To my fellow citizens:

As Mayor of Castle Shannon, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of our community. To that end, when the opportunity came up recently to sign on as a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns - a coalition dedicated to calling attention to the scourge of gun violence fueled by illegal guns across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and America–the answer was yes.

The organization is unique because of its extremely narrow focus on illegal guns. The vast majority of crimes committed with guns are committed by people who are not legally allowed to possess firearms. They are either convicted felons, underage or for another reason deemed a danger to society and barred from possessing firearms. But still, each year more than 1,200 Pennsylvanians are shot and killed–including 18 Pennsylvania law enforcement officers in the last seven years alone.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is also unique in its dedication to upholding the Second Amendment right to bear arms–and its commitment to seek remedies to gun violence that do not infringe upon this crucial right. Every study indicates that the problem is not guns themselves, but the dangerous, prohibited persons who can readily gain access to them.

In fact, Mayors Against Illegal Guns should be commended for the organized effort that is underway to deal with gun violence in our communities. Thanks to Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the leadership of local municipalities, 11 municipalities in the state, including the City of Pittsburgh, have passed ordinances or resolutions to rid our streets of illegal guns.

Also, misleading charges have been made regarding “the truth about Mayors Against Illegal Guns”. The truth is this: upholding the Second Amendment right to bear arms and apprehending those who traffic, posses, or use illegal guns are not mutually exclusive. And as a mayor, it is my duty to call attention to threats to our community. In joining the coalition, I signed an explicit statement of principles:

• Punish criminals who possess, use or traffic illegal guns.
• Hold accountable irresponsible gun dealers who knowingly sell to straw purchasers.
• Oppose federal efforts to restrict cities’ access to trace data that is essential to effective enforcement, or to interfere with the ability of the ATF to combat illegal gun trafficking.
• Work to develop and use technologies that aid in detection and tracing of illegal guns.
• Support local, state and federal legislation targeting illegal guns.

The coalition has never deviated from that mission, and we never will. If this group were ever to support a policy that would violate my personal right to bear arms for any reason–tradition, hunting or protection– I’d be the first mayor to leave.

Until that moment, it is an honor to be one of more than 100 mayors in Pennsylvania who have the courage and fortitude to stand up for their convictions.

    Thank you,

    Mayor Donald Baumgarten To my fellow citizens,

You may have read or heard criticisms of our decision to switch the borough's emergency dispatching service from South Hills Regional Dispatch Center to the Allegheny County dispatch center. These criticisms were primarily concerning response times and the ability to communicate with other police and EMS departments. There are those who say we are putting money savings ahead of public health, safety and welfare.

These are the facts: Castle Shannon will save nearly $100,000 annually. There has been no increase in response times since January 1, 2005 when the police began to be dispatched by the county, and since February 8, 2005 when Medical Rescue Team South began to be dispatched by the county; and finally, the ability to communicate with other public safety entities has not been a problem.

I do not want to be redundant because there are other articles in the newsletter concerning the 911 system, so please refer to them for additional comments.

*****

Spring is finally upon us and it's time to remind our residents to keep our community clean to protect property values. One unsightly property has a tendency to ruin an entire neighborhood. Most people in Castle Shannon keep their homes and businesses litter-free. There are always a few, however, who don't seem to care about their properties or their neighbors.

The police department and the codes enforcement officer will aggressively issue warnings, and, if necessary, write citations to those who allow weeds, trash, building materials, junk cars, or other types of eyesores to accumulate.

Thank you,


Mayor Donald Baumgarten