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Local News

Kid City Opening Soon at The Hallway Entertainment

Port Huron, MI — Families with young children will soon have a new option for play dates and birthday parties. The Hallway Entertainment in Downtown Port Huron is putting finishing touches on an indoor Kid City, and it will be ready for bookings in the first week of April.

The Hallway Entertainment’s owner, Carol Hall, is excited about this new addition to her business. The Hallway Entertainment currently offers escape rooms and game show nights in house, and has done escape dinners at restaurants and outdoor escape rooms in the past.

Hall says, the only thing missing was something for little kids. As a mother of two young children, she wanted a safe place indoors for her kids to explore and use their imaginations. She also wanted to create a way for small groups of children to play in a controlled environment with their parents and close friends.

Kid City’s central feature is a tree house surrounded by padded flooring, a mock grassy area, and foam logs. The room is brightly painted and has several small shops including a food market, dress up store, construction site, and a restaurant. The shops are sponsored by local businesses who helped outfit and decorate their tiny stores. Hall is currently looking for a sponsor for the restaurant, and interested businesses can contact her through The Hallway Entertainment’s website.

The room will be available for rent in 90 minute increments for up to 10 kids. Hall said, “Families can come by themselves or pitch in with a few friends and have a playdate.”

For Birthday Parties, there is an additional room available to rent which will accommodate food and beverages.

To learn more and book your visit, go the The Hallway Entertainment’s website <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

The Diner at Kid City at The Hallway Entertainment
The Diner at Kid City at The Hallway Entertainment
The Grocery Market at Kid City in The Hallway Entertainment
The Grocery Market at Kid City in The Hallway Entertainment

New Ad Campaign Launched to Help Smokers Quit the Habit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are launching a new round of television, streaming, and online commercials from the “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign. The campaign is in its tenth year and is estimated to have helped over one million American adults to quit smoking.

Dr. Joneigh Khaldoun of Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services said, “CDC’s Tips campaign is effective in bringing to life the harmful effects of smoking and connecting people with resources to help them quit.”  

Khaldoun went on to say that as a physician, she has seen the adverse effects of smoking on health, saying, “MDHHS is committed to helping Michigan residents understand the reality of smoking-related disease and death – and to prevent these realities from happening to them.”

Diseases related to smoking claimed the lives of 16,200 Michiganders last year. The Tips from Former Smokers campaign is thought to have prevented 129,000 early deaths and saved $7.3 billion in smoking-related healthcare costs.

The new round of ads will feature the stories of caregivers of those who are suffering from a smoking-related disease and will run through September of this year.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

New Education Programs Coming to St. Clair TEC

St. Clair County high school students interested in a career in education have a new opportunity to get a jumpstart on their careers. New Early Childhood Education and PreK – 12 Education programs are being offered at St. Clair TEC in the 2021-22 school year for forty-eight students.

Students entering the two-year program will start with classroom centered learning for the first year and move to an internship in their chosen setting for the second year.

Pat Yanik, Director of Career and Technical Education at St. Clair County RESA said, “This program will allow students to explore the wide range of careers in education and help them make a knowledgeable decision based on their first-hand experience. Students will complete the program with the skills and credentials they need to enter the workforce or further their education at a 2- or 4-year institution.”

RESA Superintendent Kevin Miller said there is a shortage of skilled childcare professionals and this program will “help meet the need of our local community while providing our students with career opportunities in an industry with long-term growth potential.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

Statewide Tornado Drill Wednesday at 1 p.m.

A statewide tornado drill will be held on Wednesday, March 24th at 1:00 p.m. This is Severe Weather Awareness Week and it’s time to prepare for spring and summer severe weather.

The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division is asking residents to be prepared for tornado season. The questions for disaster readiness are: Do you have a plan? Where will you go? What will you do? Do you know the alert systems in your area? How will you communicate?

Tornado season generally runs from April to July, with most tornadoes occurring between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.  Michigan’s “tornado alley” is from Grand Rapids to Flint, but the Blue Water Area has had some strong tornadoes on record.

A Tornado Watch means that conditions are conducive to the development of a tornado. A Tornado Warning means that a tornado had actually been spotted. When a tornado is threatening, the safest place in a home is a basement or the central area of the home in a small room or under sturdy furniture. Mobile home residents should evacuate and find a stronger structure.

Tornado information: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp-tornado_tips_8781_7.pdf.

Reporting for WGRT- Jennie McClelland

Get Your Free Credit Report Until April 20th

Equifax, Experian, and Transunion have been providing free weekly credit reports throughout the pandemic, and they just extended the deadline to April 20th to help Americans stay on top of their finances.

To obtain a free credit report, visit AnnualCreditReport.com to initiate the process. There are three steps to complete, including entering personal information and your social security number.

Users can also select reports from one or all of the participating credit reporting companies, and they have to confirm their identity by answering questions about open accounts, payment amounts, and past and current employers.

Once the review portion is complete, credit reports can be viewed online, printed, or mailed to your home address. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Health Center Seeking Community Input

Community First Health Centers is a local nonprofit organization that has been providing medical services in St. Clair County since 1975. They have created a survey to gauge the community’s awareness of their services and get input about the community’s healthcare needs.

Community First Health Centers has clinics in Algonac, New Haven, and Port Huron. They offer a variety of healthcare services with several options to keep prices affordable for their patients. As a nonprofit, they accept donations to help them fulfill their mission, and all donations are tax-deductable.

The goal of the survey is to find out how much the community knows about the services they provide and discover what kind of medical services the public thinks the community needs.

To fill out the survey, visit their website <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand