George James

A Freeland man is in jail after deputies say he crashed his car into a Tuscola County medical building. The sheriff’s office says another driver saw the 20-year-old speeding east on M-81 near Colwood Road in Ellington Township on Sunday. Moments later, his car left the road, tore through a field and smashed into a building owned by Aspire Rural Health Systems. He had only minor injuries. After he was treated, he was booked into the Tuscola County Jail on a drunk driving charge.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

Two fires in 2 days across the river in Sarnia are a reminder for Blue Water Area families to check their smoke alarms and battery chargers. Sarnia Fire Rescue says an overheating lithium-ion battery started a fire at a rowhouse on Vidal Street South around 3 a.m. Monday. Working smoke alarms woke all 4 people inside, and they got out safely. The family dog died, even after firefighters carried it out and gave it oxygen. The night before, everyone got out unhurt from a kitchen fire on Devine Street.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

St. Clair County RESA in Marysville wants residents to see the behind-the-scenes work many families never notice. The county’s TEC and Woodland Developmental Center opened in 1976 and are marking 50 years of preparing young people for life after school, while RESA celebrates 65 years of service. Superintendent Brenda Tenniswood says RESA also runs a 200-mile fiber network linking schools, libraries and local governments, coordinates preschool for more than 650 4-year-olds, and operates the Pine River Nature Center. The celebration ends with a community open house in fall 2027.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

Yale residents must wait until the new year to learn how the case against a former Chamber of Commerce officer plays out. Kellie Lauwers, wife of State Senator Dan Lauwers, was due in court Monday for a plea hearing, but it’s been pushed to January 19th. If no deal is reached, her jury trial, once set for next week, now begins January 26th. Prosecutors allege Lauwers, who served with the Yale chamber for five years, wrote checks to herself and forged other members’ signatures, taking about 30-thousand dollars.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

Port Huron taxpayers are picking up most of the tab for President Trump’s October rally, a bill that came in just under $98,000. City Manager James Freed says the money mostly paid overtime for police, firefighters and public works crews. The Republican Party’s McMorran Arena rental brought back more than ten-thousand dollars, and the Secret Service paid for the barricades. Still, Freed says the city got off easy. He notes Port Huron budgets about $140,000 a year for the Blue Water Festival. Around six-thousand people attended the rally.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet

Sanilac County families are being urged to check their shot records after the health department confirmed the county’s first measles case in years. Health officials are working with the state to trace where the resident caught the illness and whether anyone else in the community may have been exposed. Measles spreads through the air and brings a high fever and a rash that starts on the face. Officials say two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective, and anyone with symptoms should stay home and call a doctor.

Reporting for WGRT – JP bZet