George James

The Port Huron Police Department is inviting area residents to take place in a community assessment next week. November 12-14, the department will be undergoing its 9th on-site assessment to ensure compliance with CALEA standards. CALEA, which stands for the Commission Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, is a nationally based organization that ensures compliance to a broad set of established professional standards including accountability, integrity, community partnership and more. 

As part of the assessment, citizens, businesses and organizations are welcome to contact assessors in person on Tuesday, November 12 from 5 to 6 p.m. at the City of Port Huron’s Public Meeting room in the Municipal Office Building or during a phone-in session on Wednesday November 13 from 9 to 11 a.m. Interested callers can reach assessors at 810-985-0141 during that time frame. If successful, the Port Huron Police Department will receive its accredited status and award at the CALEA Conference in March 2020.

Reporting for WGRT, I’m Karly Hurley.

The East China School Board faces an important vote on November 25.  With declining enrollment and revenue, the option to close Palms Elementary School in Ira Township at the end of this school year was discussed at a special meeting this week.  

Many community members were in attendance and many voices were heard.  The recommendation to close the school was made by Superintendent Suzanne Cybulla at last week’s monthly school board meeting.  East China School District’s bond proposal failed earlier this year and a new proposal is in the works for the future. In the meantime, the district faces some hard choices in maintaining and investing in its array of buildings throughout the large district.  Closing schools to consolidate resources is a trend in the Blue Water Area, with a declining population of school-age children and shrinking state funding levels. East China closed Eddy Elementary earlier this year and the Port Huron Area School District has closed schools in recent years while reinvesting in remaining buildings and building a new Early Childhood Education Center. Stay tuned to see what the future holds for our local districts as they try to make the best choices for area children.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.

Over the past five years, St. Clair County native Ewan Drum has accomplished a lot at a very young age. From feeding the homeless in Detroit to gathering supplies and aiding those in need, the young boy has made quite an impact.

It all began at the age of seven when Ewan told his mom he wanted to wear a superhero costume while assisting the homeless. That’s how “Super Ewan” came about. In July 2014, the family founded a non-profit organization to assist homeless. Through the years, his documented community involvement earned him a trip to meet then President Barrack Obama and countless “super-friends” as they were dubbed. Unfortunately after an incredible journey, Super Ewan Inc. has announced that they will no longer be taking donations after the end of the year as it’s time for a new chapter in Ewan’s life. 

The organization is thanking the community for its continued support over the years and providing one last opportunity to take part in a signature Super Ewan event. With Thanksgiving around the corner, Super Ewan is collecting turkey dinners for a final year. The organization has committed to helping 50 families in St. Clair and Macomb counties with a turkey and all the sides for Thanksgiving dinner. If you’d like to help Super Ewan with his final turkey dinner donations, search for his page on Facebook.

What’s next for Ewan you might ask? Someday he wants to be a chef, so he’s spending time in the kitchen preparing for what might be next.

Reporting for WGRT, I’m Karly Hurley.

St. Clair Middle School in the East China School District has been recognized on a state-wide level for students’ achievements in reading through a Scholastic competition. To keep kids reading all year long, the national company, Scholastic, hosts a Summer Read-a-Palooza competition with the goal of keeping children reading while also getting books in the hands of kids in need. As students read and track their minutes spent reading, they log them into the Scholastic program and Scholastic then donates books to the United Way.  

This year, St. Clair Middle School was the top reading school in the state with over 312,000 minutes read.  According to St. Clair Middle school teacher Michelle Barker and Principal Mike Domagalski, over 300 students participated over the summer. The effort to keep kids reading all year long is supported by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization which provides incentives and strives to make it an ongoing part of the culture of the school.  As explained by Principal Domagalski, each student is provided with the opportunity to log their reading throughout their time at the middle school. This practice paid off with the school winning the state competition and contributing to Scholastic donating up to 200,000 books to students in need.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley

Painting With a Twist in Fort Gratiot has provided a relaxing place for patrons to unleash their inner artist for the past five years, but the local storefront has announced it will soon be closing.  The venue has been a popular site for fundraisers, birthday parties, wedding showers, and even trivia nights. With the announcement of the closure, the last day of operation will be December 30. The popular business was operating with a month to month lease since summer, and a long term tenant will be taking over the space, according to a Facebook post made last week.

Until the end of the year, it appears business will continue as usual as the location plans  to maintain a schedule of public and private events, honoring all gift certificates through the rest of 2019. In their years of operation, the painting venue provided the paint, materials, and instruction and customers did their best to create their own masterpieces while enjoying a beverage and snack of their choice.

Anyone who wants to catch one last session before the storefront closes is invited to a public fundraiser to benefit Relay for Life. That event is planned for this week, according to their online calendar. For those who are looking to continue the relaxed painting experience after the December 30 closing, the nearest location to Fort Gratiot is on Schoenherr Road in Shelby Township.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley

The Board of Education for Port Huron Schools has announced the sale of the 2019 Refunding Bonds in the amount of $17,460,000. The bonds are being issued for the purpose of advance refunding a portion of the School District’s outstanding 2011 School Building and Site and Refunding Bonds and to pay the costs of issuing the bonds. The 2019 Refunding Bonds reduce the School District’s debt service payments by a total of $2,027,513 over the next 12 years. The School District’s 2019 Refunding Bonds were sold at a true interest rate of 2.43% with a final maturity of 2031 (a repayment term of approximately 12 years).The School District’s financing was conducted, in part, by the Michigan investment banking office of the brokerage firm, Stifel. Brodie Killian, Managing Director with Stifel said, “The Port Huron Area School District’s Bonds were well received by the bond market. Adding that they “were able to take advantage of current low interest rates that met the goals of the District and resulted in a significant savings.” Superintendent of Port Huron Schools Jamie Cain said that the “savings resulting from the refinancing creates opportunities for Port Huron Schools to consider future financing of anticipated facility needs with little or no impact to the taxpayers.”

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley