Grass fuels fears

By Lia Bichel
LONG grass in a Berwick park is potentially dangerous to children who play in it, a nearby resident says.
Last week, Berwick man, James O’Callaghan said he would not let his seven-year-old daughter play in Timbarra Park because the grass was long and potentially dangerous.
“It’s unsafe. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were snakes it in,” he said.
“Another issue is the grass could be a fire threat in dry weather.”
Most of the grass has since been cut, but Mr O’Callaghan said the grass was not being cut often enough.
“Three weeks ago was the first time it was cut since Melbourne Cup Day,” he said.
“And it was mowed for week prior to Melbourne Cup Day.”
Mr O’Callaghan’s concerns come less than a week after Casey family told the News that long grass on Sweeney Reserve in Narre Warren was posing a threat to nearby residents.
Catherine Tullock said she was also worried that long grass could be a fire hazard or home to snakes.
“It looks terrible, but mostly it’s a danger to families.”
Last week, City of Casey parks and reserves manager Trevor Griffin said the council would cut any areas with tall grass as soon as the grass was dry enough to cut.
“All of the sportsgrounds have been cut within the last week, as have the vast majority of the surrounds; however, due to the heavy rainfall, there are some areas that could not be cut, including the areas adjacent to the creek which runs through the Reserve,” Mr Griffin said.
“The council’s contractor will cut the remaining areas as soon as they are dry enough.”
This week, Mr Griffin said that all of the council’s parks and reserves were cut on a scheduled cycle. Grass at Timbarra Park was cut on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 December.