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Local News

Local Produce Season in Full Swing

Michigan farmer’s markets and farm stands are filling up with locally grown produce. The sweet corn season came a bit later this year, but it’s now in full swing and you can stock up on this local favorite at several area locations.

Hulett Farms, nicknamed  “The Corn Man”, is booming with business at their Port Huron farm stand on Pine Grove Avenue. Their tables are full of produce grown at their Capac farm along with fresh baked goods, honey, and locally made tortilla chips.

Tomatoes, peppers, peaches, and green beans are in season now, with squashes and apples coming about mid-September. They will continue to have sweet corn until the supply runs out around Halloween.

Local farmer’s markets are also carrying fresh produce among other treats like baked goods, honey, and farm raised meat.

Vantage Point Farmer’s Market – Saturdays 9-5

Sarnia Farmers Market – Wednesdays & Saturdays: 7 AM – 1 PM

St. Clair Farmer’s Market – Wednesdays 7 AM- 12 PM

Marine City Farmer’s Market – Thursdays 9 AM – 2 PM

Marysville – Fridays 10 AM- 4 PM

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

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

Underage Tobacco Sting in City of Port Huron

Port Huron Police conducted an underage decoy operation targeting 34 retail businesses within the City of Port Huron. Thirty of the businesses passed the test by checking the decoy’s identification and refusing to sell them tobacco products.

Four businesses failed to check ID:

  • Marathon Gas Station – 1301 Military Street
  • Buscemi’s Beverage Barrel – 1433 Military Street
  • The Smoke Shop – 1420 24th Street
  • Speedy Q Market – 1301 10th Street

The businesses were ticketed, and the fines for selling tobacco to minors are $100 for the first ticket, $200 for the second, and $2500 for the third. This is the second ticket for the Marathon Gas Station, and the first for the other businesses cited. There is no jail time associated with the infraction.

 

Project Underway to Create Driverless Corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor

Lansing, MI — Governor Whitmer announced an initiative last week to develop the Michigan Connected Corridor, a project that includes exploring the viability of a more than 40-mile driverless vehicle corridor between Downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Cavnu, a subsidiary of Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners,  the company selected to lead the project, will work with state and local partners, stakeholders and communities across the corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor. Phase One of their efforts is expected to last approximately 24 months.

The goal is to develop a sophisticated roadway that enhances the full potential of connected and autonomous vehicles. Cavnue will work to make the project “future proof” and evolve to meet transportation goals. They plan to begin by focusing on connected buses and shared mobility vehicles and then expand to freight and personal vehicles.

“This project, and the decision by Cavnue and Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners to invest here, continues to reinforce that the future of mobility will be designed and built in Detroit and Southeast Michigan,” said Mayor Mike Duggan, Mayor of the City of Detroit.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

Denise Brooks Retires from Blue Water YMCA

Port Huron, MI — The YMCA of the Blue Water Area President and Chief Executive Officer, Denise Brooks, announced her decision to retire after more than 11 years with the YMCA of the Blue Water Area, effective December 31, 2020.

“Denise is recognized as an outstanding, dedicated and community-focused executive leader. She successfully guided the Y though some of its most difficult times, and her leadership efforts helped transform the lives of those who need our Y the most,” said YMCA Board Chairman and Chief Volunteer Officer, Geof Kusch. “I am happy for Denise that she can take this next step, looking back at a successful career here in Port Huron, making a difference in the lives of thousands of people.”

Under Brooks’ leadership, the YMCA of the Blue Water Area:

  • Grew to serve more than 1 out of every 8 people in St. Clair and Sanilac counties
  • Implemented chronic disease management programs like LIVESTRONG® at the YMCA, the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program®, and Enhance® Fitness
  • Expanded the YMCA’s drowning prevention efforts to not only include swim lessons but Safety Around Water, a free program, and taking it on the road to pools throughout the area
  • Completed a $850,000+ PACE project focused on energy savings improvements to the facility
  • Restored financial viability in the wake of the 2008-2010 recession
  • Created partnerships with area schools and other organizations to better serve our community

“I am proud and thankful to have served this YMCA since 2009 and this community most of my life,” Brooks said. “I’ve been honored to build relationships with so many talented and committed volunteers, staff, donors and community partners, who have guided and encouraged me and all of our Y leaders. Here in Port Huron, they’ve strengthened the very foundation of this community by bringing incredible programs and services to so many.”

Brooks will retire at the end of the year. The YMCA Board will partner with the YMCA of the USA to conduct a nationwide search for the the new President and CEO.

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