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Local News

Port Huron Housing Expands with Ordinance Change

If you have been looking for rental housing in the Port Huron area, or St. Clair County as a whole, you know that rentals are few and far between. To address this reality, Port Huron City Council adopted an ordinance change.

The change will allow Port Huron Housing to operate both the Public Housing Program and the Housing Choice Voucher, or Section 8, outside the city and county. The program can now expand into Sanilac, Lapeer, and Macomb counties. It is endorsed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the collaborative model is being promoted statewide.

James Dewey, Executive Director of Port Huron, Marysville, St. Clair, and Algonac Housing Commissions, said, “Currently our Housing Choice Voucher program’s approved jurisdiction through HUD is all of St. Clair County and we would like to expand that to Sanilac, Lapeer and Macomb Counties because our clients are not having much luck finding available apartments within St. Clair County.”

Dewey said that the regional approach will also deconcentrate the use of vouchers within the City of Port Huron. A new low-income housing development is in the works in Fort Gratiot Township. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Local Entrepreneurs to Get Help from Michigan Women Forward

Women who are looking for help in starting new businesses have an advocate right here in St. Clair County. The Community Foundation of St. Clair County has announced Maggie Toole as the new business development officer with Michigan Women Forward.

Michigan Women Forward is a community development organization in which the Community Foundation of St. Clair County has invested $250,000. The money will go toward supporting and connecting business owners with financial resources.

With her new job, Maggie Toole will be providing technical assistance for loan programs for entrepreneurs in St. Clair County.

Michigan Women Forward has a long list of projects, all with the goal of removing obstacles to success for women entrepreneurs. Toole will be helping to navigate any obstacles and also reaching out to local minority-owned businesses, according to the announcement from the Community Foundation.

Toole, a Port Huron resident, is an SC4 graduate and has experience in the financial and real estate sectors.

More information can be found at miwf.org.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

OT Operation Transformation

Help Operation Transformation During Christmas Season

Operation Transformation has several opportunities for people to serve others during the holiday season. Outreach opportunities range from donating children’s books to bell-ringing for the Salvation Army Campaign.

Operation Transformation provides chaplain services to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Port Huron Police Department. This year, they will be blessing both departments with cards and a Christmas devotional.

OT is also collecting Christmas cards, wrapped mints, and stamps for their card project at the St. Clair County Intervention Center. Inmates at the center will receive a card from OT volunteers along with a new stamped card they can mail to their families.

Those interested in donating cards, mints, and stamps should drop them off at Operation Transformation by Monday, December, 6th. That’s also the deadline for donating children’s books that OT will distribute to kids in our community.

If you’d like to join OT in their bell-ringing efforts to raise money for the Salvation Army, you can sign up to help them on Saturday, December 11th at JCPenney in the Birchwood Mall. They are looking for volunteers to fill one-hour slots from 10 AM to 9 PM that day.

For more information about Operation Transformation, visit www.optrans.org

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

Grants Available for Childcare Providers

There is a shortage of childcare options for working parents statewide. The Child Care Stabilization Grant was launched this week to help keep childcare providers open and able to take care of children while their parents are earning income.

The program will distribute $350 million in grants that equate to $1000 or $500 bonuses for childcare professionals as well as provide funding for improvements to programs and signing bonuses for new workers. The plan could also expand low-cost child care programs.

The grants are available to licensed childcare providers only. The money will be disbursed directly from the employers to their employees.

The plan gets its funding from federal resources. It is expected to support over 8,000 childcare businesses throughout Michigan. According to the plan outline, every eligible provider who applies will receive a grant.

The average cost for childcare is over $9,000 per year for full-time care for one child in Michigan, according to move.org.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Port Huron Town Hall Spencer Stone

Spencer Stone Speaks at Port Huron Town Hall

In 2015, Spencer Stone was traveling to Paris by train to spend some time with his friends. That trip would change all of their lives dramatically.

Stone and his friends, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, ended up saving hundreds of people during that train ride when they thwarted a terrorist attack.

The three men were instrumental in disarming and subduing the terrorist, and Spencer Stone was able to deliver life-saving medical care to an injured passenger even after sustaining multiple injuries himself. They have all been recognized as heroes multiple times by U.S. and French authorities.

Stone spoke to an audience at McMorran Auditorium on Monday as part of the Port Huron Town Hall speaker series.  His message encouraged the audience to help others whenever they are given the chance.

When talking about how the event changed his life, Stone said, “I get called a hero, but I don’t feel like a hero. I was just doing what I had to do for me and my friends’ survival, and it just ended up translating into me saving every body else on the train.”

In an interview with WGRT, Stone said, “You will not regret helping someone in need. I know, if you put yourself on the train in my shoes, I had the option to run away and get out and just avoid being hurt whatsoever; but I know that if I would’ve done that, I would’ve lived with that regret for the rest of my life, and it probably would’ve killed me.”

At the end of his message to the Town Hall audience, Stone encouraged people to engage in what’s going on around them and not be a bystander. “Would you rather have a long life or a life well-lived?” asked Stone.

To hear an interview with Spencer Stone on WGRT’s LIMElight with Jessie, click <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Attempted Sexual Assault at Sanborn Park

On Monday, November 8th, Port Huron Police responded to a report of an attempted sexual  assault. Officers discovered that the assault occurred at 5:30 p.m. in the wooded area of  Sanborn Park. 

A 25 year old female Port Huron resident had been jogging around/in the park when she was  attacked by an unknown male. There was a struggle and the male fled before completing the  sexual assault. The suspect is described as a white male in his 30’s with a medium build.  

Port Huron Police officers, K-9 unit, detectives, and the Major Crimes Unit responded to the  scene and the investigation is ongoing.  

If you observed a suspicious white male following a white female wearing a bright yellow  jacket in the area of Sanborn and Appomattox around 5:30 pm yesterday, have a Ring  Camera in the area that may help, or have any information about this assault contact the Port  Huron Police Department (810) 984-8415 or CAPTURE at (810) 987-6688.  

Anonymous texts can also be received by texting the keyword CAPTURE and the message/tip  to 847411 or by downloading the Port Huron PD app on an apple or android device. Tips can  also be emailed by clicking on the CAPTURE link at www.porthuronpolice.org. 

Submitted by Port Huron Police Department