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Local News

Sheriff Warns Against Gift Card Scams

St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King is warning that scammers are hitting close to home this holiday season, with bad guys posing as representatives of the St. Clair County Health Department and the St. Clair County Intervention Academy. There are also scams going around involving jury duty and the IRS.

The criminals are sending emails asking for gift card activation codes. This is a common scam to which people continue to fall victim, even though gift cards are never a legal payment for a legitimate agency or charity.

Sheriff King said, “Unfortunately, there are always criminals looking to prey on good-hearted citizens. If you receive an email or phone call soliciting donations, it is always best to double check to make sure the request is legitimate.”

Tips for avoiding scams include not answering phone calls from unfamiliar numbers, or saying “Remove us from your calling list” and then hanging up. Being wary of emails from unrecognized sources is also advised. Misspelled words are a red flag that should raise suspicion. Do not click on links within suspicious emails.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Fort Gratiot Fire Department Hosts “Shop with a Hero”

Members of the Fort Gratiot Fire Department are used to doing what needs to be done in an emergency. When the emergency was local kids going without toys and essentials for Christmas, they stepped up to solve the problem.

This is the second year that Fort Gratiot Township received a grant from the Walmart Foundation to fund “Shop with a Hero”. This year’s effort helped 27 students who attend the township elementary schools: Keewahdin and Thomas Edison.

In a normal year, the students would have gathered with the firefighters at the Fort Gratiot Walmart and shopped alongside them, but this is not a normal year, and a group shopping trip was not an option. Instead, the department got wish lists from the kids’ parents and did the shopping for them.

Some parents picked up the gifts from the Fort Gratiot Township office while some were delivered by the department in a fire truck. Sharon Wilton, Community Development Director for Fort Gratiot, said that they are thankful to Walmart and the Fort Gratiot Fire Department for making a difference during this holiday season.

The Walmart Foundation gives over $1 billion in charitable contributions each year.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Lauwers to Governor: Give Restaurants a Chance

Starting Monday, December 21st, the MDHHS epidemic order will allow in-person learning at high schools and the reopening of bowling alleys, casinos, and other entertainment venues. Unfortunately for restaurant and bar owners, their establishments must remain closed for another 26 days until January 15, 2020. The order also allows in-person classes to resume at colleges and universities, making way for on-campus learning for the winter semester.

While Governor Whitmer’s office claims that these changes are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, some are questioning the rationale for such changes. The State of Michigan’s Coronavirus website contains data on outbreaks of COVID-19 throughout the state, and the highest number of new outbreaks is consistently related to long-term care facilities and K-12 schools, with those two sectors also claiming the highest numbers of ongoing outbreaks.

Colleges and Universities have experienced 31 ongoing outbreaks, and ongoing outbreak data specifically related to schools shows 2,274 cases at Michigan State University and 1,101 cases at Grand Valley State.

The number of ongoing outbreaks related to bars in the state is 4, while the number of ongoing outbreaks related to restaurants in the state is 25, only 2 of those were related to patrons – 23 were employee related.

Michigan State Senator Dan Lauwers, 25th District, released a statement Friday expressing his opinion about the recent continuation of restaurant closures:

“The governor does not trust Michiganders to act responsibly. Though the data does not indicate that restaurants are prominent sources of virus spread, the governor — inexplicably — has shut down restaurants again.”

“She is unable or unwilling to tell small businesses what level of infection or hospitalization rate Michigan must achieve for them to reopen safely. Instead, workers, business owners and job providers are left waiting for press conferences, only then to simply be told they need to remain shuttered.”

“Indoor dining at restaurants has been banned for more than 100 days throughout this year and counting. This has resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in sales and the laying off of most of the state’s restaurant workforce.”

“The health department’s own data indicates that, of the COVID-19 outbreaks that have occurred, only 4.3% can be attributed to restaurants.”

Lauwers is calling on the governor or Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon to “provide Michiganders with objective standards and/or COVID-19 case rates for restaurant owners to be able to take action and make plans in order to reopen.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

 

McLaren Port Huron’s October 2020 Employee of the Month

Port Huron, MI – Mary Lou Kraft has been named the Employee of the Month for October. Kraft has worked at McLaren Port Huron for four years as the volunteer coordinator.

Kraft was nominated by her peers because she exemplifies the hospital values. She carefully matches volunteers to the job/department to ensure the placement works for everyone.

Kraft is friendly, outgoing, and always greets others with a smile. She believes in doing everything with 100% of her ability, and her work ethic is contagious. She has a can-do attitude and is always ready to help where needed. Kraft always represents the hospital positively and is a true asset to McLaren Port Huron. Her coworkers are proud to work with her.

This employee recognition is given to individuals who consistently live the values, mission and performance standards of McLaren Port Huron. Honorees are nominated by a co-worker, physician, volunteer, and/or customer.

To learn more about McLaren Port Huron, visit www.mclaren.org/porthuron.

McLaren Port Huron Begins Vaccinating Health Care Workers

McLaren Port Huron began the process of immunizing its health care workers against COVID-19 at the hospital today.

 “Our health care heroes have been courageously battling each wave of this virus for nearly a year,” said Eric Cecava, president and CEO, McLaren Port Huron. “Now it is time we take the final fight to COVID-19.”

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, which began being distributed to hospitals over the weekend. McLaren Port Huron received 275 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, and is expecting to receive 50 additional doses on Sunday, with additional quantities expected over the next few weeks, including from other vaccine producers.

“It made me so proud to get the vaccine,” said Katrina Raski, a medical assistant in the Emergency Department at McLaren Port Huron. “Health care workers lay their life on the line, and I needed to lead by example. It made me cry, feeling such peace, and hope.”

McLaren Health Care hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other subsidiaries surveyed their team members, medical staffs, and contract workers’ interest in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. To date, about 80% of respondents across the McLaren system indicated they are willing to receive the COVID-19 now or in the future.

McLaren then used that data and information from the vaccine producers to create a plan to immunize its health care workers. It is expected to take several weeks to immunize the health care workers affiliated with McLaren who indicated they want the vaccine due to the logistics of administering the shot, minimizing the number of caregivers who may experience side effects at one time, and the availability of doses from the pharmaceutical manufacturers. McLaren Health Care and Walgreens have also launched an innovative partnership where certain McLaren team members authorized to receive the vaccine in the initial distribution will be able to receive their vaccination at a nearby Walgreens store. The collaboration will expedite the immunization of McLaren team members and enhance safety by minimizing the number of team members required to go inside the hospital to receive their vaccinations.

“Walgreens is very proud to collaborate with McLaren on this historic milestone to begin administering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to the true heroes who are on the frontlines of battling COVID-19. This is an incredibly important step in an unprecedented effort to allow our nation to emerge from this pandemic,” said John Standley, president, Walgreens.

Submitted by McLaren Port Huron Hospital

Midwest Governors Discourage Holiday Travel

The governors of the Midwest states are usually encouraging travel and tourism, but “usually” doesn’t apply in 2020. This year, the governors of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin are asking residents to stay home for Christmas.

In a video released on Wednesday, the bipartisan coalition of leaders urged their constituents and neighbors to forgo their traditional holiday travel plans to keep the spread of COVID-19 contained.

The governors joined together to deliver the message of mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing. They also asked families to reconsider any plans they have to gather with other households. They said, “We owe it to the brave men and women serving on the front lines of this pandemic to do our part and be smart this holiday season.”  

The governors also encourage shopping local and working together to keep small businesses afloat. The holiday message is similar to one they delivered before Thanksgiving. National reports show that Thanksgiving travel was at the highest levels recorded since the pandemic began.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb4qGXiEGsU&feature=youtu.be

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland