Deer Protest on Connor Road

I'm sorry I missed today's deer protest on Connor Road. Logistically, it was a poor choice for a protest. But that was exactly the point to selecting this site. Surrounded by natural gas transmission lines and Duquesne Light equipment, as well as luring deer across a heavily traveled road is a formula for disaster.

McNeilly Park, 990 feet away from Seton LaSalle, just 10 feet shy of the 1,000 ft. restriction, demonstrates that they don't know how to use a GPS. And the commissioners don't have a problem with these guys firing guns. It is also pretty slimy that Wildlfe Specialists LLC. and the municipality are willing to cut it so close by a few feet. A Lebo Citizens reader has an appointment on Monday with the Seton LaSalle school principal.

Protesters rally against deer cull on Connor Road

https://twitter.com/PG_Czebiniak/status/571760390809493504/photo/1

Protesters demonstrate against Mt. Lebanon deer culling program

                     Keith Hodan | Trib Total Media

                      Keith Hodan | Trib Total Media

                      Keith Hodan | Trib Total Media

                      Keith Hodan | Trib Total Media

                     Keith Hodan | Trib Total Media

Cull Protesters Demonstrate in Mt. Lebanon

                                          Mt. Lebanon residents protesting.                                        
Photo credit: Tim Lawson/KDKA

Opponents of Mt. Lebanon deer cull protest at corral site

“They want to shoot a gun where there is high traffic, gas lines, and power equipment,” Ms. Chicchi said, pointing to a small yellow flag, which she said indicates gas lines, sticking out of the ground on the side of the road.

“In addition, members of the community needed to alert the proper authorities that neither the Mt. Lebanon commission or Wildlife Specialists LLC applied for a gas permit to shoot where gas lines are. In addition to that, one of the cull sites, McNeilly Park, is approximately 300 feet behind a gas station. That’s putting the public in harm’s way.”

In the same article:

Robert Grimm, 56, also of Mt. Lebanon, has been a hunter for more than 40 years and was holding a bright neon-orange sign reading, “Real Sportsmen Say No Deer Corrals.” He came to the protest to give a view on the issue from a “sportsman’s perspective.”

More photos of corrals

Robb Hollow - one entrance

Robb Hollow - one entrance

Connor Road: black plastic in place; two entrances. 

Connor Road: black plastic in place; two entrances. 

Connor Road: black plastic in place; two entrances. 

Deed for McNeilly Park, situated in the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon and Baldwin Township.

New baiting station located in the woods at end of Thornwood Drive, between Kossman property and the golf course.

GPS Coordinates

Here are GPS coordinates:

  
Thornycroft: 40.37116667°N, -080.02895°W
https://www.google.com/maps/search/40.37116667N,+80.02895W/@40.3711667,-80.02895,200m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1 
  
McNeilly:

990 ft. is not 1000 ft.

Connor: 40.35705°N, 080.04265°W

https://www.google.com/maps/place/40%C2%B021'25.4%22N+80%C2%B002'33.5%22W/@40.35705,-80.04265,798m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
  
Photos of Connor Road deer at the corral

Deer on left. Corral on right.

Compare size of deer on left to corral on right. Corral is larger than expected.

Deer on right. Corral on left.

Deer on left. Corral on right.

Very tame young buck with corral behind him. Great picture for mtl Magazine.

Heading toward the corral

Deer eating in the corral

Deer eating in the corral

View of corral looking down from Connor Road

Inner view of feeder on Connor Road

Inner view of wall with branches holding down plastic

Two openings at Connor Road

Spotted at one of the corrals

Photos from tonight's meeting - UPDATED No Deer Culling in Scott Township!

Anti-Culling Protesters Demonstrate At Mt. Lebanon Meeting

Changes Being Made To Mt. Lebanon Deer Culling Plan

Group protest Mt. Lebanon deer cull proposal

"To a certain degree, almost like cruel fascism," said Jason Margolis a Mt. Lebanon resident. 

Margolis said he's fired up over a plan to kill up to 150 deer in his township to help reduce their population.

He calls the deer cull inhumane and unnecessary. 

"Mostly, a group of elite elitist people who want to protect their precious gardens and are not thinking of the larger community and the larger environment and what's really ethical and moral," said Margolis.

At the 44:26 timestamp of the municipal video, Commissioner Brumfield mentions the chemicals used, and Commissioner Fraasch clarified that no such chemicals are used for sterilization.

Mt. Lebanon tweaks deer-culling plans

Before the discussion session and meeting, she and several dozen others, all bundled in hats and scarfs, gathered along Washington Road with signs of protest as passing motorists honked in support. 

The crowd grew to close to 100 for the 8 p.m. meeting, when more than a dozen spoke against the culling and at least one woman, overwhelmed by emotion, spoke through tears.

Mt. Lebanon residents opposed to deer cull

In the meantime, the municipality is considering expanding its cull to certain private properties. Feller explained that on Feb. 23 he had learned of a federal law that required a 1,000-foot buffer zone around schools. He said a buffer of that size substantially reduced the area that could be used for the corral traps and could jeopardize the cull’s success. 

Properties currently under consideration include Concordia of the South Hills on Bower Hill Road, the Golden LivingCenter on Gilkeson, a wooded area near the municipal swimming pool and a section of Williamsburg Park.

Brian Benner, a wildlife control specialist with Wildlife Services, explained these properties had been identified as areas heavily trafficked by deer. The most recent aerial deer survey found 50 deer in the valley behind Concordia, he said. 

Isn't the valley behind Concordia in Scott Township? Map of Scott Township Isn't there a kindergarden and nursery school at Temple Emmanuel?

Gun-free school zones cut number of Mt. Lebanon baiting sites for deer culling in half

Under the law, parts of McNeilly Park are off-limits because of its proximity to Seton-La Salle. Part of the municipal golf course is too close to Keystone Oaks' Myrtle Elementary, and parts of Bird Park are too close to Markham Elementary, McDonough said. The program also includes municipal conservation land off Connor Road, Robb Hollow Park and Twin Hills Park.

THERE WILL BE NO DEER CULLING IN SCOTT TOWNSHIP 

The following video was sent to me by a Lebo Citizens reader, who tried to rotate but was unsuccessful. The reader hopes that someone with better video editing software would be able to do it. The entire video is available on the municipal website here. This particular exchange starts at the 53:28 time stamp.




Statement from Golden Living - Mt. Lebanon

We appreciate your concern and have issued the following statement to our local media and several other concerned citizens:

Golden LivingCenter – Mt. Lebanon does not authorize deer trapping on our property. Our patients and residents enjoy seeing the wildlife, the deer have a history of being tame, and their presence is seen as a positive part of our patient care environment. To remove the deer in the manner proposed of killing them in sight of our patients would be very emotionally disruptive for our patients and adversely impact their care.


Thank you for your concern and for reaching out.

Best Regards,

Benjamin E Neil, MBA, NHA
Executive Director
Golden Living Center Mt. Lebanon
350 Old Gilkeson Road
Pittsburgh PA 15228
Ph: 412 257 4444
Fax: 412 257 8226

Scott Township votes against deer culling in park bordering Mt. Lebanon

Scott commissioner and attorney Tom Castello said Mt. Lebanon has no legal right to cull deer in the park and that a maintenance and police/fire protection agreement drawn up for the hilly property was never executed.

Scott, senior living center criticize Mt. Lebanon deer cull

Corn Cop/Corral Crew on Connor 

Cull not euthanasia

Robb Hollow Corral

Robb Hollow Trail Camera

Robb Hollow Corral closeup

Mt. Lebanon residents need to calm down about deer

Mt. Lebanon needs to calm down, or soon people there will want to kill all the birds because “they poop on our heads.”

Blame it on pedestrians, Mt. Lebanon. Walking gets increasingly deadly for pedestrians in Pa.

The numbers didn't surprise local police officers. Mt. Lebanon Deputy Chief Aaron Lauth said his community recorded 11 pedestrian-vehicle accidents in 2014. The last fatality was in 2010.

“To be honest, it's 50/50 as far as fault goes between drivers and pedestrians. If the pedestrian is at fault, it's because they're not crossing properly. If the vehicle is at fault, it's usually turning at intersections,” Lauth said. “We tend to have a lot in our business district (on Washington Road). A lot of people think it's speed, but it's not really. It's failure to obey crosswalks and turning vehicles not paying attention.” 

The last pedestrian who died in Mt. Lebanon was Lisa Clay Styles, who was struck as she pushed her children in a stroller while jogging.

Linfante called me a lesbian

I really didn't want to post these emails, since Kristen thrives on this kind of attention, but I have been advised to publish them on my blog. In my first response, I copied the commission, the manager, the solicitor, and two members of the Democratic Committee of Mt. Lebanon.

From:	egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To:	klinfante <klinfante@mtlebanon.org>
Cc:	sfeller <sfeller@mtlebanon.org>; philip.weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>; hugh_beal <XXXXXXXXX>; michwin <XXXXXXXX>; commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Subject:	Re: Break the news
Date:	Tue, Feb 24, 2015 1:09 am

---

Kristen, please leave me alone.

Elaine Gillen


-----Original Message-----
From: Kristen Linfante <klinfante@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: sfeller <sfeller@mtlebanon.org>; philip.weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>; hugh_beal XXXXXXXXX; michwin XXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Tue, Feb 24, 2015 01:03 AM
Subject: Re: Break the news

First the obsession with my FB photo, then the posters tonight! What next!  It's getting a little embarrassing.  Obsession is not too strong a word.  Surely there must be better hobbies out there.  I'm not that special.

Regards,

Kristen Linfante 

Sent from my iPhone

Please forgive any texting typos 

On Feb 24, 2015, at 12:48 AM, "' egillen476@aol.com' via Commission" < commission@mtlebanon.org> wrote:

Commissioners,

Kristen Linfante is a disgrace to your office and a disgrace to your party.

Elaine Gillen


-----Original Message-----
From: Kristen Linfante < klinfante@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 < egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Tue, Feb 24, 2015 12:39 AM
Subject: Break the news

Dear Ms Gillen,

I feel compelled to remark on the immense amount of attention
that you devote to me. Wow - posters and everything!   It really seems quite
obsessive.  More than a few people have suggested to me that your incredible
obsession over me is perhaps fueled not by hate but by love. I felt I should
probably break the news to you myself.  You're not my type. 

Best wishes to
you,
Kristen Linfante 

Sent from my iPhone
Please forgive any texting typos

CIVIC-MINDED? UPDATED

The Post-Gazette reported:

Quietly, discreetly, a few civic-minded archers have been hunting for deer in Mt. Lebanon for years.
“I’ve taken five does out,” said Dave, a Mt. Lebanon archer who asked that his last name be withheld to avoid upsetting neighbors.

CIVIC-MINDED?  Since when does someone who is civic-minded wants his last name withheld to avoid upsetting neighbors? Civic-minded, according to Merriam-Webster: tending to do things that help your city or town and the people who live there.

John Hayes' Mt. Lebanon's deer herd in the crosshairs After years of population growth, the South Hills suburb plans to corral and kill dozens of deer. How did it come to this? is full of bullshit.

Outraged animal lovers call it “carnage.”

Mr. Hayes neglects to include those of us who are concerned with the safety of Mt. Lebanon residents. These areas are in public parks and in close proximity to neighborhood schools.

Hayes quotes the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. He also writes:

After much debate, commissioners implemented a then-controversial taxpayer-funded deer reduction program combining U.S. Department of Agriculture sharpshooters and a limited trap-and-kill operation that removed 230 deer in two years. Before the program had met its goals, it was discontinued in 2008.

What Hayes fails to mention is that in each of the years when Mt. Lebanon had "sharpshooters" and they weren't sharpshooters, by the way, Wildlife Services failed to meet their goal.

Season 1 - goal was 75 deer.  69 were killed.
Season 2 - goal was 150 deer. After doubling the nights agreed upon by Mt. Lebanon calling them "half-nights," 146 deer were killed. 145 were recovered and tagged (Lindendale deer was not tagged)

The bogus deer "incident" report is continually brought up by the media. The 807 deer related incidents include deer sightings and my August 20, 2014 report WHICH NEVER OCCURRED.

Hayes continues with:

The state Game Commission and most wildlife agencies estimate deer density using habitat analyses, road kills and other circumstantial metrics rather than hard counts, which are considered to be expensive and not particularly reliable.

Each aerial survey cost Mt. Lebanon $5,000. The 2013 count of 342 was "extremely accurate." The 2014 count of 196 done by the same firm, at the same time of the year, showing a 43% reduction, suddenly was not. (Why can't I find the 2014 aerial survey on the municipal website?) The counts done by Wildlife Services in 2006-2008 were compiled over a series of nights, possibly counting the same deer over and over.

The PA Game Commission's Chris Rosenberry failed to confirm that deer sterilization is a proven, effective method of non-lethal deer management. Science IS there, Mr. Rosenberry.

Finally, John Hayes again chose to ignore the press release which states that there will be another protest tomorrow at 5:30 PM. Good work, John.

*************

Petition: Stop the deer culling! As of 2:27 PM on February 22, 2015, there are 4,369 supporters.

I located the email addresses of the Scott Township commissioners.

Craig Stephens   craigs6785@gmail.com

Stacey Altman   staceyalt@msn.com

David Calabria   dcalabria@mackinengineering.com

Thomas Castello tcastello@aol.com

David Jason        dave.commissioner@live.com

Patricia Caruso   caruso1386@comcast.net

Donald Giudici   dwgiudici_cpa@hotmail.com  (Twin Hills Park is in his ward)

William Wells    redwagon2@verizon.net

Eileen Meyers    commeileen@comcast.net

John Hayes has a second article in the PG today, Outdoors notebook: Hunters take aim at Mt. Lebo deer cull More on "Dave."

But hunters generally stay out of Mt. Lebanon, said Dave, because of discharge ordinances that effectively "ban" hunting. The ordinances, however, aren't enforceable - Mt. Lebanon police chief Coleman McDonough confirmed that state law and prior court decisions trump local laws that attempt to control hunting, which is solely regulated by the Game Commission.

This quote really upset me.

Chris Rosenberry, head of the PGC deer and elk team that approved the plan, put it this way:
"The community is telling us that the problem is too many deer now," he said. "In some way, some of the animals have to come out of the population."

The "community" telling the PGC that the problem is too many deer now is made up of Steve Feller, Kristen Linfante, Steve Silverman, Dave Brumfield, John Bendel, Barbara Logan, Marilyn Narey, Carolyn Byham, Lourdes Castellanos, and Michalina Pendzich.

Commission considers additional private property locations UPDATED

According to the Commission Discussion Session Agenda for tomorrow, February 23, 2015, our commissioners will be considering additional private property locations for deer killing. Brian Benner from Wildlife Services [sic] and staff will be reviewing plans with the commissioners. Brian Benner is one of two people from Wildlife Specialists, LLC permitted to do the field work as listed in the PA Game Commission permit.

For all the Lebo Citizens readers who are new to this, the Discussion Session will start at 6:30 PM in Conference Room C, down the hall from the Commission Chambers in the Municipal Building. The public is permitted to observe, but not speak.

The Commission Meeting will begin at 8:00 PM in the Commission Chambers. Citizen Comments begins shortly after 8:00 PM. The agenda is rather short, so if the commission permits non-residents to speak at the end of the meeting, the wait will not be as long as the last meeting. It appears that Commissioners Linfante and Bendel will not be attending. Those who wish to speak, must add their names to the sign up sheets in the back of the room. Last time, there were two sign up sheets, one for residents and one for non-residents.

Also on the Commission Meeting Agenda, the commissioners will be awarding a contract to Diversified Municipal Services to represent the municipality in defending and appealing assessments, otherwise known as the Newcomers Tax. Mr. and Mrs. Stroyd Morgans, get your phones charged. It will be a night for photos.

Update February 22, 2015 3:21 PM The commission lied to us about the sterilization permit. The Game Commission stated that they have not denied the sterilization permit, but are still waiting for Mt. Lebanon's response to their six questions.

On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 12:23 PM, a resident wrote:

Hello Steve,

To date I have not received a response to my inquiry surrounding the deer sterilization permit.

Considering the Mt. Lebanon Commissioners initially misled the public to believe this permit was not approved by the PA Game Commission, I would like to know its true current status.

Please respond as soon as possible.

Thank you.

From: Stephen Feller <sfeller@mtlebanon.org>
Date: February 20, 2015, 1:14:16 PM EST
To:
Cc: Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Subject: Re: Sterilization deer permit Inquiry


We are working with Mr. DeNicola and are hopeful that we may have answers and a proposal for the Game Commission by the end of April. 

Baiting begins

People are asking me where the baiting is occurring, not to tamper with, but to warn their children. I will post photos as I receive them. Consider this post a work in progress.

McNeilly Park, located on left side of McNeilly Road heading toward Rt. 88, opposite from Dewalt. Just follow the car tracks.

Twin Hills Trails Park Bower Hill Road to North Meadowcroft, cross over Beverly Road, left onto Twin Hills Drive to dead end. Twin Hills is located in Scott Township. I wonder if the nine commissioners are aware of what is going on. To reach them by telephone:

Ward       Name             Phone Number

1  Eileen L. Meyers (412) 279-4003

2  William Wells (412) 276-8623

3  Stacey Altman (412) 221-1977

4  David G. Calabria (412) 276-1488

5  Thomas M. Castello, Esq. (412) 429-8247

6  David A. Jason, President (412) 249-8171

7  Craig C. Stephens, Esq. (412) 429-1580

8  Patricia Caruso (412) 279-0276

9  Donald Giudici, Vice President (412) 973-1046

I remember Steve Feller was asked if Scott Manager Denise Fitzgerald was notified, and I believe his answer was that when he spoke with her, she said that it wasn't up to her. 

Bird Park Washington Road, right onto Cedar Blvd., left onto Bird Park Drive (before Beadling Road). Its location is about 257 ft. from Markham Elementary and is most accessible from the soccer field driveway/steps that connect Beadling Dr. to Youngwood Dr. Notice the police presence while the photographer was taking pictures.

257' from Markham School

Notice the police presence?

Snow covered bait station

Robb Hollow Park – South on Bower Hill Road past St. Clair Hospital, left after post office onto Robb Hollow Road, left on Driftwood Drive, continue to dead end. Number of access points include Kelso Road and Public Works.

Baiting station is at the Kelso Road access, at the bend.

Soon to be dead deer

Camera is in the yellow circle

Our police chief inspecting the site

Police chief checking baiting station

Mt. Lebanon Golf Course As of this afternoon, the golf course manager said there is no baiting happening at the golf course yet.

Conservation District on Connor Road Heading toward Rt. 88, located on left past Terrace Drive and before Marshall Drive. Look for the Duquesne Light equipment.

I don't recommend anyone getting arrested. These locations are being posted to assist parents when advising their children to stay away.

You may want to follow Kristen Linfante's advice to me in her letter that I shared in my September 27, 2014 post  More than 300 yards away UPDATED

I am sorry to hear that you suffer from nightmares. My only suggestion is to seek psychiatric counseling immediately. My understanding is that it can be very helpful if you can find someone skilled in treating such a condition...

Best of luck to you,
Commissioner Linfante 

PS-I just painted my basement with the help of the great people at Rolliers. John in the paint department is wonderful and gave me excellent advice. It looks quite nice. I'm not sure what your basement is like, but perhaps they could help you if you are inclined to spend time down there.

PERMIT FROM GAME COMMISSION