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Local News

National News Literacy Week Aims to Stop Spread of Fake News

How “news literate” are you? This week is National News Literacy Week, with the aim of raising awareness of the difference between credible news sources and false journalism, and exposing the increasing amount of fake news that is used to sell, mislead, persuade, or exploit. Fake news can be widely shared almost instantly on social media platforms.

National News Literacy Week is mainly aimed at educators who are teaching the next generation of news consumers and news sharers to think about where news comes from and to discern the validity and reliability of the source.

Beyond students in the classroom, news literacy affects everyone. A Pew Research Study found that 68% of Americans are concerned about the damage that fake stories which are often quickly shared via social media are causing to the nation.

How can you be sure a story is real? Try to find the source of the information. Real news stories reveal their sources.

The News Literacy Project is a non-partisan non-profit that clearly lists all of the donors to the project. It has a webpage that addresses the biggest viral news stories that have been proven false. A link can be found at WGRT.com.  

https://rumors.newslit.org/

https://newslit.org/

WGRT Local News Mission & Standards

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

New Program Can Help Pay for Household Internet

Working from home is commonplace for both students and employees in a variety of occupations. One thing they all have in common is the need to have reliable internet access.

A new program has been launched to help households pay for internet access. The Affordable Connectivity Program is being administered by the Federal Communications Commission.

The new program follows the Emergency Broadband Benefit that temporarily helped almost nine million people afford internet service during the pandemic.

The new program covers $30 of the monthly bill and gives a one time $100 credit toward a connecting device.

To qualify, families must meet income requirements of 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. For a family of four, the income threshold is $53,000. Receiving federal benefits like SNAP or Free and Reduced Lunch can also be factored in qualifying for the internet assistance.

Most Michigan internet access providers participate in the program. To get the full details and to sign up, go to the link below.

https://acpbenefit.org/

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Whitmer Awards Purple Heart to Michigan National Guard Soldiers

Seven Michigan National Guard soldiers were awarded the Purple Heart on January 24th in a ceremony at the Grand Ledge Army Aviation Support Facility.

Governor Whitmer presented the awards and said, “I am honored to recognize these Soldiers whose dedication and commitment to their mission was clearly demonstrated by their actions while deployed in Iraq. On behalf of the entire state of Michigan, thank you for your service to our state and nation. You are the embodiment of bravery and valor and represent the best of us.”

The soldiers were injured on January 8, 2020 while deployed to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.

Three soldiers were present to accept the award from the Governor, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jason Zylstra, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael Goebel, and Sgt. Joseph Suchowolec. The four other recipients honored were unable to attend or had been recognized at a prior ceremony. Their names are Sgt. Andrew Burton, Warrant Officer Dalton Hamilton, Sgt. Derrick Bimer, and Sgt. 1st Class Leonard Adams.

The Purple Heart was originally called the Badge of Military Merit and is awarded to those wounded or killed while serving in the United States military.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Public Health Mask Order Set to Expire January 28th

Submitted by the St. Clair County Health Department:

Dr. Annette Mercatante, Medical Health Officer of the St. Clair County Health Department has determined the Public Health Order requiring that masks be worn in K-12 educational settings will not be extended and, therefore, will expire upon the completion of classes on Friday, January 28, 2022.

This decision was made after careful consideration and is based on the following factors.  COVID-19 case counts in the schools have leveled out in such a way that they are manageable by the schools.  Absences in the schools are down and the schools have been able to maintain the staffing levels sufficient to operate. Fortunately, the schools were able to remain open and the mitigation provided by masking met its intended purpose.  Also, although local hospitals are challenged, the number of cases in our local hospitals are decreasing.  All of this supports Dr. Mercatante’s decision to allow the order to expire.  At this point the mitigation measures to be used will be left to the local Schools as they had previously requested.

With the Order expiring, the St. Clair County Health Department strongly recommends masks continue to be worn in K-12 setting as well as all public and crowded spaces until viral transmission rates are below 10%.  Applying preventive measures that include physical distancing, mask wearing, hand hygiene, and cleaning of high-touch surfaces does reduce the spread and impact of COVID-19.

Email COVID-19 questions to covid19@stclaircounty.org or call (810) 966-4163. For more COVID-19 information visit the health department website www.scchealth.co and social media @scchdmi.                                                  

Chilly Fest Brings Family Fun to Downtown Port Huron Saturday, January 29th

Chilly Fest is back. The annual celebration of chili and being chilly will be held on Saturday, January 29th in Downtown Port Huron.

The event coincides with a weekend of Silver Stick Hockey Tournament games and the PoHo Hot Cocoa Race.

The mostly outdoors event will have a s’more station and carriage rides on McMorran Boulevard, along with a Chilly Corn Hole Tournament to be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Instead of sampling chili in a crowded tent, organizers have planned a “Chili Crawl” where score cards can be purchased for $5, giving participants access to chili samples at nine downtown businesses.

There will also be a Cocoa Crawl and Penguin Hunt going on all day, along with displays of ice carvings at many downtown businesses. There will be an outdoor Kid’s Zone in the Superior Mall Parking Lot from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Chilly Fest is the result of a lot of collaboration between Downtown Port Huron, Port Huron Parks and Recreation, Blue Water Young Professionals, and corporate sponsors.

A link to the full schedule can be found below.

https://www.chillyfest.org/?fbclid=IwAR0_LZUET3LVqdFwwH2g4H0eU897a0PCIQ5nZL_B7qPUlHMykAy_dt4Pqxw

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

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