KEEP THE PARKS CLEAN The Parks Advisory Board and the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy are working to raise awareness of the issue of residents bringing leaves, weeds and branches to the edges of many Mt. Lebanon parks. Bird Park, along the entrance at Youngwood Road, has been especially targeted, says Commissioner Mindy Ranney, commission liaison to the Parks Advisory Board.
“Some residents may think it’s helpful to put their yard waste in a park, as it gets ‘composted,’ but this isn’t generally the case,” she says.
Dumping yard waste also undermines the work the Parks Advisory Board and Nature Conservancy does to clean the parks and may reintroduce invasive plants to areas where volunteers have worked to remove them.
NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET The manager’s recommended budget for 2021 will be available for public review on November 1. The budget will be posted on the municipal website, mtlebanon.org [1].
The Mt. Lebanon Commission will hold public hearings on the budget at its November 10 and December 8 meetings, and will vote to adopt the budget, with any proposed adjustments following public input on December 8. Residents can comment on the budget during the public hearing. Discussion sessions are scheduled for 9 a.m., Saturday, November 7 and 14, and at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, November 19.
If you cannot attend any of the meetings but have a comment, you can email the commission at commission@mtlebanon.org. You can also view the meetings on mtlebanon.org [1].
ARCHERY PROGRAM: Mt. Lebanon will continue its deer management program with an archery hunt by Suburban Wildlife Management Solutions. The program started in September and runs through January 23, 2021, with a holiday break from November 27 to December 26. Property owners interested in donating their private property for the 2020-2021 hunt should contact the contractor directly at wildlifemanagementsolutions@gmail.com [2] or contact Assistant Manager Ian McMeans, imcmeans@mtlebanon.org [3] or 412-343-3620.
@ THE LIBRARY
VIRTUAL LECTURES On Sunday, November 8, from 2 to 4 p.m., the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy will hold its annual meeting and will feature guest speaker Doug Tallamy, PhD, a professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. Tallamy has authored 95 research publications over a 40-year career, focusing on the interaction between insects and plants. His book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens received a silver medal from the Garden Writers’ Association.
At 7 p.m., on Monday, November 9, Samuel Black, Director of the African American Program at the Senator John Heinz History Center, will present “Soul Soldiers: African Americans and the Vietnam Era.” The presentation, derived from a traveling exhibit, tells the story of Black men and women who served in Vietnam during a divisive chapter in American history. Presented in partnership with the Historical Society of Mount Lebanon.
Local author and National Book Award finalist Deesha Philyaw will discuss her book, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, from 7 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, November 18. The book is a collection of nine stories that feature four generations of characters with an interconnecting theme of church as a strong influence on Black communities. Philyaw is a Fellow at the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction and a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The Rumpus, among other publications.
Stay in the loop. Sign up for the library’s e-newsletter [4].
SENSE & SUSTAINABILITY
Many of us have noticed that we are producing more household trash than we did prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. When restaurants closed, we ordered takeout. We can no longer use our reusable cups at coffee shops or use our own bags at the grocery store.
We are using more paper towels and wipes as we try to disinfect the surfaces in our homes. While we hope this is just temporary, it can feel disheartening for those of us who try to live a low-waste lifestyle.
While some waste may be unavoidable, we can still take steps to reduce.
• When ordering takeout, request no plastic cutlery
• Use reusable water bottles that can be filled at home
• Have your groceries placed back in your cart loose and pack them into reusable bags at your vehicle
• Use bottled cleaners and reusable rags instead of disposable wipes
• Make washable rags out of worn-out T-shirts for anywhere you would use paper towels
• If possible, purchase bulk bottles of hand sanitizer to refill your travel-size bottles
• Continue to recycle properly based on Mt. Lebanon’s recycling guidelines
• Since we can no longer recycle glass at the curb, find a drop-off site or event at prc.org/programs/collection-events/glassrecycling [5]
HISTORIC HOUSES The Historical Society of Mount Lebanon is selling medallions identifying those properties in the Mt. Lebanon Historic District as contributing to the historic designation. The cast aluminum medallions are 6 inches in diameter and include mounting screws and anchors. Cost is $214. To see if your house is in the historic district, check the historic district map [6].
CORRECTION Because of an editing error, last month’s story on the Mt. Lebanon Soccer Association (Half a Century of Soccer) incorrectly reported that one of its founders, George Kesel, had passed away. George is enjoying his retirement in Montana and took the news with surprisingly good grace. We heartily regret the error.