• Alleged Columbia shooters will go to trial – Lancaster Online

Quote for today … “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Summer of 2016 is drawing to a close.” – Labor Day is right around the corner. Sylvia Plath’s quote seems appropriate.

Another quote for today … “Eleven hours to determine this is an accident?  No. You can’t get a thorough investigation completed under what would be the most obvious of circumstances in close to that amount of time. Reading just the facts indicate this should be reopened and that’s why I will sign the petition.” – Comment following this Pennlive article about the Mountville shooting. Very curious, too, that DA mouthpiece says, “the investigation is ongoing and encouraged anyone with information police do not have to speak with investigators with West Hempfield Township police or with county detectives.”

• Drunkeness, drugs and driving citations – Columbia Police Department facebook page and CrimeWatch. In the LNP – Always Lancaster Police Log, too!

• “School-Based Police Are Using Tasers on Students — and No One Knows How Often It Happens” – Truthout

• Democracy in action in this Columbia Spy article; though most of the comments are anonymous, the sentiment comes through.

When citizens speak out at school board meetings and council meetings, they are asked to identify themselves -to this point, no one’s shown up to speak wearing a paper bag over their heads.

• Why anonymity? This academic paper claims: “Anonymity is extremely effective in promoting freedom of expression.” This New Yorker Magazine article states, “anonymity has also been shown to encourage participation; by promoting a greater sense of community identity, users don’t have to worry about standing out individually.”

• But as school board vice president, Kathleen Hohenadel, learned: when someone takes an unpopular position or goes against the “GOBAGs – Good Ole Boys and Girls”, retribution happens. And the GOBAGs know who and how to verbally abuse, ostracize or bully.

• A reader shared this 1985 video clip featuring numerous clips about a water main break in Columbia in 1985. A good trip into yesteryear: note the packed council meeting; the hair styles; the attire; the citizens’ noting the absence of Water Company representatives’ accepting responsibility  and the underlying message about infrastucture maintenance.

• Two letters-to-the-editor in today’s LNP- Always Lancaster: One says keep all foreigners out of the US – the other says says don’t print bigoted letters. Remember the line from the movie, Home for the Holidays, “Opinions are like a$$holes. Everybody’s got one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks.”