Local News

Dr. Annette Mercatante,  Medical Health Officer of the St. Clair County Health Department, updated the Port Huron City Council on the COVID-19 situation in St. Clair County at their meeting Monday night. The City Council met in person observing social distancing requirements and navigating communication while wearing masks.

Dr. Mercatante clarified some of the terminology being used to report on COVID-19, specifically the difference between confirmed and probable cases and the purposes of isolation vs. quarantine.

Confirmed cases represent patients who have tested positive for the virus, while probable cases represent those who have the clinical symptoms of the virus along with being associated with a person who has tested positive for the virus or having recently traveled to an area that has community spread of the virus.

Isolation is the practice of removing a sick individual from contact with others to prevent them from spreading the disease, while quarantine refers to keeping non-sick individuals away from others to prevent exposure to disease. Dr. Mercatante urges the correct use of both practices to keep the virus from spreading.

When looking at the data associated with COVID-19 cases, she also urged a focus on the trends that are emerging rather than individual numbers. Because of the “real time” nature of the Michigan Data Surveillance System, numbers can go up and down each day as thousands of healthcare workers across the state enter data into the system.

Important trends to consider include the steady percentage of people recovering from the disease and the county’s relatively low percentage of hospitalizations and deaths which are lower than other areas in Michigan.

As the county prepares for the gradual lifting of stay-home orders, Dr. Mercatante expressed that the data indicates less than 5% of our population has been affected by COVID-19. “When we loosen our social distancing measures and we’re not paying as much attention to staying away from each other, this virus will be transmitted again,” she said.

With only 7% of our hospital beds in the county being used by COVID-19 patients, and the resources the county has built during the stay-home order, our medical system is in a much better place to care for COVID-19 patients than it was at the onset of the situation. However, that doesn’t mean that this is over. “When we open up, there is a defined risk that goes with that. Personally, I think that we just have to manage that risk.” said Dr. Mercatante.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Former Fogcutter restaurant owner Jeremiah “Jerry” Patrick O’Connor passed away at age 87, on April 23, 2020, at Kingston Residence in Perrysburg, Ohio. Jerry had been living at home in Perrysburg with his wife Mary Anne as his primary caregiver until Mary Anne died on March 25, 2020.

Jerry graduated from MSU with a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management. His restaurant management career included managing the Harrington Hotel food service operations. Jerry then realized his lifelong dream and opened The Fogcutter restaurant in 1969. He operated it for over 33 years.

The Fogcutter restaurant was an iconic place, with a stunning top floor location in the Peoples Bank building in downtown Port Huron overlooking the St. Clair River and the beautiful Blue Water Bridge. It was a large restaurant operation, with two full kitchens, and seating for over 350 people, including the banquet rooms. Many will remember the Fogcutter salad and dressing, the Maurice salad, Hot Brown sandwich, Almond Fried Shrimp, Lake Huron perch and walleye, exceptional prime rib on the weekends, and the famous Mile High Fogcutter Pie for dessert.

Cathy Martinek, Account Executive for WGRT, knew him well and remembers Jerry as a gentle giant. Cathy said, “He was a great restaurant owner, compassionate and helpful to his employees….gentleman first class to his restaurant guests, kind and generous to his community.  He will be missed.”

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Summer vacations are a huge part of family traditions. WGRT spoke with Theresa Winters, owner of Faraway Places Travel, about things you should be thinking about as you plan your summer vacation.

We asked Theresa to tell us the most important thing people need to know about domestic travel. She reminded us that this summer is still a waiting game when it comes to domestic travel. Each state will have different rules when the world opens back up, and we have to be very mindful of that. Every day brings more changes.

Travel outside of the country will also be dependent on each destination. Again, it is all about keeping up to date with the changes. We also asked Theresa about the number one travel concern she is hearing from her clients. She told us that the number one concern is about the uncertainty of income in the future, which in turn leaves people only dreaming of travel.

As a travel agent, it’s her job to stay informed about travel restrictions and regulations so her customers don’t have to. She has strong connections in the travel community, and has learned to navigate complicated issues for her clients in the past. She can also help people get to the destinations they want to visit on a variety of budgets.

This situation will be no different. She went on to say, “It excites me to hear that people are still wanting to travel when the world opens back up. Out of all this, I hope that people now see the importance of working with a travel professional.”

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

On April 9th, 2020, a group in Michigan began to take shape in reaction to the governor’s executive order that shut down many businesses and ordered others to work from home.  The group is called Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine. Their first major activity was a protest on April 15th in Lansing called “Operation Gridlock” which drew thousands of participants from around the state.

In a recent Facebook post, the group’s organizers said, “No longer are we simply a group of people against something. We have become Michiganders FOR Protection of Constitutional Rights, Civil Liberties,  Civil Rights and Government  Transparency!”  The group’s organizers state that they have now morphed in a citizen’s watchdog organization.

Elizabeth Richards Schurg, spokesperson for the group, said, “We are actively making our voices known through the legitimate avenues of phone calls, emails and letters. Members are filing complaints and even law suits in PROTECTION  of our rights.”  The group is focused on changing state statutes which they say are not in line with the federal statues, such as transparency laws.  They also plan efforts to abolish or amend statutes concerning Emergency Powers, contracts, HIPPA rights, and FOIA requests, among others.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Giving Tuesday launched in 2012 as a national day of giving around the globe. Traditionally set for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving each year,  it has been a way for nonprofits to take advantage of a national campaign to increase awareness and support of their organizations. Last year’s Giving Tuesday campaign raised $2 billion in the United States alone.

Leadership sponsors behind Giving Tuesday have decided to add another global day of giving to this year’s calendar in response to the effect the coronavirus is having around the world. They have declared May 5th, 2020 #GivingTuesdayNow.

#GivingTuesdayNow is designed to drive an influx of grassroots generosity, citizen engagement, business and philanthropy activation, and support for communities and nonprofits all over the world. To learn more about the global effort, visit Giving Tuesday on Facebook <HERE>.

Those interested in finding ways to help nonprofits in their own community can consider making donations on #GivingTuesdayNow to their favorite local charities or discovering new organizations to support. The public can search for nonprofits by location at GuideStar.org or GreatNonprofits.org.  There are also opportunities to donate to organizations that grant money to nonprofits in their communities like United Way of St. Clair County, United Way Sarnia-Lambton, the Eastern Michigan Christian Foundation, or the Community Foundation of St. Clair County.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Operation Transformation, along with Blue Water Area churches, is sponsoring a time for people to safely come together and corporately pray. The service is free and open to all.

The Community Drive-In National Day of Prayer Service will be held from 12:00 – 12:30 PM on May 7th at the North McMorran parking lot in downtown Port Huron.  Everyone will be asked to stay in their vehicles with their windows up and tune their radios to 90.7. Various pastors will be leading times of prayer for specific areas.

Thursday, May 7, 2020 was established by the United States Congress as the National Day of Prayer. This day is set aside to remember our spiritual heritage and the foundation our country was built upon. The theme for the 2020 National Day of Prayer Service is “Hope.”  Tens of thousands of citizens across the country will be praying for our nation, government leaders, media, military, schools, churches, businesses and families.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn