seaport Museum and Indian Echo Caverns. If you are interested in signing up for Nook Kid’s Camp, check out www.nooksports.com. – Spooky Nook Sports News Release

• The Scribbler reminds everyone in his column today, “Rivertownes PA USA, in conjunction with the Wrightsville and Columbia post offices, has produced a special envelope for the sesquicentennial commemoration of the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville bridge. The post offices are adding Gettysburg stamps to the envelopes. Collectors can have envelopes cancelled with a design by Jerry Musser, a Columbia artist. The special cancelations and the envelopes will be available Saturday, June 29, from 9 a.m. to noon at both post offices. They also will be available at the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, 19 N. Second St., Columbia; and at the Historic Wrightsville Museum, 309 Locust St.,  Wrightsville. The old bridge was burned June 28, 1863, to prevent Confederate troops from crossing the Susquehanna River prior to the battle of Gettysburg.”