What is a sharpshooter?

At Tuesday’s Commission meeting during Citizens Comments, I said that Matt Santoni’s article Deer culling program weighed in Mt. Lebanon stated that the USDA was using sharpshooters, where in fact, the USDA hires biologists who are not sharpshooters. I got an email from an outraged reader who said that they are sharpshooters by definition since they were using high powered rifles and are hired to kill deer with as few shots as possible from a distance. I disagree.  If I gave a monkey a high powered rifle with a couple of bullets, that does not make him a sharp shooter. The reader went on to say that there are good sharpshooters and bad sharpshooters, which combines contradictory of terms. I decided to look up the definition of sharpshooter.  According to Merriam -Webster, a sharpshooter is defined as a proficient marksman. The second definition is a consistently accurate shooter (as in basketball).  Thefreedictionary.com defines sharpshooter as 1. One who is highly proficient at shooting and 2. The second military grade of proficiency in the use of rifles and other small arms. 

According to page 28 of the safety report http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/Safety_Review/content/Firearms_Report.pdf, one of the problems defined was that Wildlife Services was faced with the possibility of hiring biologists and field employees with little or no firearm experience due to the shortage of sharpshooters.  This should be a great concern to our commissioner who is a proponent of deer culling. She felt that we could have a deer culling in parks and not on private property.  That is a problem since I reside next to a park.  Kristen Linfante suggested using our parks which are not close to homes. I would be curious to know which parks fit that criteria. 

I hope the reader doesn't get upset when I make this statement.  The article says that the USDA uses night vision goggles.  Hate to say it, but I saw this with my own eyes. They use flashlights.  Sorry.

Don’t get me wrong.  We have a deer problem. Actually, last night, my dog was pushed down the steps and cornered at the bottom of the driveway by a doe who was protecting her newborn fawn. We made an emergency visit to the vet where my dog was treated for cuts and scratches, nothing serious - thank goodness. Two hundred dollars later, I still understand that the deer was doing what mothers do naturally. 

This brings us to the Deer Management Town Hall Meeting that will be held on Monday, July 9 at 7 p.m. in the Commission Chambers. All I hear is that something has to be done, but what?  Bring your ideas to the special town hall meeting. Please don’t suggest introducing mountain lions to the community.  Commissioner Brumfield cracks up every time he hears that option.  I agree, not a good option.

Talk about hijacking the community...(Updated)

An eblast is being circulated in the community from the same folks who brought you, "It is only $18 a month..." They got their way and to quote my buddy Rob Gardner, "We are just pleased" but the hint is in the last sentence:

We're busy enjoying and participating in the community we love, believing that the best is yet to come.

What is the eblast about?  Here it is.

From: Gardner, Robert [Rgardner@Maidenform.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 8:52 PM
To: Anne Pillion, Beer Buy (Tim Scales); beth evans; bill ferari; Bridget Meyer; Cheryl Bender; Chris Helmeci; Chris McMahon; Dan Gbur; David Barrett; Deb Smit; McGrady, III, John; John Wells; KRBonn; KATE MCGRADY, Kathryn Duchin; Laurey Silverman; llrothesq@yahoo.com; votemattsmith@yahoo.com; Nancy Tashman; Noel Slater; Paul Cline; rjpapke@comcast.net; sara dougherty; SkcCreations@aol.com; Kristen Linfante; Steve Silverman; Dianne Wainwright; David P. Franklin
Cc: Commission
Subject: FW: Mt. Lebanon Town Meeting Re: Fields

Dear Commissioners

Thank you for tomorrow night’s public forum regarding the possible upgrading of the municipality’s fields and recreational areas.  Unfortunately, I am out of the country and will be unable to attend.  If I were home I would be in attendance to urge you to PLEASE invest in the upgrading of these public spaces.  Undoubtedly, you will hear from those who say this is no time to spend money.  My hope is that you will hear from an equal or greater number who understand that Mt Lebanon has a rich tradition of investing in its singular identity within the South Hills.  Sidewalks, neighborhood schools, Main Street business districts, and beautiful public recreation spaces and fields define us.  Please don’t let that slip away. The tag line on our website says “A Community With Character.”  Character must be developed and nurtured.

I’ve included many of our friends on this email  who value these public spaces.  I urge anyone who can  attend tomorrow night’s meeting to please do so.  But if you cannot, and if you agree with my comments, please hit “reply all” and let your opinion be heard.  If you don’t agree with me, please let that be known as well. 

Regardless of the outcome, Commissioners,  thank you for your service.

Sincerely,

Rob Gardner

Rob Gardner • Vice President & General Manager

200 Madison Avenue • New York, NY 10016

O 412.841.7216• M 412-841-7216 • E rgardner@maidenform.com

Yes, you are right, Rob.  There are people who believe this is not the time to spend money. You believe the best to come is to wreck our municipal budget as you and your friends did to our school district budget. Spend every last dime.  Borrow more money.  Take out more bonds. My baggage-free commissioner certainly endorses this thinking. When do the signs start going up again?

Mt. Lebanon seeks public input on rec needs

Mt. Lebanon residents are encouraged to share their ideas about the community’s recreation needs—including suggestions regarding maintenance, improvements and additions to parks and recreation facilities—at a special public meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19, in the Commission Chamber of the Municipal Building, 710 Washington Road.

The commission is seeking input from people of all ages that will help them meet community needs, prioritize projects and allocate available funds appropriately. Speakers will be asked to keep their remarks to no longer than 5 minutes.

The meeting will be taped and broadcast for one week following the meeting according to this schedule: Saturday-Tuesday, 10 a.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 7 p.m., and Friday, 3 p.m.

Residents who are unable to attend the meeting but would like to share their concerns and ideas with elected officials may e-mail comments to commission@mtlebanon.org.

Update 4:10 PM

Elaine -- Rob is not the only one distributing e-mails. I am forwarding this to you.  It went to the sports teams too. 

Begin forwarded message:

From: Katie Donnelly <donnellyko@xxxx>

Subject: Re: Mt Lebanon Parks and Recreation Facility Meeting

Date: April 18, 2012 11:38:02 AM EDT

To: Maggie Fleming

Cc: over 100 email addresses 

Having recently become involved in more field/youth sports discussions around Mt Lebanon, I encourage all of you to attend tomorrow's meeting.  I unfortunately will not be able to attend.  I can't stress enough how serious this issue has become in recent months and will stretch beyond field hockey.  If anyone has any questions or comments or would like to discuss the issue further, please feel free to contact me.  I've sat in several meetings where this is a hot topic, and I'd hate to see anything affect our already challenging field set-up.

Katie

On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 11:03 AM, Maggie Fleming  wrote:

Please plan on attending!

The Mt. Lebanon Commission will hold a meeting to solicit public comments on parks and recreation facilities in the community. The commission would like to hear from residents on how the municipality can improve and better maintain all of its parks and recreation facilities. Residents are invited to attend and will be given an opportunity to speak.

WHEN:  This Thursday April 19^th @ 7:30pm

WHERE:  Commission Chambers of the municipal building (710 Washington Rd.)

MORE INFORMATION: http://lebomag.com/3713/special-commission-meeting/

***Residents who are unable to attend the meeting but would like to share their concerns and ideas with elected

                                                       officials may email comments to commission@mtlebanon.org ***

• We have all talked about the condition of these fields over the years, and we have witnessed other communities improve (and even add to) their facilities, while Mt. Lebanon has struggled to maintain the status quo.
• The Commissioners have made it clear that  if only a few people show up at this meeting to address the condition of our athletic fields it is “highly unlikely” that they will conclude that improvements and additions to these facilities should be a priority.
• We need to be seen and heard at the meeting Thursday night.
• The time is now!  Please don't assume that someone else will attend for you - we need you!

Maggie Neishloss-Fleming

Executive Vice President / Chief Operating Officer

Town Hall Meeting planned (Updated)

It was announced at tonight's (well, technically last night's) commission meeting that the commission will be sponsoring a town hall meeting next Thursday, April 19 to discuss the wants and needs of the community in regard to parks and recreation. More information will be posted on the municipal website.

Update April 11, 2012 10:40 am Space is limited, so please leave the kids at home. Also, at last night's meeting, the commission discussed developing the area around Public Works for a new field which could easily be done. It is my understanding that the youth sports groups will be represented at theTown Hall meeting, but this is meeting is to discuss our parks and recreation, in general. It could be that people think that too much is being spent on fields and not enough on tennis, the library, the parks, the pool...you get the idea.

Update April 11, 2012 11:54 pm

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

Special meeting to get input on parks/rec maintenance, improvements,Thurs, April 19, 7:30 pm, commission chamber. http://lebomag.com/category/muniupdates/

Update April 13, 2012 12:50 pm  Hearings to decide on Mt. Lebanon spending surplus

"I think we ought to be considerate and not look at the $1.3 million as something we have to spend," said Commissioner John Bendel, who recommended that $300,000 be put toward the reserve and another $500,000 be paid toward the municipality's pension fund.
Projects that may be considered for funding included new radios for the public works department, replacing floors in the municipal ice rink, upgrading the government's phone system, fixing drainage at the Bird Park athletic field, installing about 850 feet of new sidewalks and replacing equipment at the municipal fueling station.

Or we could put in another field.

Town Hall Invitation from County Commissioner Gastgeb

As I only see this on Josephine Posti's blog and not announced on the School District website, I thought I would share this with the community.


From Josephine Posti's Center Court blog:
Commissioner Vince Gasteb recently sent this notice to school directors in his district for us to share with our communities:

The notices containing the 2013 court-ordered reassessment values are scheduled to be mailed to the communities which I represent the week of Monday, February 20, 2012. As such, I would like to invite you to a Town Hall Meeting which I am hosting in conjunction with the Chief Executive’s Office. This will be an opportunity for the residents of the Municipality of Bethel Park, the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon, the Borough of McDonald (5th District), South Fayette Township, and Upper St. Clair Township, to receive information concerning the property reassessment matter. This meeting is intended to be an educational one and it will allow participants to ask questions about the reassessment process, including appeal procedures.

Date: Thursday, March 8, 2012

Time: 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Location: Bethel Park High School Auditorium

309 Church Road

Bethel Park, PA 15102

Tonight's Town Hall Meeting

The Revenue Generating Team for the Mt. Lebanon School District held their town hall meeting tonight at the Mt. Lebanon High School Library.  The audience consisted of a man, a woman who came in late, and a Boy Scout.  The only School Board member in attendance was Mary Birks.  Dr. Steinhauer was present, but did not speak.  Jan Klein revealed that the Revenue Generating Team has been having meetings since May 2010.  The meeting lasted eleven minutes and 29 seconds and has been posted on lebocitizens.com.  No TV cameras were in use this evening.  The Team had nothing to offer.  Sounds like it was a success.

Update 10:50 P.M. Please listen to the 11 minute meeting, if you can.  You will hear how the School District dropped the ball with the Mt. Lebanon Foundation of Education.  The comment was made that there was little effort from the School District because no one "felt any pain." This was the only comment made at the meeting.  I think there was a message tonight.  It was advertised on the Municipal website, the School District website, Lebo Citizens' blog, and Lebo Citizens' website.  One woman, one man with a recorder, and a Boy Scout.

Update March 10, 2011 12:48 P.M. Kaitlynn Riely's article, http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11069/1130905-55.stm, failed to mention that Jackie Foor, the one attendee with a comment, is the Executive Director for Mt. Lebanon Foundation for Education. Is that a paid position?