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

Quote for today… “There is nothing in reality you can compare it to.” – Chris Reber, Pocono Record reporter, witnessed and wrote about the shooting at a Pennsylvania township board meeting. [NOTE: Oh, yeah, there are comparisons: Combat arms warriors face this daily in their nation’s international wars; law enforcement officers, too, deal in this reality.]

• Columbia PD news release 08-13-2013

• Man shot by police near Manheim dies – Police: Man at Rapho Twp. home had air rifle – WGAL-TV

• “A Rapho Township man is dead after being shot by police at his home Monday night. Manheim Borough Police were responding to a 911 call from a home in the 1400 block of Old Line Road around 8:30pm. The caller, Steven Brill, 46, reportedly told dispatchers he would not be taken alive. Brill confronted police officer with a rifle and was shot. He was transported to Lancaster General Hospital, where he died from his injuries. According to Pennsylvania State Police, who are investigating the shooting, Brill’s rifle was a Daisy Powerline 880 with a scope.” – FOX-43

• National Weather Service flood alert – click on the Weather, etc. tab

• “Lebanon band director charged for alleged sexual relationship with student” – Lebanon Daily News

• “How does borough government work?” Here’s an excellent narrative appearing at the Oxford Borough Website. Written by the borough’s manager, it states, “This is a very brief overview of our local Borough government. The best way to learn more is to attend the Borough’s monthly meetings, the second and third Monday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Borough Hall at 401 Market Street.” Citizens must be actively involved in government for it to be effective. 

• Found this at an interesting, if not comprehensive, article: “Many boroughs in Pennsylvania are now the landlocked older downtown core or business district of a region, surrounded by townships where the regional growth is taking place. Many boroughs suffer from aging infrastructure and little room for taxable growth, while providing and disproportionately supporting services such as fire stations, police departments, libraries, parks, sewers and water systems used by residents of the entire region.” – Reporter’s Guide to Local Government

• Harrisburg schools will open without librarians – Harrisburg Patriot-News