For Immediate Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Monday, July 13, 2015

The newly formed Mt. Lebanon Coalition for Coexistence is marking territory throughout the municipality. An advocacy group and progressive think tank, the Coalition opposes violence and objects to municipal-sponsored deer killing in Mt. Lebanon’s public spaces and private property. The group, which is comprised of Mt. Lebanon stakeholders, claims that its growing solidarity stems from residents’ dismay over the municipal government’s preoccupation with pursuing violent remedies to an unproven problem with the White-Tailed Deer living in the community.

On Friday, the municipality announced that tomorrow evening’s commission meeting will include Commissioner Steve Silverman’s recommendation of a proposal to hire professional killers, once again, to eliminate Mt. Lebanon deer. The proposal, dated June 30, 2015, has not been made available to the public. Nor has the municipal government mentioned an issuance of a request for proposals that has historically preceded any proposal submissions. The Mt. Lebanon Commission consists of five registered Democrats.

According to the Coalition, Mt. Lebanon residents are still reeling in the wake of the horrific, inhumane, municipal-sponsored deer killing in public parks last spring. Undeterred, in late June, the government invited a small panel to speak to the commissioners about various ways to solve the perceived deer problem facing Mt. Lebanon. Together, two of those speakers submitted the June 30 proposal that will involve the use of bows and arrows to kill deer on public and private property. If the Commissioners have their way, “recreational archery” soon will take the place of recreation in Mt. Lebanon.

While urging the commissioners to reconsider using lethal weapons on Mt. Lebanon deer, the number of which is anyone’s guess, the Coalition promotes non-violence, including deer sterilization or birth control programs. Further, the group suggests that no additional action be taken until the government provides competent evidence to support its position that deer pose significant problem. Mt. Lebanon officials cite deer/vehicular accidents as the driving force behind their sponsored deer kills.

The Coalition’s general mission is threefold. First, the group asks the commissioners to take a step back from a decision to sponsor another violent operation and, instead, take a realistic look at the statistics regarding vehicular accidents. According to Mt. Lebanon’s most recent published statistics, deer related vehicle encounters amounted to only nine percent of the total vehicular accidents in 2014. The Coalition for Coexistence questions the government’s insistence on continually expending enormous amounts of municipal time and resources only to ultimately reduce that already low percentage by half, or to approximately four percent. And, the Coalition finds it staggering that reasons and proposed solutions for the 91% of non-deer related accidents evidently are not on the commissioners’ radar screens.

Second, the Coalition expects to be a positive force in steering the community away from its culture of violence. Recalling Mt. Lebanon’s former stellar reputation, the group represents a weary population, growing increasingly tired of the municipal government’s apparent obsession with killing. The commissioners seem to thrive on the negative energy that has pitted neighbors against neighbors and has thrust the community’s dark side into the media spotlight. The Coalition views public parks and places as contaminated by municipal-sponsored deer kills and is optimistic that residents will begin to mend fences for the purpose of restoring Mt. Lebanon to its previous posture of stability and character.

Finally, but equally important, the Coalition for Coexistence contends that public safety issues and population density statistics necessarily prohibit the use of archery or firearms for the purpose of killing deer within its borders. The two contractors who submitted the June 30 proposal, both professional killers, conceded at last month’s panel presentations that Mt. Lebanon poses difficult challenges to any future deer killing operation. But the commissioners continue to show a complete lack of regard for the health and welfare for the community-at-large.

Several residents plan to represent the Coalition for Coexistence at tomorrow evening’s scheduled meetings of the Mt. Lebanon Commission, at 6:30 and 8 PM. Instead of its usual venue, the commission will meet tomorrow at the Mt. Lebanon High School’s fine arts theater, located on Cochran Road.