George James

Over the weekend, the Port Huron Township Heritage Museum welcomed Santa Claus for a free, two-day community visit, drawing over 100 children from across St. Clair County and beyond. Families enjoyed photos with Santa and explored the museum’s exhibits, with many kids asking, “Where is your sleigh?” Museum volunteers also offered a special holiday program helping children send letters to the North Pole. Letters can be dropped off at the township office on Lapeer Road through this Saturday, with a reply sent to those who include a return address.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

The St. Clair County Community College men’s basketball team split a weekend at home, edging Lakeland Community College 78-77 on Friday before dropping a 74-60 decision to Cuyahoga Community College on Saturday. SC4 built a big halftime lead Friday but had to hold off a furious second-half comeback. On Saturday, the Skippers stayed close early but fell behind in the second half. SC4 is now 5-5 and returns home December 17th to face Edison State at 4 p.m.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

Huron County funeral home director Terry Alvin Kaufman appeared in court last Thursday as proceedings focused on exchanging evidence, not new details of the alleged embezzlement. Kaufman’s attorney requested discovery materials be sent on a flash drive instead of by email to handle more than 4,000 pages efficiently. The state was also allowed to share tax records with both sides. Kaufman faces multiple felony charges including embezzling nearly $193,000 from 55 victims over the past decade. He is scheduled for a preliminary exam on January 9th.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

A two-vehicle crash on North Van Dyke Road in Lamotte Township last week sent one driver to the hospital. A 19-year-old Cass City man rear-ended a slowing 53-year-old Decker woman’s Hummer near Mushroom Road. The impact pushed both vehicles into ditches. Emergency crews treated both on scene, and the woman was taken to Aspire RHS in Cass City. Authorities say neither drugs nor alcohol were factors, and the names involved are being withheld pending further investigation.

New internal government data shows more than half of Sarnia-Lambton’s long-term care homes fell short of the provincial standard for hands-on resident care in ’23 & 24. Six out of ten local facilities did not meet the target of 3 hours and 42 minutes of daily direct care per resident. Non-profit and municipal homes generally outperformed for-profit operators, with Sumac Lodge providing the lowest average at just under three hours per resident. The province plans to raise care standards to four hours per day.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet