Choze Powell

Port Huron Town Hall is gearing up for their 2022 season bringing a variety of speakers to inform and inspire guests. This year’s September 12th kickoff features model, actress, and author, Brooke Shields.

Shields is the founder of Beginning is Now, a growing online community of women exploring a variety of topics while learning to live life to the fullest. Award-winning television broadcaster Chuck Gaidica will be moderating the Town Hall with Shields for a unique discussion-style event.

Susan Tisdel, head of promotions for Port Huron Town Hall, said, “Pairing Chuck Gaidica with Brooke Shields adds a really fun dimension to the program. He has been beloved for decades in our area, and his focus of continued innovation in his “second half” of life is inspiring and complements well with Brooke Shields’ mission. They should present a lively duo to the Town Hall community.”

Tickets are now available at McMorran.com or at the McMorran box office. Season tickets for all four performances in the series are $120 – 135 for the show only or $245 – 260 for the show plus the luncheon that follows. Season ticket information is available at PortHuronTownHall.com.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

A unique event will be making a splash in Port Lambton, Ontario this weekend, and visitors will be able to get into the nautical spirit by dressing up and meeting a group of (kind of) real live mermaids.

Kern Water’s Mermaids and Mariners on the St. Clair will happen along the shores of Brander Park in Port Lambton, and the event boasts artisan & maker areas, a Grub Grotto food truck area, boat displays, and so many mermaids!

Over 20 mermaids will be “swimming in from Toronto to Pennsylvania, and our local waters in between!”

Founder Sherri deWolf said, “We are blown out of the water by the interest and support shown by our local community volunteers and businesses in helping to launch this ship! We are over the waves to come together as a community to #SHELLebratetheshoreline that we call HOME here in beautiful St. Clair Township! Come out and enjoy the park, splash pad, vendors, food, entertainment and, of course, the view! There truly is something for everyone!”

The event received a grant from Lambton County’s Creative County program and has had help with promotions from Tourism Sarnia-Lambton.

Learn more at mermaidsandmariners.ca.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) held a press conference today with an update for residents affected by the water main break at their Metcalf Road plant. Due to the need for additional replacement pipes to repair the damage, they have added one week to the projected date the pipe will be fixed.

GLWA initially ordered a section of pipe to replace the damaged section. After fully inspecting the broken pipe, they determined the damage was more extensive than originally thought, and 48 more feet of pipe was needed. The new pipe is currently being manufactured, and it is expected to arrive on August 23, 2022.

Once the new pipe arrives and is installed, it will undergo pressure testing. After that, a water quality testing process will ensure that water is safe for residents to drink.

The new projected date for water service to return to normal for affected residents is September 3, 2022.

Boil Water Advisories are still in effect for Almont, Bruce Township, Burtchville Township, Imlay City, Rochester, Shelby Township, and Washington Township.

GLWA officials are still unsure what caused this water main to break. The nature of water pipes being completely underwater makes them challenging to inspect, but they are hoping that new technology can help better understand the condition of water pipes throughout the state in the future.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Holograms are a very unique medium that involves using light beams or lasers to create a virtual three-dimensional image. Our friends at The Carnegie Center will now feature a new exhibit titled, Holography: The Michigan Medium. The exhibit made its debut August 12th and will feature the works of 18 holographers from the United States and Europe.

Holography has a variety of uses, from displaying instrument information in transportation vehicles to being used to test products without damaging them. Developed in conjunction with Dimensional Imaging Consultants Inc., the exhibit is dedicated to revealing the role that a variety of individuals and institutions have played in the evolution of holography.

“The potential uses of holography are enormous!” says Douglas Tyler, President of Dimensional Imaging Consultants.

The exhibit will run through November 11, 2022. For more information regarding museum hours and availability visit https://www.phmuseum.org/.

Reporting for WGRT –  Choze Powell

As Summer draws to a close, you don’t want to miss out on one of the Blue Water Area’s most fun and entertaining events. The NAACP Field Day & Southside Music Festival begins August 27th from 2 – 8 PM at Lincoln Park in Port Huron, MI.

Sponsored by St. Clair County Community Foundation and multiple other local organizations, the event will feature live musical performances from groups such as Metro Soul Band, Denis Davis and the Motor City Sensations, The Thomason Band, and more.

Food vendors will be present with a variety of treats from cotton candy and cookies, to ribs and tacos. Information and resources will be available from the St. Clair County Health Department, and kids can enjoy a mobile video game station from 3 – 5 PM.

Blue Water Transit will be offering free rides to the event between 1:30 and 5:30 PM. There will be prizes and giveaways happening as well, so don’t miss out on this fun-filled event for all ages. For more information, contact Cynthia Bankston at PortHuronNAACP@gmail.com.

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

After a water main break at the Great Lakes Water Authority’s (GLWA) Metcalf Road plant on Saturday, the break has been isolated and repairs are underway.

After the break, areas around the site were flooded, and today, GLWA reported that all water was removed from the site so engineers can now begin to inspect the damaged pipe. A replacement pipe arrived yesterday.

The Boil Water Advisory has been lifted in Chesterfield Township, Lenox Township, Mayfield Township, Macomb Township, and the Village of New Haven, but there are still 133,000 people affected by low to no water pressure.

Suzanne R. Coffey, GLWA Chief Executive Officer, said, “GLWA understands the real-life impact that this water main break is having on the hundreds of thousands of people in the affected communities and we truly appreciate their patience and understanding as we work to implement the necessary repairs. I am grateful for the GLWA team who has been working tirelessly to restore water pressure to all communities and working as quickly as possible to restore service.”

GLWA is projecting 2 weeks for service to be fully restored. They project one week to repair the damaged pipeline and one week to test the water for safety.

The cause of the water main break is under investigation, and GLWA will notify affected communities when the Boil Water Advisory is lifted.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand