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

Quote for today… “White and black across Charleston came to pray, cry, and hug for nine victims of the racism that has tried to destroy this church before.” – From this article about the horror and the “rally to recover” in Charleston.

• “Prayer Service for Mother Emanuel AME Church, Charleston, SC”Dear Community of Columbia, You have heard of the tragedy which happened on last Wednesday whenPastorClementa Pinckney and eight others were gunned down while having Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC by a young white man as a result of racial hatred. You have witnessed the Church’s response also which is one of forgiveness, love, kindness and prayer for Dylan Storm Roof.

  This reality has forced many of us if not all of us to take a good look at ourselves and wonder, how and what measures can and should we take to erase the painful lines of racial divide which are drawn with the pen of hatred. On this coming Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 7p.m. I invite you to join us at the Mt. Zion AME Church in Columbia for a time of prayer for Mother Emanuel and the families who’ve lost loved ones, for Dylan Storm Roof, for our world, for our nation, for Columbia and for ourselves.

  Please pass this word on to everyone. Thank you! Service will begin sharply at 7p.m. and end at 8p.m.

  In His Mercy and Grace,

  Pastor Patricia S. McAllister
  Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church
  Columbia, PA

• PA House votes to end “end seniority-based teacher layoffs in Pennsylvania and tie those decisions to job performance evaluations.” – PennLive [Looks like it went along party lines.]

• Places that “most and least resemble the United States.” – WalleetHub

• In another borough, “council voted to cut their own salaries from $50 a month to $0.” – PennLive

• Way back in February, we posted these items from the mayor following the February Council meeting of the whole: “Number 2 … He announced that the Police Department is close to having a new application called “CrimeWatch.” He said that a number of communities have signed up with CrimeWatch (click here or on the graphic above to see area departments) to share the daily police log information – the arrests, the warrants, the news about policing and safety – not only for the Borough but for other areas too. He said the pictures that now hang on the windows of the police station will be online. Number 3 … He said information about the above – the first two tidbits – would be posted at the Columbia Police Department’s facebook page. That’ll be a welcome addition for borough citizens – though there’ve been only 1o posts since the beginning of the year. 55 days and only 10 posts! We applaud the announced transparency and communication that’s been promised. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Bring on the pudding.”

• So now it’s almost July and there’s no Columbia Police Department listed here on the CrimeWatch Website. Reckon it all depends on the definition of “is close to.“

• And a whopping one facebook post in June – that’s real communication!
  

• “… but we sure as hell try.”

• There are a bunch of “interesting-to-read comments following the “church funds” theft article.