George James

Class of 2021 Continues Personalized Parking Space Tradition

Port Huron, MI — The high school class of 2021 is gearing up for a Senior Year with a lot of question marks. But one thing that has become a tradition, personalized senior parking spaces, continues.

Seniors at both Port Huron high schools will be painting their parking spaces this weekend, as part of a fairly recent tradition that has been catching on at high schools throughout the region. Port Huron Northern High School Counselor, Julie Barlass, said that this is the fourth year of allowing students to “own” their parking spaces for the school year.

Barlass said, “This gives the seniors an opportunity to express themselves in creative ways and feel valued as the graduating class.” Students pay a nominal fee for the “ownership” and proceeds go toward the Senior Prom.

In light of the cancellations and postponements that have become expected during the pandemic, the keeping of a tradition is a bright spot for the class of 2021. Barlass said, “So much has changed over the past 6 months, and any tiny bit of routine, normalcy, or tradition helps all of us, students included, to feel more comfortable and at ease.  We are very eager to have our students back on campus in a safe manner.  Hopefully painting parking spaces will bring some joy to our seniors who will, undoubtedly, face many changes this year.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Redistricting Commission is Finalized after 2018 Referendum

Gerrymandering could be a thing of the past with the final selection of the thirteen commissioners for the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. The random drawing from the final pool of 180 applicants was made on August 17th.

The new commission includes four citizens who identify as Republicans, four who identify as Democrats, and five who are not affiliated with either party. The whole process was carried out by the office of the Secretary of State and was facilitated by the independent accounting firm, Rehmann, LLC.

The process began in 2018 when a referendum vote took the power to draw U.S. congressional districts, as well as state House and Senate districts, away from the legislature. Many districts were set up to support candidates of a particular party in a practice known as gerrymandering. Over 10,000 citizens applied to be on the commission. The candidates were narrowed down to represent the actual makeup of the state by age, race, gender, and region, using census data.

The political implications of redistricting could be substantial. More information about the process and the outcome can be found at RedistrictingMichigan.org.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Football Moved to Spring with Tough MHSAA Decision

2020 has dealt another low blow. The Michigan High School Athletic Association announced the postponement of the high school football season. The news is a heartbreaker for communities that have come together on Friday nights to cheer on the home teams as well as for the players and coaches who had already been putting in weeks of practices and preparations. But the news is no surprise in a year of cancellations and postponements.

Mark Uyl, Executive Director of MHSAA, explained in a video that football carries greater risks of sustained contact than other fall sports like soccer and golf, therefore, the difficult decision to postpone was made out of concern for the safety of the players. Emotions run high when it comes to high school football and in the video, Uyl gets emotional when he reveals that he is also the parent of a senior football player. He went on to say, “While this is tremendously disappointing, we will do everything possible to provide the best possible experience in the spring while adding football into the calendar.”

Michigan has over 34,000 high school student-athletes with over 600 teams affected. The move to spring will push other sports to summer.

Guidelines for volleyball and boys soccer are expected to be announced on August 19.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Port Huron School Board Adopts Hybrid and Virtual Options

Port Huron, MI — The school year is about to kick off for students in the Port Huron school district as well as the surrounding area. The year is wrought with unprecedented decisions for parents and students, including scrambling for childcare, now that a hybrid plan has been announced.

The Port Huron School Board voted 4 to 3 to adopt a schedule that combines a few days of attending in-person with online learning for all grades. There is also an all-virtual option.

The hybrid plan divides students into two groups. The groups will attend on alternating days and will do their schoolwork online on the days when they do not attend school. Chromebooks will be issued. Internet service is the responsibility of parents.

Students who are signed up for the all-virtual education program will also get chromebooks and will be taught by certified teachers. They will be able to participate in extracurricular activities along with students attending in-person classes and may go back to in-person instruction in January.

Parents in the Port Huron district are advised to closely watch their email for further instructions. More information can be found at http://www.phasd.us/return_to_school_2020-21. School starts August 31st.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Local Private Schools Planning In-Person Full-Time Instruction

While public schools statewide are struggling to come up with plans for getting kids safely back to school or successfully learning from home, private schools in the area have come up with their own plans.

New Life Christian Academy in Kimball is offering both a five-days-a-week in-person instruction plan and a modified hybrid plan that offers the same curriculum as the full in-person instruction. Classes begin on August 31.

Catholic Schools in the Blue Water Vicariate are offering full day five-day-a-week instruction for preschool through twelfth grade. They have a very detailed plan, created by the Archdiocese of Detroit, for online instruction in the event that the state goes back to Phase Three and schools are closed.

Principal Mike Gibson of St. Mary/McCormick Catholic Academy in Port Huron said that his school “is enrolling for the 2020/2021 school year and will begin with live instruction five days per week.”  He went on to say they “have purchased masks, infrared thermometers, table and desk dividers, and other PPE gear to prepare for the start of the school year.” Local Catholic grade schools begin class on August 27. Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School begins on September 8. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Millions in Federal Funds Being Used to Facilitate Mail-In Voting

The state of Michigan is spending $1.4 million to send postcards to 4.4 million active registered voters who are not already receiving absentee ballots. The postcard is a reminder of the right to vote from home in the November election. The postcards will be mailed between August 20 and September 20. Clerks can start mailing out ballots on September 24.

The Bureau of Elections has allocated $5.5 million of federal CARES act money toward reimbursing jurisdictions for postage and other expenses. There are also matching funds for ballot tabulators and high-speed scanners for some jurisdictions. $11.2 million of federal funding has already been spent on elections this year.

The mail in effort relies heavily on the Postal Service delivering on time. Many campaign materials for the August election arrived long after the polls were closed and inefficiencies with USPS have been part of a national conversation. 

To avoid relying on the postal service, absentee ballots can be hand delivered to local clerks until the polls close on election day. Some jurisdictions have dedicated ballot boxes.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland