Native American event

On the second weekend in June, Columbia residents will have the opportunity to learn about and experience the Native American tradition. The Pocono Native American Inter-tribal Association and the Columbia Consolidated Fire Company are hosting a Native American Powwow at CCFD, 10th and Mifflin streets, June 14 and 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

More information can be found in this week's edition.

Cruisin Columbia

Columbia’s downtown will be packed with cars next Saturday as the fourth annual Cruisin’ Columbia car show will be held from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Locust Street and some of the side streets.
The show is one of the biggest car shows in Lancaster County.
The show, which began on the Route 462 Bridge as part of Old Home Week four years ago has gone from more than 200 cars to close to 300 this year, if not more.
Barry Doutrich, the organizer of the event and said this year there is a whole day full of entertainment. Between 7-10 a.m., the cars and motorcycles will begin to arrive and be parked on Locust Street between Second and Fifth streets, which will close the street. Also during that time, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host a breakfast.
The Market House will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which will feature antiques and crafts. The show begins at 10 a.m. with the National Anthem and music by DJ Charles “Skeeter” Snyder. There is a Twist and Jitterbug Dance Contest at 11:30 a.m. and a top 10 prize drawing and dice toss at noon.
This year, the show will feature more than 300 cars from all over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, Doutrich said.

For more, see this week's edition of the Columbia Ledger.

Coming next week....

It’s a busy week for the Columbia School District and we will have it all covered for you in next week’s Columbia Ledger.
The Park and Taylor Elementary Schools finish the school year up this week with their annual awards’ nights. We’ll tell you who the award winners are and have a few pictures.
The seventh and eighth grade students at Columbia High School will be recognized when the annual Smiley Awards are presented.
The biggest event of the week happens Friday night when more than 100 students at Columbia High School will be part of the school’s graduating class. Watch for stories and plenty of pictures in next week’s edition on the big event of the spring.
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Good luck

For the first time in recent memory, Columbia High School’s list of graduates contains more than 100 names.
The Class of 2008 will receive their diplomas tomorrow night, as graduation is held, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the Crimson Tide Stadium. Weather-permitting, it will be the first graduation held in the stadium, which is three-years-old. If the weather doesn’t allow for an outdoor graduation, it will be moved into the high school auditorium, where tickets will be needed.
There will be three student speakers for the graduation -- Derrick Armold, Alison Busby and Jamie Kuhn, who are the top three students in the Class of 2008. The class was honored earlier this week when the Senior Recognition Banquet was held Tuesday night in the high school cafeteria. Baccalaureate for the Class of 2008 will be held tonight at St. James Lutheran Church, 10th and Manor streets at 7 p.m.

CHS Hall of Fame

They are coaches, they played in major college football bowl games, won a national football championships and showed plenty of “Tide Pride” when they won the crimson and gold. Meet the first class of inductees into the Columbia High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
The first induction ceremony for the new Athletic Hall of Fame, will be held Friday, Sept. 19 when the Crimson Tide takes on Lampeter-Strasburg in a big Section 3 football game at Columbia. There will be a reception for the new inductees prior to the game and a halftime ceremony.
The inductees included Jack Yohe, “Cy” Young, MIke Burke, Ken Campbell, Ted Carey, Thomas Donan, Hiram Fitzgerald, Hubie Peters, Walt Price, Jerry Raifsnider, Elmer Kreiser, Jim Smith, Les Schoelkoph, Harry Smoker and the 1941 football team.
The Hall of Famers were nominated by the community and chosen by the Hall of Fame Committee of Charles Reinhart, Wayne Hershey, Rich Gerfin, Dennis Bachman, Jim Smith, Carl Morrow, Barry Ford, Mickey Rupp, Jodie Eck and Karen Kuhn.
The committee said that those former CHS athletes, who had their uniforms retired -- Bob Bell, Mike Wisler, Danny Monk, Marjorie Rhoads, Chip Beaston Ryan Stephenson, Ron Smith, Jerome Ellis, Scott Raymond, Abby Smith and Ryan Strickler are also considered as members of the Hall of Fame.
Reinhart, who chaired the committee, said there were others that were nominated for the first class and they will be considered for induction next year. Any community member who would like to nominate someone for the Hall can contact a committee member.

Why are they winning

As I write this week’s column, the Phillies lead the National League East heading into a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds.
Last season at this time, the Phillies were floundering. Many were waiting for the axe to fall on Charlie Manuel.
There was no firing, which at that time last year, I thought was a good thing.
What the Phillies did was hang in there all year and in the final few weeks of the season pull out the division. Even then, I was probably among the dissenters still wanting Charlie to be fired.
So what is the big difference this year in the Phillies?
They are winning and it has taken the heat of Manuel and his bonehead moves. I still believe that if the Phillies had Larry Bowa managing the team last year, they would have won the division going away. As for this year, Manuel’s bonehead moves I think have cost the Phillies around five games. Not sure if there were any when I was recently in the hospital, I was THAT far out of it.
One of the team’s biggest strengths this season has been its bullpen. The grouping of Madson, Romero, Gordon (although I hold my breath when he pitches), Lidge, has been lights out compared to Mesa, Alfonseco and Geary last season.
They have overcome injuries again. J-Roll misses a month and they weren’t buried. He comes back and everyone hits.
Chase Utley is the MVP of the National League, if not all of baseball. He plays the game the right way.
If there is a question mark, it has to do with the starting pitching. Brett Myers has been up and down; Cole Hamels has been down right awful in his last two outings and Adam Eaton, well, let’s just say he wouldn’t be on the team if I was in charge.
The saving graces of the starters has been Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. But how long can you count on Moyer? He’s 100, going on 200.
If Myers and Hamels get straightened out and a fifth starter is found, the division title will return.
The everyday eight is as good, if not better than any team in the game. They may have to scores 20 runs a night to keep winning.
If the Phillies repeat, they might not only get their third straight MVP, but also Manager of the Year. Oops, I’m sorry, I just woke up from a mid-afternoon nap -- just an MVP.