Month: June 2018

MORNINGTON Peninsula fungi-foragers are being advised to watch out for poisonous mushrooms springing up after recent rains. Lisa Gray, of Somerville, said she found “loads” of deadly death cap mushrooms in her backyard last week – not long after her pet dog died of a heart attack. “It may be related,” she said on social media. Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Charles Guest said foragers risked picking up poisonous varieties which may appear similar to edible varieties. The warning comes as winter rains encourage the growth of fungi in the still-warm earth. Two of the most dangerous varieties are death…

POLICE have warned residents about scammers pretending to be from a government agency, including police. They said the scammers’ aim was to scare victims into parting with their money or personal information, threatening them with fines, taking them to court – even deportation. Those contacted unexpectedly and threatened by someone who says they’re from a government agency or trusted business, should always consider the possibility that it may be a scam – then stop and check if it’s for real, the police said. For more tips and information about these scams, where to get help or to report a scam,…

THE musician headlining the Melbourne Cabaret Festival credits former Eastbourne Primary School teacher Sally Walsh with his success. Drew Downing was a “quiet little boy who always sat in the front row in class”, said Ms Walsh, now teaching music at Boneo Primary and writing music for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. “At age five you could tell he was going to be a musician because he was streets ahead of everyone else.” She was right. Downing says he knew he would become a professional musician by the time he left school and went on to study at Melbourne…

AMATEUR whale spotters are being called on to provide data on the number of whales swimming past the Mornington Peninsula. With the help of these citizen scientists the Two Bays Whale Project was last year able to estimate that 458 individual whales were seen in and around the peninsula and Port Phillip and Western Port bays. The project has been running since 2015 in collaboration between the Hastings-based Dolphin Research Institute and Wildlife Coast Cruises. Experts list the best land-based whale observation points in the Two Bays region as being Barwon Bluff; Port Phillip Heads; Cape Schanck; The Nobbies, Pyramid…

THE Hastings-based Dolphin Research Institute has a grand plan to improve and maintain the health of Port Phillip and Western Port bays. This week the DRI launches its “i sea, i care communities” project which, according to the institute’s executive director Jeff Weir “invites the five million of us living around the bays to commit to simple actions that will help to protect our marine treasures”. “If we can get only a fraction of us always picking up after our dog, reducing what we allow to drip, drop or blow into streets which is then flushed into the bay, then…

A FORUM held at Rosebud last week to discuss traffic noise and its effect on residents living near the Mornington Peninsula Freeway “went very well”. Organiser Wayne Ashley said there was a “full house” at the Rosebud Country Club, Wednesday 30 May. “We had a very good question time and a lot of ideas and issues to pursue,” Mr Ashley said. “Letters have been sent to the state health minister identifying the ongoing health issues emanating from increased traffic, pollution and noise causing health issues, anxiety, depression and dementia.” Mr Ashley said residents of Dromana, Rosebud, McCrae and Safety Beach…

OPPOSITION by the Greens to a parliamentary amendment that would have given the Mornington Peninsula its own planning statement has been described as “so lacking in common sense as to defy belief”. Peninsula Speaks co-founder Christine Haydon was furious after the Greens backed the Labor state government in opposing a Coalition planning and environment amendment which they believe would have given teeth to attempts to overturn an already implemented 11-metre, three-storey height limits. The contentious issue was the subject of several township meetings organised by Mornington Peninsula Shire over the past 12 months held to alert the community to the…

IT’S never too late for love. And the proof is in the eyes of a Rosebud couple who are planning to tie the knot at Sorrento this month. Shirley Ulmer and Michael Metherell – both well into their 80s  – will say “I do” at the Sorrento Historic Gardens rotunda on Saturday 23 June. The path to love for this active couple came through the U3A Southern Peninsula’s Happy Wanderers group. “We are in the U3A walking group and I’m a fast walker and didn’t usually see Mike,” Ms Ulmer said. “On the day we met, Mike was leading the…