George James

It’s not easy to hide something from a school’s Principal, however, the staff at Indian Woods Elementary found a way to make it happen. Principal Kathy Kish was told the school was hosting an assembly to celebrate March Reading Month. It wasn’t completely a lie. The surprise, though? Principal Kish received notice that she was one of five National Grand Prize Finalists for the LifeChanger of the Year award.

Principal Kish was nominated by Port Huron Schools Executive Director of Employee and Student Services, Tracie Eschenburg. All educators across the country are eligible for nomination as LifeChanger of the Year. Eschenburg says she nominated Principal Kish for routinely going above and beyond. Some examples of this include her positive handling of last year’s closing of Kimball Elementary School, interacting with her students year-round with events, and taking one-on-one interest with students and their families.

As one of the five National Grand Prize Finalists, she’s been awarded $5,000, which is split $2,500 for her and $2,500 for Indian Woods Elementary. The Grand Prize winner will be announced in April with that individual receiving an additional $5,000 to split with their school.

Principal Kish hopes to use her prize money to help her teachers with some of their wants and needs that were previously not in the budget for this year. When asked about her feelings about the award, Principal Kish said she feels blessed to be able to do the work she does and she’s a firm believer in public education.

To see the full story, go to ebw.tv.

After many years of hard work, Port Huron native, McKale Jude Bingham will make her debut on the Disney Channel.

Bingham began acting at the Port Huron Civic Theatre around the age of six with the stage production of Oliver. From there, she continued with the Civic Theatre for a number of years before performing on stage at Port Huron Northern. During her senior year, McKale says she started to think that she may be able to pursue acting professionally. McKale has been working on auditioning and writing and during this time, she landed a role in a popular Disney Channel show. 

This summer, she will be returning to Port Huron to teach her second theater summer camp for elementary-age students. She describes it as a five-day camp through Port Huron Parks & Recreation where kids will audition, learn lines, create costumes, and ultimately perform a show at the end of the week for their parents at McMorran Theater.

She credits her family with being very supportive and says they have always encouraged her to follow her dreams, no matter how challenging they are. McKale’s Disney Channel debut on Bunk’d airs Friday, March 13th at 8PM.

A local man recently made a trip to Washington, D.C. to advocate for rights of those living with disabilities. Robert Furtado of Burtchville traveled as one of two legislative liaisons for the State Chapter of the Michigan Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

While in the nation’s capital, Furtado attended a two-day conference of the American Council of the Blind. Furtado told us that the Council worked on bills including advocating for a wage increase for the sub-minimum wage that disabled workers sometimes earn and eliminating the marriage penalty for those who receive Supplemental Security Income. Furtado’s group worked on another issue involving transportation and the coverage of things like Uber to get disabled persons to public transportation options.

Furtado said that his long history of disability advocacy began in the 1970s when he was denied a bank account from a Port Huron bank because as a permanently blind person, he did not have a driver’s license. This prompted him to lobby for state ID cards to become acceptable forms of identity for financial institutions. Furtado is the organizer of a statewide MCBVI conference and convention for the entire disability community that will be held at the Blue Water Convention Center in October.

Director of Port Huron’s Parks and Recreation Department, Nancy Winzer, is continuing her department’s quest to make the city’s parks into individual destinations. Gratiot Park could be getting some help from the Chris and Dana Reeve Foundation, in the amount of $25,000, to get some equipment to make a day at the park fun for everyone, even those living with paralysis or other disabilities. 

The Port Huron City Council has approved applying for the grant and the application is now being completed. According to the Reeve Foundation’s website, “…the Reeve Foundation Quality of Life Grants Program awards grants to nonprofit organizations that impact and empower people living with paralysis, their families and caregivers.” 

Christopher Reeve was an actor who famously played the role of Superman and was later paralyzed in an accident. He and his wife, who have both passed, dedicated their foundation “to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.” 

The city has already received a $50,000 grant from the DNR for upgrades to Gratiot Park. Michigan Rehabilitation Services has been assisting with the planning of the park accessibility upgrades and is planning fundraisers in the fall. Winzer said the goal is not just to make the park accessible, but to make it fun for everyone of all physical abilities.

Blue Water area businesses, municipalities and residents are taking measures to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 resulting in many event cancellations, limited services and more. Perhaps one of the biggest impacts comes as the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Division II women’s basketball championship set to be played in Port Huron next week has been postponed. The 16 team tournament was scheduled at the St. Clair County Community College (SC4) Fieldhouse for March 17-21. 

Initially, tournament organizers had announced the games would continue, without fans, but as of 2:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a representative from the Blue Water Convention and Visitors Bureau confirmed that tournament organizers had postponed the event and were in the process of advising local hotels of the cancellations. 

Representatives from the college and Visitors Bureau had previously stated the tournament was expected to bring in thousands of guests and substantial economic impact. At this time, a rescheduled date has not been announced. 

There are several other events around the Blue Water Area that have been cancelled after two cases of the novel COVID-19 (coronavirus) were confirmed in Michigan. To see a full list of cancelled events and closures, visit our website.

The Port Huron Police Department is going to be getting a new officer. This new recruit will be on four legs, though. The Port Huron City Council approved the acquisition of a new canine officer, or police dog, at Monday’s meeting. Officer Chad Smith has been the officer in charge of the current police dog, but with his promotion to Detective, the department will be needing a new dog.

City Manager James Freed explained to the council that the current dog has a year or two of service left in him, but police canines cannot be transferred from one handler to another. The current dog will “go home” with Officer Smith. 

The new dog will be coming from Shallow Creek Kennels of Pennsylvania, which is a privately owned and operated police service dog importing and training facility that the city has acquired dogs from previously. The $8,000 fee charged by the facility will be covered by the Canine Services Fund which is supported by the Dorothea Knight charitable donation. 

A new dog handler will be selected in the next few weeks. Representatives from the Port Huron police department said that the new dog will not be trained to sniff out marijuana, as it is now legal. Marijuana detection leading to searches has been ruled unconstitutional in other states.