5 morels mbc

Walkerville superintendent/principal candidates narrowed to 3 Page 3a

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Two sections 24 pages

Oceana’s

England explodes for 5 goals in Shelby win over rival Hart

Herald-Journal

Walkerville Fire Authority gives nod to budget

Money to pay bills should be available soon

By John Cavanagh

Herald-Journal Writer

Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal

Area residents filled the Elbridge Township Hall Saturday morning, April 22 as the township boards from Colfax, Elbridge and Leavitt and the Walkerville Village council reviewed and approved the 2017-18 fiscal budget for the Walkerville Fire Authority.

Walkerville fire Budget approved continued on 6a

Page 3a

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ELBRIDGE — Applause all around could be heard following the budget approval by the Walkerville Area Fire and Rescue Authority during its annual meeting at the Elbridge Township Hall April 22.

The 2017-18 fiscal budget’s approval actually took two votes by the four gov-

Silver Lake chamber, visitors bureau to seek joint director

Hart BioPure facility hosts Earth Day open house Page 3a

Wilson takes plea deal, averts trial

Former Shelby Village Po- seeking $70,000 in restitution, lice Chief Bob Wilson could but the matter will be reviewed spend up to six months in jail and any restitution amount will once he is sentenced on two be set following a hearing also set for June 5. convictions June 5.

Wilson, 62, of In a plea agree2560 S. 80th Ave., ment last Friday, Shelby, was arrested April 21, Wilson pled in August 2016. He guilty to one count of was charged with six motor vehicle code felony counts, which — false certification included one count and an added count of embezzlement of embezzlement $50,000 to $100,000 $20,000, but less and five counts of than $50,000. The Wilson motor vehicle code plea heads off a jury — false certification. trial that was scheduled to start this week. All oth- The embezzlement charge alleged that Wilson, as an agent er counts were dismissed.

As part of the plea agree- or employee of the Village of ment, the state attorney gen- Shelby, converted for his own eral’s office is recommending Wilson takes that any up front jail time be plea deal capped at six months. The atcontinued on 6a torney general’s office also is

Walsworth remains located along lakeshore near Pentwater

Location, location, location

Where are the prime morel spots in Oceana?

The body of what police believe are the remains of Ryan Richard Walsworth, 50, of Mears, were discovered on the Lake Michigan shoreline south of Pentwater last Saturday morning.

According to Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast, sheriff’s office deputies were dispatched at apWalsworth proximately 11 a.m. to the Lake Michigan shore in Section 22 of Pentwater Township just a little south of the Pentwater

Hint: nobody’s telling

By Mary Beth Crain OHJ Contributing Writer

If morel hunters were realtors, they’d never sell a single property. Yes, when it comes to these prized mushrooms, it’s all about location. But revealing where that location is—well, that’s like a magician giving away his secrets. You’d be breaking some sort of sacred law.

“Morel hunters will tell you where they buried money before they’ll give away their mushroom spots,” laughs Mike Mull, a highly successful morel gatherer since childhood.

In the back room of Larsen’s Ace Hardware in Hart, Mull, a jovial, bearded fellow in cap and jeans, takes time out of his busy schedule as a store sales associate to talk about mushrooms. And not just morels. Any and all mushrooms. Armed with his personal bible, The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, Mull is himself a walking encyclopedia of mushroom facts.

“I’m never without my book,” he says. “I keep it in the car. And whenever I go mushroom hunting, it’s with me.”

That’s because there are literally thousands of varieties of mushrooms out there, and you have to be able to distinguish the safe from the dangerous. You also might like to know the many types that are as tasty as morels.

Walsworth continued on 6a

MSP • Contributed photo

MSP seeks help in identifying larceny suspect

The hunt is on for morels

continued on 7a

Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal

Mike Mull of Hart forages through a section of woods in Hart Township for morels Friday, April 21.

Troopers from the Michigan State Police, Hart Post, are seeking assistance from the public in identifying a suspect wanted in connection with a larceny that took place in Shelby Township.

The state police released photographs of the suspect and suspect’s vehicle. Anyone who might know the suspect’s identity are asked to contact Trooper Trevor Beck at the Michigan State Police Hart Post. Beck can be reached at 231-873- 2171 Ext 0212 or by e-mail at beckt4@michgan.gov.

Shelby school bonds, Hart City council seats top area ballots Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 2 Voters in various parts of the county will head to the polls next Tuesday to make school millage decisions while City of Hart voters will decide a write-in race for two council members.

Shelby Public Schools Shelby School District voters will face the biggest questions as the school district seeks

approval for two bonds for school building improvements.

The bigger of the two questions will be for voters to approve a $17.115 million bond to be used for improvements to the three school facilities in Shelby. The improvements would include a small addition to the northeast end of the high school to accommodate

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middle school students as the high school would become a 7-12 grade building. The current middle school would also have an eight classroom addition built to its southwest corner, and the building would be converted into an elementary building. Thomas Read Elementary would be converted completely into the Early

Childhood Center and see its oldest section of the building on the north side demolished.

All buildings would have secure entryways constructed and technology improvements. Improvements to the high school roof and track are also in the plan. The New Era Elementary building in New Era would be closed and sold.

The second part of the proposal is a separate bond request for a $2.63 million for an addi-

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tion to the south end of the high school gymnasium. The space would not only provide an area for the wrestling program practices, which currently uses the high school cafeteria, but for other uses as well.

Hart City Council After having no candidates file for the two available seats on the Hart City Council earlier this year, the city now has three men seeking the seats through a write-in vote. They include

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incumbent Jason LeFever, Edward Simon IV and former councilman Steve Hegedus.

Newaygo County Regional Education Services Agency The Newaygo County Regional Education Services Agency (NCRESA) will put before Oceana County voters living in the NCRESA distr-

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The hunt is on for morels “Ninety-five percent of Michigan mushrooms are edible,” Mull observes. “And many of them are as good if not better than morels.”

For instance?

“Chanterelles,” he points to a photo of a light orange-colored mushroom with a wide cap that fans out like a flower. “There’s this professor from Michigan State who was visiting, and we talked mushrooms. And he brought me a bag of chanterelles that he found right here in town, in front of the jail. He said, ‘Cook them with eggs.’

And they were excellent.”

Another of Mull’s favorites is the puff ball. “I like the puffs better than morels,” he acknowledges. “You find them on the golf courses, among other places. They’re huge and I cook them on the grill with olive oil and garlic and they taste like steak! But you have to be careful.

If they’re brown in the center, I don’t eat them.

But if they’re white, they’re fine.”

At heart, however, Mull is a dedicated morel hunter, who loves nothing better at this time of year to spend a time in the woods, walking, enjoying nature and finding the mushrooms everyone else is looking for too.

“My favorite part of morel hunting is that anyone can do it,” he grins. “Little kids are often great at it—they’re short and they can see them better! We take the whole family and the dogs and even if you don’t find any mushrooms, you still get a day in the woods, which is what I love.”

There are, says Mull, 16 different kinds of morels. The yellow, black, white and half-free are the common true morels, with the spongylooking caps that account for their nickname— sponge mushrooms. But beware of the false morels, or “caps,” which contain a toxin known as monomethyl hydrazine, a chemical that can cause dizziness, vomiting and in extreme cases, death. Although some, like the beefsteak mushroom, are fairly easily identifiable, others sometimes resemble the safe morels so closely that you’d have difficulty distinguishing them without a visual aid. Some guidelines include: False caps may be wavy or “lobed” and look like they’re bulging outward. Some species often have a “wrinkled” or “brain-like” appearance with multiple wrinkles and folds, rather than the honeycomb appearance of true morels, which have a more uniformly shaped cap with pits or ridges that appear to be bulging inward.

The cap of the false morel hangs freely from the stem. The true morel has a cap that is attached to the stem. “Anything where the stem is attached to the bottom of the mushroom, you’re OK,” says Mull. “ If you slice an edible morel open from top to bottom it will be hollow inside. If it’s filled with wispy cotton-like fibers or chunks of tissue,

from Page 1a

“My favorite part of morel

hunting is that anyone can do it. Little kids are often great at it—they’re short and they can see them better! We take the whole family and the dogs and even if you don’t find any mushrooms, you still get a day in the woods, which is what I love,”

— Mike Mull

keep your distance.

Morels also come in a wide range of sizes.

For the most part they’re small, but “I’ve found white morels that were 12 or 13 inches high,” Mull recalls. “They were so huge I couldn’t fit three of them in a gallon Ziplock bag.”

So what types of areas are the best for morel hunting? Mull shrugs and laughs.

“I’ve found morels everywhere. Right here on Water Street, for instance. They can pop up right in front of you. You just have to train your eye.

I’ve been hunting morels since I was really little.

My dad took me all the time. So maybe I’m always looking for them.”

The woods, though, are the most frequented spots.

“Look for poplar trees, especially those surrounded by swamps,” Mull advises. “And you’ll find morels by downed trees, like elms, especially those that were hit by lightning. A little old lady who was an expert morel hunter once told me, ‘If you ever see an elm tree that was hit by lightning, go there.’ A while back, my brotherin-law had an elm that was downed by lightning, and there were hundreds of morels as far as the eye could see. This lady also told me that until we have thunderstorms with lightning, you’re not going to have mushrooms.

“She was amazing. She was really old, and she could find mushrooms anywhere. She said she could smell the mushrooms.”

So can Janna Hiddema.

“Oh, I can smell them,” she says. “So can my niece and nephew.”

Like Mull, Hiddema, who was born and raised in Oceana County, has been an avid mushroom

Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal

Mike Mull references his personal bible, The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, while out on a hunt for morels.

hunter since she was a little girl.

“I’ve been hunting for 58 years,” she proudly notes. “My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—everyone hunted mushrooms. And now I’ve trained my niece, Monica, and my greatnephew, Cody, to find them. I swear, the mushrooms come to him! He’s got the eye.”

Even though the morels have just started to appear, Hiddema has already bagged a bundle.

On Easter Sunday, for instance, Our Lord wasn’t the only one who had risen.

“We found 471 mushrooms,” she excitedly reports.

And what do you do with 471 morels?

“Oh, we’ll dry a lot of them. For sauces. And we eat them, of course. My brother-in-law likes them scrambled in his eggs.”

What’s the most she’s ever found in one outing?

“Well, one year—I was still in high school— we went out with some other families and came back with four washtubs full of light morels.”

She sighs happily. “That was a wonderful year!”

Does Hiddema have some advice regarding the types of locations where you’re most likely to find morels?

“I notice you haven’t asked me just where I go,” she somewhat teasingly observes.

Well, isn’t that a no-no?

“I don’t mind telling you.”

Hold the phone! Are we about to get a news flash? Is Janna Hiddema about to spill the timehonored beans?

Yes! “The Crystal Valley ski trails is a great place to find mushrooms. They’re all over there.

And Brown’s Farm, out that way. Then, where the Trading Post is, in Pentwater—we used to from Page 1a go back in there, to Sandy Bend. Now, however,

Mike Mull stands next to his Dodge truck that features a “Michigan Mushroom Hunter’s Club” license plate.

Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal

Tuesday’s election day rict a special education millage renewal request. The renewal request will be for 1 mill over a 7-year period. In Oceana County, the NCRESA provides special education services for people living in the Hesperia and Fremont school districts.

Property owners with a $50,000 taxable value would pay $50 in the first year. The levy is expected to generate $1,328,800 agency-wide in the first year.

Montague Public Schools Some southwestern Oceana County residents in the Rothbury area will cast ballots as Montague Public Schools seeks a .9 mil rate to create a district sinking fund for facility improvements. The levy would be for 10 years. It is expected to generate an estimated total of $3,257,576 over the 10-year period. Proposed projects include: changing the lighting systems to LED, unit ventilator replacements, new boiler condensers, door replacements, roof repairs, new signs and security updates. The district will also look into becoming more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines.

Fremont Schools A small number of people residing in southeastern Greenwood Township will be asked May 2 if they want to support a millage proposal for improvements at Fremont Public Schools.

The district is looking to revive a sinking fund proposal that expired with the 2012 tax

Oceana’s Herald-Journal • April 27, 2017 • 7a

levy. A renewal request was defeated in 2013. Now that a few years have passed, Fremont Superintendent Ken Haggart said earlier this year the district believes it’s time to put the issue before the voters again. The request will be for 2.5 mills over 10 years. Property owners with a $50,000 taxable value would pay $125 in the first year. Money would be used to construct secured entryways at

the elementary buildings built in 1963 and 1996, respectively.

The district also would like to construct a secure vestibule at the Early Childhood Center constructed in 1954 over the life of the sinking fund request.

Money also could be used for roof repairs and maintenance, mechanical controls and equipment and facility safety issues.

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there’s a gate there so have can’t get through.

You have to go a mile around.”

When hunting, look for a variety of leaves and trees, she advises. “Elms, old apple trees, oak, popples—I like there to be a good mix of leaves, from both hard and soft woods.”

And as you’re collecting your shrooms, both Hiddema and Mull warn against using plastic or paper bags.

“I only use onion sacks when I get mushrooms,” says Mull. “That way you’ll spread the spores all over and you’ll find mushrooms all the time. And don’t be afraid to shake the sack. Your spot will get better and better.”

“I wish people would not use paper or plastic bags,” Hiddema concurs. “They should use net bags like onion bags because as you walk, you’re spreading the spores.”

Because, notes Mull, “there are so many bugs that use the mushrooms to hide in,” what’s the best way to clean them?

“I spray them in a colander with water,” says Hiddema. “Then I put them in a bowl of salt water. I do that four or five times, to get all the bugs. If you’ve collected them in a swampy area, you’re more likely to find the white ones that look like worms. But I generally avoid the swamps.”

And finally, what’s the best way to eat them?

“The big white morels are great for stuffing,” Hiddema recommends. “Fill them with crabmeat and cream cheese or bacon and cream cheese and bake them. The smaller ones, well, I basically dip them in flour, with garlic and some other seasoning, and fry them in butter until they’re crisp.”

Yum. Happy hunting!

PUBLIC NOTICE

WEST MICHIGAN COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH

will hold its regular Board of Directors meeting on the third Tuesday (unless noted otherwise) of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the locations listed below. From time to time special Board of Directors meetings will be held with advanced notice being given. The public is invited to attend.

2017/2018 WMCMH BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATES April 18, 2017 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan *May 23, 2017 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan June 20, 2017 Hart Counseling and Evaluation Center 105 Lincoln Street, Hart, Michigan July 18, 2017 Atwell Mental Health Facility 1090 N. Michigan Avenue, Baldwin, Michigan August 15, 2017 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan September 19, 2017 Hart Counseling and Evaluation Center 105 Lincoln Street, Hart, Michigan October 17, 2017 Atwell Mental Health Facility 1090 N. Michigan Avenue, Baldwin, Michigan November 21, 2017 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan December 19, 2017 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan January 16, 2018 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan February 20, 2018 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan March 20, 2018 Harold E. Madden Center 920 Diana Street, Ludington, Michigan *Fourth Tuesday Necessary and reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audio tapes of printed materials being considered for the meeting, for individuals with disabilities will be made available upon 24-hour notice. Individuals requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact Kim Goodrich at 231/843-5401.