Thursday, April 23, 2015

Of course it was Kip's UPDATED

A Right To Know was filed on March 16, 2015 asking for "All emails, text messages and written communication between any Mt. Lebanon employee and any employee of Wildlife Specialists for the period between February 15 - March 11, 2015 regarding the deer management program currently being conducted in Mt. Lebanon."

The RTK was partially granted and partially denied and sent in two files. Steve Feller's cover letter includes an explanation.

Highlights from the redacted Right To Know file include:
  • Wildlife Specialists mapped out 1,000' buffers from school buildings instead of measuring from property line of schools. Only one school needed to be adjusted. This bait site was the one vandalized. Page 18.
  • "This new issue about the school SAFE act is all empty because the act states that all "unauthorized" individuals may not possess a fire arm within a school safe zone. If you are licensed by the state or the local authority to do so then you are authorized. Why is this not clearly obvious to the commissioners and Police Department? Otherwise, the police would not be allowed to come near a school." - W.S.
  • Per John Bendel's suggestion, Steve Feller was feeding Merlin Benner questions that were going to be asked at the Discussion Session. Page 19.
  • Page 21. Concordia was upset with Brian Benner concerning use of their property. Concordia did not grant permission to cull the deer on their property.
  • Page 25. Feller notified W.S. that the sites previously chosen at Markham, the golf course, and McNeilly are all within the 1,000' buffer.
  • Page 28. A female lawyer warned W.S. if they did not call PA One Call by 11 AM that day, that she would call and report them. Merlin suggested that they make the call. This woman spoke with our police chief who did not understand that bullets are considered explosives.
  • Page 30. Merlin Benner threatens a resident with harassment.
  • Merlin tells Coleman that they will comply and limit work on site to the two approved by the PA Game Commission. See letter from the Game Commission. Page 33.
  • W.S. blamed Kelly Fraasch for sharing Kip's information on page 38. W.S. said that Kip and his wife were very worried about their safety and for the business.
  • Page 39. More "harassment" from a Mt. Lebanon resident toward Kip.
  • Page 41. Kip had been identified in one of the "activist blogs."
  • Amendments to the application begin on page 54 to include adding more men to the permit, allowing semi-automatic rifles, and use of a Scott Township property owned by Mt. Lebanon (Twin Hills).
  • Page 61. Since McNeilly is off the table, W.S. wants to use Williamsburg and Main Park. W.S. also tells Feller that they have written permission from Concordia.
  • Page 65. Facebook announcement of the February 28 protest on Connor Road.
Highlights from the other RTK file include:
  • Brian Benner says that hopefully all shooting will be under the cover of darkness. Page 6.
  • A fourth name was not on the amendment request. Game Commission said that a new request must be submitted with all four names listed. Page 9.
  • Coleman reports to Benner about debating with a citizen on page 16. See photo here. 
    Baiting begins. Benner heard that one of his co-workers saw a feeder photo in an article and was concerned that they were trespassing. He realized that the photo could have been taken from a distance. What a squirrelly bunch!
  • Page 17. No feeders at Twin Hills.
  • Page 27. McNeilly was doused with urine. How do they know?
  • Pages 30 - 45. PA One Call reports.
  • Gene wanted to know how or why information was disclosed about shooting. Aaron Lauth told him that Merlin Benner shared it with a Trib reporter. Page 46. Squirrelly!
  • Page 47. First Church of Christ did not want their lot used for parking or access for deer killing. W.S. had called the police on members of the public who tried to tell them that they did not have permission to be there!
  • Deer were captured and killed without incident. They were pleased that there was no protester interference. Page 48.
  • Wildlife Specialists wanted to use cross-bows at McNeilly, Bird, and the Golf Course since it would not violate the 1,000' federal school law. Thankfully, Steve Feller said thanks, but no thanks. Page 50.
  • Page 51. More on PA One Call.
  • Page 55. Coordinates of "Trapping Sites."
  • The Health Department called and had not approved any wild game processors for food banks. Page 64.
  • Page 65. Request to use lawful firearms for big game was denied.

Another RTK is due on or before May 5. Now that my heart is racing again and am all fired up remembering all the unrest the deer killing had caused, I want to remind everyone that the municipality is bringing in Sandy Baker this weekend, to share her recommendations for non-lethal methods of deer management. 

Update April 24, 2015 3:05 PM The final report from Wildlife Specialists has been posted here. Six deer were processed at Kip's Deer Processing yielding 183 pounds of venison all donated to "Link in the Chain Ministries."

Update April 25, 2015 9:20 AM I did a quick calculation and figured that the meat came to $81.97 per pound of venison. ($12,000 for the deer management plan + 6 deer at a cost of $500/deer.)

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Realizing all the work that goes into gardening I'm not interested in listening to Sandy Baker. I hope our tax dollars are being put to better use.

John

Lebo Citizens said...

That's the spirit, John. I JUST finished telling someone how you want the deer killed in the worst way. Perfect timing!
Elaine

Anonymous said...

John: You would rather put our tax $$ towards incompetency as highlighted in Elaine's post?

Anonymous said...

Based on the last four years of data, didn't we learn that residents are FOUR TIMES as likely to be seriously injured as a pedestrian in this walking school district than they are by hitting a deer? #childendangerment

So from reading all of this about killing deer, is it safe to say that Mt Lebanon doesn't care about killing children but it does care about killing deer?

Anonymous said...

I wonder how many cumulative hours of Mt. Lebanon municipal employee's time have been devoted (wasted) thus far on the deer kill fiasco ? The time of Feller, Kelley, McDonough & Corn Cops, Morgans, Donnellan and all their respective staffs alone over the past 12 months would be alarming.

Anonymous said...

John, be sure to take all your meds. And you may need an adjustment on some. Watch out for the alligators and snakes in FL - they're a bit more dangerous than white tailed deer.

Anonymous said...

This is my second break from reading the RTK. During the first one, I played "Somewhere over the Rainbow" with my daughter on the piano. Now that I have read that a resident asked for a dead deer, not deer meat, I have to pause and um... I don't know what. Ask God why I am living in Mt Lebanon? Is there a purpose to this madness?

Anonymous said...

On the last page of the second RTK, Brian Benner states that Chris Rosenberry believes he will be shooting at moving deer. Brian Benner says "That will not happen". Is there something missing here? Why would he predict that animals would not try to move away from gun fire in a corral?

Anonymous said...

In the second RTK, Steve Feller lied to the Health Department. He stated that the Health Dept's calls was "premature" because they had not killed any deer and that the meat from this cull will be processed in the same manner as USC's or Fox Chapel's. However, these political subdivisions employ USDA oversight during their culls, which meets federal guidelines for food processing of wild game. There was no USDA oversight for this cull.

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to offering a fair and balanced approach that benefited everyone? The deer management program was all one sided for only one group of residents who wanted to kill, kill, kill.

Kelly Fraasch was the only one who had sense enough to want to offer such a balanced approach. We're paying our PIO manager a six figure income to spend time posting on Facebook when she should have been pushing for a deer management plan that made sense for all the residents, not just a specific few.

Nick M.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps our state representative can introduce legislation mandating health department oversight of deer processing sites. I find it quite disturbing that these processing plants have virtually no oversight. What do they do with the inedible portions of the deer? How did they evaluate whether the deer suffered from Chronic Wasting Disease, which could possibly be transmitted to a human (this is unknown) in a processing plant? What happens to food bank recipients if they eat the meat of a deer with CWD? Why should there be a loophole in food processing on behalf of hunters?

Lebo Citizens said...

5:28 PM, I couldn't believe what I was reading. Ewww!
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Venison is Not Safe to Eat

Deer killing vendors like Wildlife Specialists LLC and the USDA Wildlife Services that donate the deer they kill to food banks is just a "humanitarian ruse" to get public buy-in for urban and suburban deer slaughters. The public doesn't realize that this is uninspected meat with the high probabiliy of disease and bacterial contamination, and dangerous levels of lead and pesticides poisoning. Kips is just a butcher. He does not inspect that the meat is safe for human consumption. This is the same with the USDA Wildlife Services giving deer killed in USC to Kips or any other butcher for foodbank donation. This is the wildlife killing division of the USDA, and has no relationship with the USDA food inspection division.

* Deer meat (venison) doesn't originate from an approved USDA inspected food source.

* Deer meat doesn't go through a USDA inspection to make sure it's safe to eat.

* The field-dressing (gutting) process subjects the meat to environmental contamination and temperature abuse.

* Deer meat is a reservoir for bacterial infections like E.coli. Venison food-borne illnesses include, but are not limited to, Cryptosporidium parvum and Toxoplasmosis, caused by one celled parasites found in contaminated white tailed deer.

* Recent CDC studies show that eating (rifle shot) venison and other wild game significantly raises lead exposure to dangerous levels and is a serious health risk especially for children, pregnant women, and immune compromised people.

* Deer meat typically has higher levels of herbicides and pesticides from browsing on treated grass, i.e. the Mt. Lebanon golf course and residents True Green sprayed yards.

In Rochester NY the USDA made an exception and inspected deer meat from a bait and shoot culling. They wrote, "All of the venison which was salvaged from the bait and shoot operation in Rochester was found to be unfit for human consumption ... The intention had been to donate this meat to the NYS prison system to be fed to prisoners. We have seized it and will oversee its destruction."

At risk are low-income beneficiaries of venison donation. While the rich can choose between their USDA inspected meats, the poor are being fed uninspected meats with the high probabiliy of disease and bacterial contamination, and dangerous levels of lead and pesticides poisoning.

This issue has become even more serious with the lead poisoning guidelines being recently revised.

Lead poisoning guidelines revised; more considered at risk
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-16/cdc-blood-lead-level-standard/55005258/1
Some additional articles for your reference:

Lead found in donated venison at food shelves
http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/17072096.html
Minnesota food shelves will halt distribution of venison donated by hunters after lead particles were discovered in ground venison at North Dakota food shelves. ... Authorities urged that any donated meat that had already left the food shelves not be eaten.

Eating venison, other game raises lead exposure
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/lead-in-game-meat

Wild game source of lead for those who eat the hunted meat.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org:80/ehs/newscience/lead-from-bullets-ends-up-in-wild-game-and-people

If deer meat is being served at any food bank or soup kitchen there has to be warning signs posted to warn the patrons of the dangers of eating the meat. Unfortunately, few if any food banks or soup kitchen post this warning, because most are unaware of the law or the dangers.

Lebo Citizens said...

Because you have thousands of dollars AND plants. More money than brains. Recently, I spent $2,000 to have all the rubber mulch removed from my yard and have it replaced with organic mulch. When it first came out in the 90's, we had no idea that it was dangerous. It was made from ground up tennis shoes. Live and learn. I didn't expect our tax dollars to pay for it. I guess you expect us to pay for your mistakes.
The municipality is paying about $1600 to bring in Sandy Baker. Why is this upsetting you so much? How did giving Benner $15,000 help to protect your precious plants, 11:14 PM? WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE DEER IN MT. LEBANON, 11:14 PM.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Lord, do we still have to respond to these questions?

If you have rats, it's because you have faulty garbage cans, and they get access to food. I don't want my tax dollars paying for your ongoing rat extermination. Buy new garbage cans, and stop feeding the rats.

The deer eat your tulips and hostas etc., because they are an irresistible food attractant for deer. I don't want my tax dollars paying for the ongoing extermination of the deer eating your tulips. Like the resident feeding the rats, you are feeding the deer. So we kill half the deer in Mt. Lebanon for 75K. The remaining deer will still eat your tulips. Killing deer and killing rats isn't the solution. The solution is removing the food source attracting them.

In addition, we don't want men hunting or shooting AR-15 assault weapons in our back yards to protect your tulips. Mt. Lebanon is too densely populated and developed to safely hunt or shoot high powered rifles. Using lethal weapons in Mt. Lebanon threatens all Mt. Lebanon families, children, and pets. It's an accident waiting to happen, and killing deer won't solve the problem.

Please go to Sandy Baker's deer proofing seminar to learn how to plant a beautiful garden that deer aren't attracted to.

Anonymous said...

From what I can tell, we paid $15,000 for a 16 page deer management plan (that contained some half-truths) and 6 fewer deer in Mt. Lebanon (some of which were from neighboring communities). Gee, it would appear that the only folks who made out on this deal was Merlin Benner and his associates.

Nick M.

Anonymous said...

Some of us city women are lawyers, Mr. Benner. We're not all barefoot and pregnant. Yee-haw!

Anonymous said...

11:14, since when does the municipality Take care of a citizen's personal property termite problem?

Anonymous said...

I am amazed at John's comment, which seems to echo the other pro kill gardeners' train of thought.

So you realize how much work and labor go into a garden and therefore are not interested in listening to Sandy Baker? Please explain because it makes no sense.

The gardeners insist on planting flowers they KNOW attract deer.

The gardeners are not interested in even considering changing what they plant and don't even wish to have open minds to just go and listen.

The gardeners aren't interested in learning about any other options to reduce the deer population (which really doesn't need reduced.)

The gardeners will keep planting what the have been planting, and will keep pushing for inhumane killing of deer.

What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

I have never come across people with such closed minds, unwilling to consider various options, amd completely resistant to change.

Lebo Citizens said...

I have, 9:52 AM, but that is another story for another day.

What I find ironic is the gardeners' love for nature, but only for the plant kind.

My bleeding hearts, daffodils, poppies, ferns and viburnums are either in full bloom or are ready to bloom soon. All deer resistent. All untouched.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

One would think a true gardener whose plants are being destroyed, would have a lightbulb go off and think, " Maybe I should at least consider looking into deer resistant plants."

That might result in it actually working.
Wouldnt that be better than spending exhorbitant amounts of money to implement an inhumane deer killing program that rips the community apart, inconveniences everyone and embarrasses Mt. Lebanon on a national level?

Anonymous said...

If nothing else, Elaine, these comments give the proof that this was all about the gardens and had nothing to do with car or pedestrian safety.

Taxpayers are picking up the deer killing tab for the gardeners.

I do hope some of them will attend the workshops this weekend. The way to beat the gardening situation isn't by killing ALL the deer. It's learning how to garden in an area where we know there always have been and always will be deer.

A question for the John's of the community...how many deer need to be killed to protect your gardens?

Anonymous said...

Elaine,

I'm not certain they truly have a love of nature.

It may be this is how they spend money and time and are proud of the fruits of their labor.

Maybe they see it as some sort of status symbol. Who knows? I am done trying to figure out their warped way of thinking.

Anonymous said...

It's definitely showing these gardeners' thinking as, "It's all about me, me, me and to heck with everyone else."

Anonymous said...

John has some odd reasoning skills: "A lot of work goes into gardening. Therefore, I should not gain further knowledge about how to do it successfully." Huh.

Planting deer candy and complaining about the deer is akin to putting a playground in your unfenced yard and complaining about the children coming to play there.

If you're not part of the solution, dear neighbor, you're part of the problem.

Anonymous said...

10:34, you are correct. And even if part of the deer management program was about deer vehicle collisions and pedestrian safety, one has to wonder why we have 12 brand new taxpayer owned deer crossings signs sitting down at the public works building doing nothing more than collecting dust. I could be wrong, but I thought signs were used as a tool to create awareness.

Nick M.

Get a Life, Why Don't You? said...

In 1964, a Psychiatrist named Eric Byrne wrote a wonderful little book titled: "Games People Play". One of the "games" that he identifies and describes is: "Why Don't You--Yes But" @ p. 116. If I didn't know better, I would have to conclude that our unhappy (but apparently wealthy) garden set had read this chapter, because they all seem to be playing it, perfectly. The goal of this game is NOT to obtain a solution to the stated problem; it is to so frustrate those sincerely attempting to offer valid solutions that they eventually give up and let the person with the "problem" WIN. Here, there is no interest in making changes that would eliminate the gardeners' complaints...they don't want to take any responsibility for the "problem" at all. If they did, there are numbers of things available to them, including sprays; double-fencing; and deer resistant plants, just to name a few. Although they pretend to make us responsible for solving their "problem", the truth is that they will always have their issues with deer because they are attracting deer. They're not looking for a solution or they would be open to solutions; they are looking to avoid all responsibility and to play their own version of "Help, Help, Rescue Me"--NOT in the book under that name. This all comes down to the ENTITLEMENT issue and the belief among the vocal few that they are entitled to live in a deer-free environment, a bubble if you will, surrounded by deer on all sides but wonderfully immune to their impacts. If we could just figure out what alternate universe they are living in, maybe we could offer them these very real solutions to their "problem" in a way that they could hear it and rationally evaluate it. Our problem: WE'VE GOT (REAL) ANSWERS THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR!

Lebo Citizens said...

I updated this post with the final report from Wildlife Specialists. Six deer were killed and processed by Kip's Deer Processing yielding 183 pounds of venison and donated to a Christian Ministry. Only two deer were identified as a button buck and a female. It is unknown about the four others, unless I missed it in yesterday's RTK.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Let me make sure I get this straight:

Mt Lebanon is in Allegheny County, next to the city of Pittsburgh. In this area, we have many churches, synagogues, etc. and along with food banks that serve a growing homeless population and the poor.

But due to the fact that NOTHING IS LEGITIMATE in this Mt Lebanon, the deer meat was donated to a self-employed evangelist in North Huntingdon who meets in "Secret Churches", as noted on his Facebook page, which includes a link to www.radical.net.

So if I am understanding this situation correctly, you have to know how to get to the SECRET CHURCH to get this hard earned, controversial deer meat?

But then, when one tries to FIND the SECRET CHURCH... there isn't one. The Secret Church is a simulcast this week coming from Birmingham, Alabama.

So where the he$$ are the people eating this deer meat? CYBERSPACE?

This is NOT A FOOD BANK.

https://www.facebook.com/jpd125?filter=2
https://www.facebook.com/secretchurch
http://www.radical.net/secretchurch/
http://www.radical.net/secretchurch/gatherings/simulcast.html

This has to be the MOST ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in my life. This can't get any worse. I wish I were a standup comic.

Anonymous said...

Page 38 is the greatest page of all. Look at the comment from Chief as he finds something fishy. Kip's talks about Commissioner Fraasch inquiring about the program and process. Suddenly they blame her for all the phone calls. Just because she happened to call them and they got phone calls after her. Next, they are in fear of the harassment.
They belong in Lebo. People here jump to conclusions, make things up to suit them and create hysteria for no reason at all.

Anonymous said...

I just talked to a "Master" gardener that seems to think they know everything about deer-resistant planting. Funny enough as we were talking I noticed Hosta perking up in the dirt in the front yard.
I asked and you know the answer. She should be able to plant whatever she wants. Oh no, maybe another gardener that knows too much!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if John would feel better if his neighbors went and learned about gardening from Sandy Barker and they began planting the right things and he benefitted from it.
Would that be a waste?

Lebo Citizens said...

3:50 PM, I think Mt. Lebanon is making people laugh everywhere.

Your comment is priceless. I wish I could "Like" it. Yes, deer meat was donated. In cyberspace. In a secret church. Not at a food bank.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

It took 11 shots to kill 3 of these trapped deer. Two button bucks and a female deer are small deer. These deer were shot with frangible bullets, which expand, break apart, and disintegrate when they hit a target. That means that the expanded spray pattern of the lead particles and contamination is much greater than the regular ammunition spray pattern, which has been found in studies to cause serious lead contamination of the deer meat.

Lead found in donated venison at food shelves
http://www.startribune.com/sports/outdoors/17072096.html
Minnesota food shelves will halt distribution of venison donated by hunters after lead particles were discovered in ground venison at North Dakota food shelves. ... Authorities urged that any donated meat that had already left the food shelves not be eaten

Let's assume that 2 of the deer were shot 4 times, and 1 deer 3 times. So these 11 shots of frangible bullets likely totally contaminated this deer meat with high level of lead particles. This deer meat is likely not safe for human consumption.

This deer meat was donated to "Link in the Chain Ministries". I looked at this link, and all I found was a blog site run by John Deberardinis. I couldn't even find contact info. This isn't even a church as far as I can determine. If this deer meat was distributed by John Deberardinis to other families were these families told that this meat was not USDA inspected, and of the potential lead contamination? Did Wildlife Specialists LLC inform John Deberardinis that this meat was not USDA inspected, and of the potential lead contamination? Bottom line, if someone gets sick, or a child or unborn child gets permanent brain or developmental damage, or someone dies from E. coli infection from consuming this Mt. Lebanon deer meat, what is Mt. Lebanon's liability exposure?

Lebo Citizens said...

3:01 AM, Mt. Lebanon can be sued for anything at any time. That is why the municipality has insurance.

As far as contact information, somehow Merlin Benner found them. We were originally told that the meat was going to be donated to Hunters Sharing the Harvest. Kip Padgelek is listed as a local processor and area coordinator for HSH.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

We weren't only told that the processed deer meat would go to a local food bank, it's in the contract and in the Game Commission permit as a requirement. Someone has some explaining to do here.

Nick M.

Anonymous said...

3:01 am. John's phone number is available online but wait to call today bc he was probably online with the cyber secret church for the 6 hour meeting last night with the leader in Alabama.

Lebo Citizens said...

Nick, did you see how Scott Tomlinson at the PA Game Commission signed off on it yesterday morning at 9:41 AM? He has no questions or concerns.

We're not going to get anyone explaining anything, Nick.

Also, I did a quick calculation and the cost of that venison was $81.97 per pound.
Elaine

Lebo Citizens said...

9:30 AM, I don't recommend anyone calling the recipient of the donation. The calls should go to Merlin Benner, Kip's Deer Processing, the PA Game Commission, and Steve Feller.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Hi Elaine, regarding your updated post at 9:20, because Benner had to pay the processing fees, is it any wonder why they ended the program early? When you factor in all the expenses for 5 workers plus the processing fees and averaging only about 1 deer per day or two, I'm sure they were losing money big time. It's probably the best decision Benner made, to end the program early.

Nick M.

Lebo Citizens said...

Nick, I heard at a meeting that Mt. Lebanon was going to pay the processing fees, so actually, the cost per pound was slightly higher. We could have donated surf and turf and came out ahead.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I brought the question up at the last meeting and put Mr. Feller on the spot. I asked him directly if the only cost would be the $500 per deer and I asked about expenses. He said we're only paying the $500 per deer and that no expenses would be paid by us. Did he retract that statement since that time? This is why we need all invoices for this program.

Nick M.

Lebo Citizens said...

Nick, I remember that conversation. I'm talking about deer processing fees, not expenses. Do you know if those fees were waived or did we pay for those, as discussed at a commission discussion session early on? Yes, you're right. We won't know until we see the invoices.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I still consider the processing fees an expense that should have been disclosed at the time I questioned him. I guess the question is, how did Mr. Feller interpret my question? If the taxpayers were on the hook for something other than the $500 per deer, you would think Mr. Feller would have said something at that time. If not, is he really that much of a snake?

Nick M.

Anonymous said...

I understand there is a move a foot to build a giant walls on Mt. Lebanon's northern and western borders.
When the need for these walls was questioned several gardners exclaimed, "we put thousands of dollars into our landscaping and the cold north winds and artic freezes are killing our plants. We can't kill Mother Nature like we do deer, but we can sure as hell keep her out!" ;-)

Lebo Citizens said...

Speaking of arctic freezes, I couldn't believe the inch of snow this morning. Earth Day activities are still on at Main Park. Bundle up!
Elaine

Anonymous said...

I heard those mounds of dirt at Wildcat/Middle are being used for Earth Day "King of the Hill" games.
Gotta love that Wreck, oops, Rec Dept.

Anonymous said...

Over 43,000 children in ALLEGHENY COUNTY do not know where their next meal is coming from and yet, because Mt Lebanon is Mt Lebanon, the deer meat couldn't be donated to the Pittsburgh Food Bank.

#soproud

https://www.pittsburghfoodbank.org/resources/about-hunger/allegheny/