Friday, February 26, 2016

Everything is a secret. UPDATED

A few minutes ago, I emailed Keith McGill for the third time, asking what kind of bait and what method is being used to distribute the bait. I heard back from Keith immediately and here is his response.

From: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: alauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>; Anthony DeNicola <tony.denicola@whitebuffaloinc.org>
Sent: Fri, Feb 26, 2016 2:35 pm
Subject: Re: Bait

Good afternoon Elaine,
Aaron did provide a response and indicated that someone from White Buffalo would be a better source to provide a response. I am copying Tony DeNicola on this response. I'm sure Tony can provide a response.
Keith



This morning, a Lebo Citizens reader shared this email exchange with me after asking if Mt. Lebanon is going to post private properties or at least give us a way to find out if shooting will be on safewalking routes (i.e., could we call and ask the police about a particular route).

On Fri, Feb 26, 2016 at 9:55 AM, Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org> wrote:
Good morning,
The municipality will not be identifying the specific two week time frame during which the sharpshooting will be occurring. As the agency responsible for public safety the Police Department has met with the individuals who will be conducting the activity and reviewed all sites (Public and Private) and will be in daily contact during the time when all activity is taking place.

 The goal of the MLPD’s involvement in site inspections and operational oversight is to maximize public safety for our community during any deer management initiatives. As stated by Chief Lauth during a public meeting he is confident that all public safety issues have and will continue to be addressed.


Keith

To which the Lebo Citizens reader responded with:

to Keith, Kelly, Commission, Aaron
Wow. So we won't know which days to worry about, nor will we have any way to find out if guns are being shot along our kids' safewalking routes. 

I'm disappointed and honestly a little surprised given that I did think the Municipality was trying to be responsive to safety-concerns of residents, especially regarding student walkers.

This response is neither.

Update February 26, 2016 8:57 PM Another secret "revealed." Baiting deer is an art, not a science. Throw everything you can at them. They'll eat something. Here is a non-answer answer from Tony himself.

Keith,

Baiting is more of an art than a science.  We use a multitude of options depending on what the local deer seem to prefer most, what is available, and relative cost.  It can be apples, deer feed, corn, alpha pellets, etc.  We place bait out at each location where we are active, primarily on private properties throughout the municipality typically several weeks in advance of getting started whether it is for capture purposes or for lethal management programs.

I hope this helps,

Tony


Anthony J. DeNicola Ph.D.  | President |  White Buffalo Inc.
M: (860) 790-0224  |  tony.denicola@whitebuffaloinc.org

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Taking another angle, if a resident, or a few of them, are receiving a taxpayer benefit from residents (other taxpayers) in the community, I would believe that the specifics of that benefit and who specifically received it should be disclosed.

Imagine if public works came by my house and patched a pothole with asphalt in my driveway (using taxpayer employees and materials) in which other taxpayers in the community paid for but the municipality would not disclose who received that benefit paid for by other taxpayers.

These are the games that our elected and appointed officials are playing, one of them being skirting around the right to know laws.

Nick M.

Lebo Citizens said...

Nick M., I'm sure you saw the final Final Archery Report. Thanks to me being a pain in the ass, I pointed out to Keith McGill and the commissioners that the final Final Archery Report did not list the conservation district. Note at the bottom of page 2, the conservation district was added. Of course our award winning public information officer did not catch that. Our illustrious commissioners didn't notice the omission, and our brand new municipal manager who was picked out of a national search which cost us, what, $25,000?, who treats the words of Tony DeNicola as gospel, missed it too. In the revised final Final Archery Report, we learned that there were 12 private properties used for the archery - locations unknown. Our school district reports that as of Third Day Enrollment September 2015, there were 5,361 students enrolled. Our municipality is protecting the identity of 12 private properties at the risk of endangering 5,361 students. And they will stop at nothing legally to protect the identity of those twelve residents. That is despicable.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I'm just laughing at the insanity of all this and the impact of this legislation, if passed, in Mt Lebo: crossbow air guns for hunting deer.
http://blog.triblive.com/wild-outdoors/2016/02/26/airbows-for-pennsylvania-deer-hunting/

Anonymous said...

I'm thoroughly convinced Elaine that as long as they are getting paid their six figure incomes (except commissioners), their cell phones paid for, cars and gas being paid for, pancake breakfasts and retirement parties paid for, health insurance and everything else paid for...they really don't care.

Nick M.