Choze Powell

Elmer Ulseth, a 104-year-old WWII Veteran, was awarded a Quilt of Valor at the Blue Water Hospice Home. Lynn Lebeck, Michigan State Coordinator of the Quilt of Valor Foundation, was there to present the quilt while Ulseth was surrounded by family members, friends, and caregivers.

A Quilt of Valor is a handmade quilt awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war. Started in 2003 by a military mom, the underlying message of a Quilt of Valor is, “Thank you for your service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation.”

Elmer Ulseth served in the U.S. Army as an anti-aircraft gunner during WWII. He grew up in Detroit and he and his wife, Marie, moved to the Blue Water Area when they retired in 1979. Marie passed away earlier this year after the couple shared more than 73 years of marriage.

Ulseth was awarded the Quilt of Valor while his daughter and son-in-law, Janice and David Whipple, and many others at Blue Water  Hospice Home, shared in the moment.

Jessica Martin, Blue Water Hospice Home Director, said, “It is such and honor to be a part of and witness these ceremonies, it truly touches my heart.

To learn more about Quilts of Valor, click <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Michiganders aren’t back in the habit of returning their bottle and cans, and the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association (MB&WWA) is urging them to make the effort.

The bottle deposit system has caught up with the backlog of bottles and cans produced when the system shut down during the pandemic, but numbers are down for current returns.

Spencer Nevins, President of the Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, said, “The fact that fewer Michiganders are returning bottles and cans this year as compared to years past is troubling, because it means those returnables are piling up in landfills or tossed into lakes and streams or along the road.”

According the MB&WWA, beer and wine distributors spend over $60 million each year to operate Michigan’s bottle deposit system. Currently, when bottles and cans do not get returned, the money goes into Michigan’s Cleanup and Redevelopment Trust Fund and back to retailers.

If you’re not ready to tackle returning your stockpile of cans yourself, you can donate them to United Way of St. Clair County until Monday, November 15th :

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

On Monday, November 8, 2021, a call was received at McLaren Port Huron’s call center that caused the hospital to be placed on lock down. After both a physical investigation of the hospital and a review of the audio recording, Port Huron Police have determined there was no credible bomb threat.

When the call came in Monday morning, McLaren Port Huron was placed on lockdown and police began the investigation. The hospital was searched by officers and a Port Huron Police explosive detection dog.

Police spoke with the caller, a 41 year old Port Huron resident, who denied making the threats. However, he did make a verbal threat due to the hospital’s mask mandate. No arrests will be made, and the department is not seeking charges against the man.

McLaren Port Huron CEO Eric Cecava said, “The safety and welfare of our patients and employees are paramount. We Would like to thank the Port Huron Police Department for their quick response and comprehensive investigation.”

Operation Transformation has several opportunities for people to serve others during the holiday season. Outreach opportunities range from donating children’s books to bell-ringing for the Salvation Army Campaign.

Operation Transformation provides chaplain services to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Port Huron Police Department. This year, they will be blessing both departments with cards and a Christmas devotional.

OT is also collecting Christmas cards, wrapped mints, and stamps for their card project at the St. Clair County Intervention Center. Inmates at the center will receive a card from OT volunteers along with a new stamped card they can mail to their families.

Those interested in donating cards, mints, and stamps should drop them off at Operation Transformation by Monday, December, 6th. That’s also the deadline for donating children’s books that OT will distribute to kids in our community.

If you’d like to join OT in their bell-ringing efforts to raise money for the Salvation Army, you can sign up to help them on Saturday, December 11th at JCPenney in the Birchwood Mall. They are looking for volunteers to fill one-hour slots from 10 AM to 9 PM that day.

For more information about Operation Transformation, visit www.optrans.org

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

In 2015, Spencer Stone was traveling to Paris by train to spend some time with his friends. That trip would change all of their lives dramatically.

Stone and his friends, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, ended up saving hundreds of people during that train ride when they thwarted a terrorist attack.

The three men were instrumental in disarming and subduing the terrorist, and Spencer Stone was able to deliver life-saving medical care to an injured passenger even after sustaining multiple injuries himself. They have all been recognized as heroes multiple times by U.S. and French authorities.

Stone spoke to an audience at McMorran Auditorium on Monday as part of the Port Huron Town Hall speaker series.  His message encouraged the audience to help others whenever they are given the chance.

When talking about how the event changed his life, Stone said, “I get called a hero, but I don’t feel like a hero. I was just doing what I had to do for me and my friends’ survival, and it just ended up translating into me saving every body else on the train.”

In an interview with WGRT, Stone said, “You will not regret helping someone in need. I know, if you put yourself on the train in my shoes, I had the option to run away and get out and just avoid being hurt whatsoever; but I know that if I would’ve done that, I would’ve lived with that regret for the rest of my life, and it probably would’ve killed me.”

At the end of his message to the Town Hall audience, Stone encouraged people to engage in what’s going on around them and not be a bystander. “Would you rather have a long life or a life well-lived?” asked Stone.

To hear an interview with Spencer Stone on WGRT’s LIMElight with Jessie, click <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand