UPTOWN ART It’s art to experience, try on and take home. It’s food to taste, music to dance to and programs to support to ensure art is created far into the future. The Mt. Lebanon Artists’ Market [1], in the Academy Avenue lot, is Saturday and Sunday, September 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., presented by the Mt. Lebanon Partnership and sponsor Howard Hanna. Admission is free.
Stroll through the signature market, browse and buy art in all media from more than 67 different artists from near and far. Musicians Pete Hewlett and Scott Anderson will perform from noon to 3 both days. Watch talented artists from the Mt. Lebanon High School AP art class, led by teacher Jen Rodriguez, demonstrate their skills. Participate in a Tom Savini special effects makeup demonstration and see your family members turned into zombies before your eyes.
Sample delicacies from a convoy of food trucks: Arancini House, Totopo, BRGR, Revival Chili, Two Brothers Bar-B-Q and Mac and Gold.
On Saturday night at 6 in Clearview Common, the Market presents the pARTy, with live music from Afro Yaqui Music Collective and adult beverage sampling. Admission is free.
The event’s raffle benefits the Mt. Lebanon Arts Initiative. One of the initiative’s most important roles is to provide scholarships to young artists.The Partnership gave away three $1,000 scholarships to Mt. Lebanon High School seniors: Hannah Wu, who is attending Cooper Union; Paulina Braverman, University of Michigan and Alyssa Scott, who goes to Rhode Island School of Design.
Scholarship money also came from the sale of artwork donated by participants, as well as donations from residents and businesses who signed up to become patrons. The Partnership’s goal is to raise even more this year to support arts in Mt. Lebanon through the Initiative.
BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY RULES Now that school is open, drivers should expect to see many more children crossing the streets. Parents should remind kids of safe practices and drivers should keep eyes peeled, especially during drop off and pick up times.
Parents using the school Go Zones should be mindful of the rules: Wait your turn and don’t let kids out before you’re into the zone, pull up fully into the zone, let children out on the school side of the road. If you must walk your child to the building, park a few blocks away and then walk. Do not park in the Go Zone. For any clarification, talk to your building principal.
Other back to school safety procedures include loading the MTLSD Student Protect App onto your and your children’s smartphones. The app allows you to speak up anonymously or using your name any time you or your children see something concerning in or around school. Learn more about the app and what it can do here [2].
Enter the schools using proper doors and procedures. Do not hold doors for others. Call 911 if you see anything suspicious or that doesn’t look right.
PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT CONTINUES Work on the renovation of the Mt. Lebanon Public Works Department complex at Cedar Boulevard and Lindendale Drive is continuing, despite a setback during the June 20 storm that resulted in flooding on Cedar. Floodwaters coursed through the site with enough force to bend metal pipes that were being repaired in on themselves so much that they were reduced to 20 percent capacity. Contractors removed the pipes on the night of the flooding and opened up the trench they were in to channel some of the water.
The $8.68-million project is back on schedule. The remaining portion of the project—an addition to the existing public works building, a new salt dome, a storage building for housing seasonal equipment indoors, reducing its exposure to the elements and a new firing range for the police department—is expected to conclude by autumn of 2019.
Throughout the course of the project, Public Works will continue to operate out of the facility, coordinating with contractors to perform the necessary work.
CROSSWALKS: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY Most drivers know they must yield to pedestrians who are fully in the center of a crosswalk. But many don’t know when that responsibility starts. When a pedestrian is on the sidewalk with the look that says, “I want to cross now,” can a driver keep going since that pedestrian isn’t in the crosswalk yet?
This should clear it up: The pedestrian must enter the crosswalk to have the right of way. Once the person is in the crosswalk, not on the curb or sidewalk, all vehicles must yield until the pedestrian is completely on the opposite sidewalk or curb. However, it is the pedestrian’s responsibility to make sure it is safe to step out in the first place, by waiting for the walk signal if it is a signalized intersection, and making sure all traffic sees them.
But common sense should accompany following the rules. Police Chief Aaron Lauth puts it this way: “Regardless of whose fault it is, somebody’s going to be hurt if both parties don’t take proper care.”
COMMISSION MEETING DATES TO CHANGE Beginning in 2019, the Mt. Lebanon Commission will meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Mt. Lebanon is making the change from the current meeting plan—one meeting on the second Monday and one meeting on the fourth Tuesday—to make for a more accommodating schedule. Discussion sessions will be at 6:30 p.m., in Room C of the municipal building, 710 Washington Road, and the adjourned meetings will begin at 8 p.m., in commission chambers.
ARCHERY HUNT TO BEGIN The archery portion of Mt. Lebanon’s annual deer management program begins this month and will proceed exactly as it has in the past. The hunt is scheduled for September 15 through January 26, 2019, with a holiday break from November 24 to December 25.
The purpose of the hunt is to keep the deer herd at a manageable number. In authorizing the program, Mt. Lebanon Commission aimed to reduce the number of deer/vehicular crashes.
Suburban Wildlife Management Solutions, which will manage this year’s hunt, is composed of the local hunters who were recruited and interviewed by the previous contractor, White Buffalo, Inc. The hunters live nearby and have worked in various municipalities, including Peters Township, where they have run a successful program for 15 years. Their bid was $8,000, $1,000 less than White Buffalo’s.
This year’s hunt will for the most part be “the same archers, the same properties,” Suburban Wildlife representative Jim Stevick told the commission. All hunters are certified in bow hunter education, including safety and ethics. They have passed a proficiency test with a bow or crossbow, attended an orientation and passed a criminal history check paid for at their own expense. They will carry an ID with a municipal logo.
Hunting is permitted to take place on public property and designated private property from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes following sunset. Public areas are: the conservation area at Connor Road and Terrace Drive, wooded portions of the public golf course, Twin Hills Park, McNeilly Park, the public works facility and Robb Hollow Park. Only public safety personnel will work these areas, and the parks will remain open. Private properties have been donated by property owners for the hunt. The sites were thoroughly vetted by Suburban Wildlife, and requisite permissions were secured from neighbors. No site is on a school safe walking route; schools have been notified.
Stevick told the commission that although the program has been working well, more private properties are needed. To have your property considered, contact Assistant Manager Ian McMeans, imcmeans@mtlebanon.org or 412-343-3620.
For more details about the archery hunt, see the FAQs [3].