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

Quote for today … “Having police officers reside in the City of Ferguson helps ensure officers are invested in the community. The Mayor and City Council have established a scholarship to recruit diverse candidates to attend the police academy.” – Excerpted from “Mayor and City Council Goals and Progress as of November 10, 2014. ” Ferguson, Missouri Website.

• What’s this? The Harrisburg Patriot-News covers “Small Business Saturday” in Lancaster County towns.

• Ferguson police officer resigns; his annual salary is $45,302. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• Commenter at Cole Umber’s news site wants to know: “They don’t have much interest in doing much of anything. I would LOVE to see a weekly police log with all activity. These cops are lazy and could care less about this community. Why no cops on foot patrol? Or bikes, and not just on warm sunny days! The residents of Columbia deserve better!“

• Report: Police can do better with “de-escalation” – “Most law enforcement agencies have policies that guide their use of force. These policies describe an escalating series of actions an officer may take to resolve a situation. This continuum generally has many levels, and officers are instructed to respond with a level of force appropriate to the situation at hand, acknowledging that the officer may move from one part of the continuum to another in a matter of seconds.” – National Institute of Justice

• Memorial Day, 2011 on a street lined with families waiting to watch a parade – LancasterOnline

• Try this: Bill  O’Reilly’s citizen quiz

• Food serving facilities inspections in York County – The York Dispatch

• Food serving facilities inspections in Lancaster County … Lancaster Online [Um-m-m-m, “Rodent droppings” at an Indian restaurant and a Millersville area church – The Pub in New Holland continues it streak of having a mega-list of violations.]
  

• A complete listing of all inspections at food serving facilities in Lancaster, York counties and the entire state, except those in Columbia – Columbia persists in having its own slip-shod inspection system with its own forms and inspection items – rather than the one used statewide, is available at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Website.