DISTINGUISHED FIREFIGHTERS Lt. Kris Siegert was named Fire Officer of the Year by the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department. Siegert received the department’s Medal of Merit and Medal of Valor for his role in rescue efforts at house fires on South Meadowcroft Avenue and in Scott Township. Also recognized was Scott Bowlin, who was named 2018 Firefighter of the Year. Bowlin was selected by his fellow firefighters for his work in promotion and marketing of the department, including designing the department’s annual report, 100th anniversary materials and redesigning the department’s website.

LOOK UP LEBO It may (or may not!) feel like spring, but now that the worst of winter has passed, Mt. Lebanon police are stepping up their pedestrian/driver safety efforts. Police will be focusing their efforts on drivers who break traffic laws as well as pedestrians who cross improperly—midblock or against the light.

Last year, Mt. Lebanon received a $43,690 public safety grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to enhance pedestrian safety. The program provided funding for officers on bikes to issue warnings and citations in the Washington Road business district. It also featured officers in imaginative plainclothes—such as the title character in the Where’s Waldo? children’s picture books—attempting to cross the street but challenged by impatient drivers. 

The campaign resulted in 268 warnings, 227 citations (155 of which were for failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk), one DUI arrest and two complaints about officers, including one from a driver who stated that Waldo scared her and caused her to almost run him over.

Waldo is real. Respect him.