George James

PHS Asks Community to Complete Federal Funding Survey

Stakeholders in the Port Huron Area School District are asked to complete a survey to gauge the public’s priorities as the district makes plans to spend federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER III, funding.

The survey asks students, parents, staff, and community members to give their feedback on what is important to them.

The survey lists a variety of spending options and asks respondents to rate them as essential, high, medium, and low priority, and not a priority. The survey ends on January 31st.

The short survey asks about implementing instruction in both face-to-face and remote learning formats, interventions for struggling students, instructional materials, and summer learning opportunities. The survey also asks about opinions on after-school tutoring and extra instructional days. There is an opportunity to rate the importance of family engagement and social-emotional programming, as well as technology, facilities, and COVID-19 mitigation investments.

A link to the Survey.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Wild Green Winter Game Nights Coming to Downtown Port Huron

The Friends of the St. Clair River are hosting a unique series of Game Nights with a twist. The Wild Green Winter Game Nights will be held at Border Keep Games in Downtown Port Huron and will feature games highlighting nature.

The Friends of the St. Clair River work to be good stewards of the St. Clair River and to provide educational opportunities to the community about the important ecosystem. Staff from Friends of the St. Clair River will be on hand to help with the games.

The tabletop games will simulate hiking, building food webs, and adapting to the ecosystems. Game players will also explore birding and other outdoor pursuits while staying warm and cozy during the coldest time of the year.

The game nights will be held on January 28th, February 25th, and March 25th at 7:00 p.m.  A $5 per person donation to Friends of the St. Clair River is suggested. A donation includes a beverage voucher. Refreshments will be available from Border Keep Games.

Border Keep Games is located at 942 Military Street in Downtown Port Huron.

Registration information can be found at the following link.

https://www.facebook.com/events/901116207262410/

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Soo Locks Get Full Funding to Complete Upgrade

The Soo Locks are vital to Great Lakes shipping, allowing freighters to navigate between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. They have been in need of modernizing for a long time and the money has now come through from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to invest in the locks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced that they are investing $479 million to fully fund the Soo Locks. Previous allocations partially funded the $1.3 billion total cost. The new lock is planned to handle larger vessels and prevent a failure of the existing locks which would be catastrophic to the economy and national security.

Responding to the announcement, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, “I applaud the US Army Corps of Engineers for making a $479 million investment in the Soo Locks to finish the project, protecting tens of thousands of jobs and uplifting our economy.” 

Over 7000 ships pass through the Soo Locks every year carrying 86 million tons of cargo. The locks enable smooth passage despite a 21-foot elevation difference between the two lakes.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

MDOT Prepares for $563 Million in Bridge Repair Investment

The State of Michigan is expected to receive $563.1 million in federal money to build, repair, or replace bridges, as part of a $27.5 billion national infrastructure investment.

Paul Ajegba, Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation said, “The Michigan Department of Transportation welcomes this historic infusion of resources to back our efforts to repair, replace, or rehabilitate Michigan’s bridges.”

MDOT plans to replace 24 bridges and help local road agencies repair 129 local bridges. The federal specifications include reinforcing bridges to accommodate climate change and to make them pedestrian and bicycle friendly, as well as reducing detours due to weight restrictions for heavy vehicles like buses and trucks.

Ajegba said, “We will collaborate with our local partners and stay focused on investing these resources where they are needed most, fixing bridges in critical condition in counties across Michigan.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Sarnia Downtown Waterfront Master Plan Finalized

The Sarnia City Council was presented with a final draft of the much-anticipated Sarnia Downtown Waterfront Master Plan.

The last plan was done in 2005. This new Master Plan is the result of nine months of work with community consultation through the “Speak Up Sarnia” webpage and spurred by a consensus that the waterfront was underutilized.

The Master Plan calls for enhanced connectivity between Downtown and residential neighborhoods and redevelopment of Ferry Dock Hill. The Plan also calls for “destination creation” through cultural and event space investment and programming.

The three primary districts addressed in the plan are the Marina District in the north, the Market district adjacent to Downtown in the center of the waterfront, and the Innovation District in the far south.

Full implementation of the plan could take twenty years and could bring significant economic benefit to Sarnia.

A link to the full Sarnia Downtown Waterfront Master Plan can be found below.

Master Plan

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Candice Miller Reports Sharp Decline in Covid-19 Found in Macomb Wastewater Testing

There’s good news out of Macomb County regarding the rate of Covid infections and the news is coming from an unusual, yet telling source: the county’s sewer system.

Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said, “For the past few months, we’ve all been inundated with troubling and grim news reports involving COVID, particularly the highly-contagious omicron variant. The latest sewage-testing data that we have reviewed offers reason for optimism that infection rates have not only leveled off, but that infections are dropping significantly.”

Sewage in Clinton Township is checked with automated sampling. The levels of COVID-19 found in the wastewater indicated a dramatic spike in late December, but samples pulled on January 4th, 9th, and 11th showed a sharp decline.

The levels in municipal sewage have proven to be precursors of one to two weeks of reported cases, according to the statement from Miller. Miller said, “We report our findings to the Macomb County Health Department and leave it up to the health care professionals to use as another tool in their prediction modeling.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland