Local News

It’s almost time for Port Huron’s big, annual mid-winter celebration. ChillyFest is scheduled this year for January 24 and 25 in Downtown Port Huron. No one knows what the weather will be that weekend, as this is January in Michigan, but rain, snow or shine, the events will go on. 

The weekend festival includes live concerts in a large tent downtown. Scheduled performers include “Your Generation”, a popular tribute band, and “The Gobies”, a local country and rock band. Of course, there will be the annual chili cook-off where participants can sample and vote on their favorite chili from local restaurants.

The highlight of the weekend is the one-of-a-kind bed races, sponsored by the Blue Water Young Professionals. Racers create beds on wheels and showdown on the corner of McMorran and Superior Mall. 

The 9th Annual PoHo Hot Cocoa Race also takes place that weekend with a 10 mile, 10K, 5K, and Kids 1 Mile Races. The annual event is hosted by Downtown Port Huron, McMorran Place, and the Chilly Fest Committee, which is made up of community members.

The Sanilac County Sheriff is sending out a reminder in the new year that fraud scams are continuing and getting very creative in trying to make the scam sound realistic. Sheriff Garry Biniecki stated that the Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau is seeing an increase in phone scams targeting Sanilac County Citizens. 

According to a recent statement, the Detective Bureau has taken numerous calls within the last month in regards to Social Security Scams and the “police call” or “lawyer call” scam as well. The number may look like they are calling from 810-648-2000, when in reality, scammers may have “stolen” the number to make the call look legit. 

The Department warns that the scammers can also “steal” bank numbers, accountant numbers, or even personal numbers. So, if it seems suspicious, contact the business directly to verify any issues. Residents can report the number if given a call back number or voicemail.

The Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office recommends remaining mindful and skeptical of callers especially if someone asks for cash, gift cards, credit card numbers, or other personal information. Beware of high pressure techniques, and avoid the “celebrity” friend request or unknown requests to connect through social media networks. The Sanilac County Sheriff’s Detective Bureau can be contacted at 810-648-8360.

A small group of dedicated environmentalists got together last weekend on “Stewardship Saturday” to clean up invasive species at Columbus County Park in St. Clair County. The group braved the mud and cold to remove plants that could choke out native species. 

The environmentalist group was after Japanese Barberry and Multiflora Rose plants, specifically. According to Kirsten Lyons, Stewardship Director for Friends of the St. Clair River, they got “ quite a bit of invasive species lopping done.” Lyons has been mapping and monitoring the park for two years, “determining where the highest quality habitats are and also where the challenges and threats” are so they can strategically target invasive species management efforts.

She gave credit to the park staff for their protection and conversation of the park. The Friends of the St. Clair River work with staff to keep the waterway healthy and clean. The group gets together on the first Saturday morning of January, February, March and April for similar activities. They started in September of last year. New volunteers are always welcome.

St. Clair County Community College announced a  new partnership this week with a statewide initiative to help students connect with the resources they need to meet basic needs. 

As part of the Michigan Community College Association, the college will share in a $442,000 grant intended to try to improve college success rates by making sure that students are fed, housed, and have adequate transportation and childcare to meet their educational goals. The effort, called, MI-BEST, or Michigan- Building Economic Stability Today is funded by the ECMC Foundation, a Los-Angeles based group whose mission is to “inspire and facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes—especially among underserved populations—through evidence-based innovation.” The program will run through June 2022. 

According to national survey findings, 45% of college students self-reported food insecurity and 56% reported insecurity with finding affordable housing. Seventeen percent had been homeless. SC4 is aiming to reduce those numbers by using the grant money to support a team that will address the issues. The college has other similar initiatives underway including providing students with nutritional food options via free Skippers Snacks bins located around campus.

A new state law that went into effect on January 1st may have serious effects on those who use the Healthy Michigan Plan Health Insurance, also known as Medicaid. There are currently 11,462 individuals on the books as recipients in St. Clair County and 2,688 in Sanilac County. The new law will require those who receive the insurance to report to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services as to their employment status. 

Dr. Annette Mercatante, Medical Health Officer for the St. Clair County Health Department said she expects local effects related to the new requirement  “…will reduce the number of people with health insurance, both short term and long term.” Mercatante believes, “This will not be an advantage to [the] community or to the state as Medicaid expansion has improved several factors in the health ecosystem.” Mercatante cited data from a similar program in Arkansas that resulted in over 18,000 people losing coverage when the work reporting requirement was enacted. 

The new Michigan law requires recipients to report that they have completed at least 80 hours of employment or other activities like job searches, volunteering, internships, or rehab with certain exceptions. Recipients that will be affected should have received notification by mail. More information is available at www.michigan.gov/mdhhs.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.

A new St. Clair County Jail Administrator has been appointed after the retirement of Captain Tom Bliss who stepped down from the position January 1st. Bliss was hired in December 2010 and saw the jail through many improvements such as video visitation for friends and families of inmates, a new medical contract designed to save taxpayers and updates to the video camera system in the jail. Overall, Bliss is retiring with more than 40 years of service in the corrections field. 

Taking the captain’s place is the newly appointed Tracy DeCaussin. DeCaussin, who most recently served as the executive assistant to Bliss, has taken over leadership of the 491 bed facility. 

Tracy began her career in 1998 and has worked in many capacities. In the last fifteen years, she has worked directly for three St. Clair County jail administrators, giving her extensive knowledge and experience with the many facets of the position.

DeCaussin is the fourth jail administrator since the Intervention and Detention Center opened in 2005.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.