Looking for a Preschool? Check out Art in the Park
Art in the Park is coming to Grieg Park in St. Clair on August 10th from 6:00-7:00 p.m. The event is for young children and their families to both relax with some crafts in the fresh air and learn about preschool options.
Art in the Park is sponsored by St. Clair County RESA and is planning to have activities for children along with free books. The activities are targeted at kids aged zero to five.
Shannon Baker, the Help Me Grow Care Coordinator and Early Childhood Specialist with St. Clair County RESA said that the event is a simple, fun, and low-key way to reach more families in the community.
Baker said, with the start of school quickly approaching, RESA is seeking out four-year-olds who could benefit from the free preschool programs like Great Start Readiness Program and Headstart, or tuition programs in local school districts.
To find out more about Art in the Park on August 10th, or about the preschool programs available in the area, see the link and contact information below.
greatstart@sccresa.org
810-455-4009
https://www.sccresa.org/services-a-z/early-childhood-services/free-preschool-gsrp
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
Michigan Reconnect is Connecting Adults with College, Credential Access
The Michigan Reconnect program has now accepted over 100,000 applicants into the tuition-free degree or skills certificate earning process.
Michigan Reconnect is integral to the state’s Sixty by 30 goal of getting to 60% of Michigan adults with a postsecondary degree or credential by 2030. It is now at 45-49%.
Sarah Szurpicki, the Office of Sixty by 30 Director for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity said, “Making the decision to go back to school, especially when you are already balancing adult responsibilities like a job or a family, is empowering and inspiring—and it can be daunting.”
Szurpicki said that the Michigan Reconnect Navigators can help applicants “find solutions to anything that would stop or slow them down.”
Navigators can be reached at Michigan.gov/Reconnect. To be eligible for the program, applicants must be at least 25 years old, have lived in Michigan for a year or more, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have not yet completed a college degree.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
Cheap Trick to Play McMorran Arena November 4th
Cheap Trick is coming to Port Huron’s McMorran Arena on August 4th. The rock band is best known for its 1970s and 80s hits “I Want You to Want Me” and “The Flame”.
Cheap Trick was formed in 1973 in Rockford, Illinois, and has sold more than 20 million albums. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
Last November brought the rock band Styx to McMorran. The packed house showed organizers that Port Huron is ready for arena concerts.
Cheap Trick concert tickets are already selling fast. Prices range from $55-75.
While Cheap Trick is the big arena show, other musical productions are also planned at McMorran this season. A Tom Petty cover band, The Wildflowers, is playing at McMorran Place on October 8th. A 1950s and 1960s-styled cover band, American Graffiti and Jersey Seasons, will be playing on November 5th, and AC/DC and Queen cover bands are playing later in the season.
Tickets for all the shows are on sale now at mcmorran.com and at the McMorran Box Office.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
Magical Moments Formalwear Giveaway at Birchwood Mall September 3-4
The Magical Moments Formalwear Giveaway on September 3rd and 4th at Birchwood Mall is both a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the mall store, Mostly Michigan, and a way for owner, Michele Matthews to give back to the community.
Matthews started asking for donations of gently used or new men’s and women’s formalwear and within hours had already run out of space. She reached out to Lois Potts, the General Manager at Birchwood Mall, who gave her a temporary space in the mall for the growing collection of formal wear.
Dress and formalwear donations can be brought to Mostly Michigan until August 21st. They are also accepting donations of other things that can take the financial stress off of teenagers and their families as they plan for the traditional night of making memories at Homecoming and other upcoming formal events.
Restaurant gift cards, donations of hair, nail, and other services, as well as cash, are being accepted.
Magical Moments wish list:
Dresses: New dresses, used and washed or dry-cleaned dresses. If you can’t wash them, let organizers know and they will clean them. Think a dress is too far out of style to donate? Maybe not. Some teenagers know how to sew and would love to reconstruct their dream dresses and use their imaginations.
Women’s Dress Shoes, Purses, Capes, Shawls, Accessories
Menswear: Suits, Tuxedos, Shirts, Ties, Suspenders, Cummerbunds, Vests, Dress Shoes
Money: For teens who might not find anything in their size, Michele Matthews has offered to shop specifically for them.
Gift Cards: Restaurants that would be appropriate for a pre-homecoming dinner
Service donations: Photography, Dry Cleaning, Hair and Nail Services for both boys and girls
The Formalwear Giveaway will be on September 3rd from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and September 4th from noon to 6:00 p.m. at Birchwood Mall in Fort Gratiot. Check the Mostly Michigan Facebook page for the exact location in the mall. Guests will register to be eligible for raffle prizes such as restaurant gift cards. No proof of income is required. It is open to everyone.
If neither of the giveaway days works, accommodations can be made with Michele Matthews.
mostlymichigan@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/MostlyMichiganFortGratiotMI
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
Sheriff’s Department Nabs Dangerous Drivers in M-25 Sting
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department targeted dangerous drivers on M-25 in Burtchville Township throughout the month of July. They definitely found many drivers making poor choices, with one driver traveling at an unbelievable 131 miles per hour in a 55-mile-per-hour zone.
On July 28th, Lieutenant Scott Jones stopped the vehicle that was traveling 76 miles per hour over the speed limit. The driver, a 25-year-old from Hazel Park, Michigan, was arrested and sent to the St. Clair County Intervention and Detention Center with a reckless driving charge.
In addition to the arrest of the reckless driver, 59 speeding tickets were issued, along with 18 other moving violations, one non-moving violation, and six misdemeanor arrests.
The stretch of M-25 that runs through Burtchville is known as a deadly stretch, with 109 accidents counted between 2017 and 2021. Thirteen of those accidents caused incapacitating injuries, and seven people lost their lives in five separate accidents.
St. Clair County Sheriff Lieutenant Scott Baldwin said the enforcement campaign was in response to recent tragic crashes, but no changes to the road structure are planned at this time and there is no news of an official road study.
Lieutenant Baldwin said, “We will continue to enforce traffic laws in this stretch of road to reduce the amount of crashes and hopefully the severity of them as well as well. In the future, we’ll continue to monitor crash data and enforce traffic laws, specifically speeding, improper passing, seatbelt usage, and distracted driving amongst others.”
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland