Local News

Southeast Michigan Construction Academy (SEMCA) is taking scholarship applications from women interested in attending their skilled trades training program. SEMCA has four locations that offer registered apprenticeships in four skilled trade areas: electrical, carpentry, sheet metal and HVAC. Their main campus is in Madison Heights, and there are satellite campuses in Lapeer, Monroe, and Adrian.

Tuition costs an average of $3,500 a year, and the scholarships will cover the cost of first semester tuition for one returning student and one new student. The two and four year programs at SEMCA are taught by Masters in their trade. They include hands-on training as well as classroom learning, and classes are at night to enable students to work throughout the program.

Applications for the scholarship are online <HERE> and must be submitted by July 1st. The Women in Construction Committee is part of Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeastern Michigan. Their goal is to increase the number of women in the construction industry as a whole and encourage more young women to choose the skilled trades as a career path through community service, outreach, fundraising, and networking.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

The Compassion Fund was created in response to Lambton County not-for-profits who needed assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donations to the fund are used to support local agencies with 100% of all donations directed to help Lambton County’s most vulnerable. The Board of Directors would like to thank Scotiabank for its $2,500 donation to the fund. “Thank you to Scotiabank for making a difference in the lives of others,” said Vicky Ducharme, Campaign Chair for United Way of Sarnia-Lambton. “We couldn’t help the citizens of our community without your generosity.” 

Two more grants have been issued from the fund:

Huron House Boys Home – $5,000

The Huron House Boys Home works to develop and implement programs to enable their residents (boys aged 12-18) to make positive changes in their lives. Staff are now required on site when the residents would typically be offsite in school. Funds will be used for additional staffing costs as well as food, personal and cleaning supplies. 

Don Adam, Executive Director of Huron House said the grant is very  appreciated. Since the boys in residential care have been off school, his staff has been helping them access their online course work and oversee completion of homework. “The kids have been quite resilient, and our staff has been absolutely incredible, ” he said.

North Lambton Community Health Centre – $5,000

The Harm Reduction & Hepatitis C Care Team at North Lambton Community Health Centre continues to provide modified services during COVID-19. Funds will help clients who need transportation to Sarnia for services such as Opioid Substitution Therapy and laboratory services; provide home delivery of harm reduction supplies, non-perishable food, hygiene products and other essentials, and provide phone cards to continue to conduct all appointments over the phone. 

The Compassion Fund is comprised of community donations from those who want to help our most vulnerable in the wake of COVID-19. Donations can be made online at www.theunitedway.on.ca or by calling 519-336-5452. 

Rep. Shane Hernandez of Port Huron today voted for a plan to end the governor’s unilateral control during the COVID-19 response and restore the balance of powers between the branches of Michigan’s state government.

Hernandez said he and other members of the Legislature have heard countless complaints about many of the governor’s decisions in the past month – all made without input from the Legislature, the elected representatives of the people.

“We are not trying to end the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are simply trying to ensure the state’s response includes representatives of Michigan taxpayers and families,” said Hernandez, chair of the House Appropriations Committee. “The people demand and deserve a seat at the table when decisions are made that dramatically affect their health and livelihoods. That representation comes through the Legislature.

“The governor forced our actions today by refusing to work with the Legislature and going out of her way to publicly end potentially productive discussions aimed at helping Michigan overcome COVID-19 and reopen the economy. She forced this action by failing to fix the state’s broken unemployment filing system, and by refusing to answer questions about why she is making certain decisions – such as why some workers can’t return to their jobs even though they could do so safely. It is my hope she will put partisanship and politics aside and begin to work with us in a collaborative, constructive way.”

To ensure measures remain in place to protect public health and help families who have been hurt by the economic impact of the virus, the House took action to put some of the governor’s previous orders into state law with specific expiration dates. This includes preventing employers from taking disciplinary action against any employee who elects to stay home from work because of COVID-19, expanded unemployment benefits and eligibility requirements, measures to prevent price gouging, and many others.

Restrictions on public gatherings would remain in place, but the governor’s stay home order would expire.

Hernandez sponsored a resolution authorizing the Speaker of the House to take legal action on behalf of the House to challenge the governor’s authority and actions during the COVID-19 response, if necessary.

“The governor was elected to work with other branches of government in the best interests of Michigan,” Hernandez said. “She was not elected to make decisions without checks and balances.”

Submitted by Tim Martin

The port Huron Police Department launched a new app available for free on the Google Play Store, iTunes App Store, or by visiting the Port Huron Police Department’s website at www.porthuronpolice.org and clicking on the CAPTURE symbol.

“The Port Huron Police Department responds to community needs through a combined strategy of preventative, proactive and reactive policing programs, said Chief Joseph Platzer. “This is a combined effort – not just with our officers, but with our residents as a whole, and I believe our new Port Huron PD app will help us work even more closely with the public to keep our community safe.” The new Port Huron PD app enables the public to share an anonymous tip with police and lets officers respond back to create an anonymous two-way conversation. 

“We’ve listened to feedback from partners like Port Huron Police and have built a more advanced and innovative product to help departments better engage their communities,” said tip411 President Terry Halsch. “The Port Huron PD app powered by tip411 will greatly improve the public’s access to help fight crime.” The Port Huron PD app and tip411 anonymous text a tip system are 100% anonymous, as the technology removes all identifying information before police see the tips and there is no way to identify the sender. 

Residents in Port Huron without a smartphone will still be able to share information with police by sending an anonymous text tip via their cell phone to police by texting keyword CAPTURE and their message/tip to 847411 (tip411). Anonymous web tips can also be submitted through the department’s website at www.porthuronpolice.org and clicking on the CAPTURE symbol. 

Weather permitting, on Monday, May 4, 2020, the City of Port Huron will begin construction on the Blue Water Bridge Plaza Sewer Separation project. The project is part of the ongoing State of
Michigan mandated Combined Sewer Separation work and will complete the combined sewer overflow (CSO) elimination program that was required by the consent order the City entered in to
with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. This project is expected to be completed by December 2020.

Work includes sewer construction, asphalt paving and lawn restoration within the area from Scott Avenue to Hancock Street and Riverside Drive to 12th Avenue.

Due to construction, Riverside Drive, from Scott Avenue to Mansfield Street will be closed to traffic starting May 4, 2020 and lasting until late July 2020. We encourage the public to use alternate
routes while this portion of Riverside Drive is closed.

Michigan lawmakers did not approve an extension of the State of Emergency for the coronavirus pandemic. Lawmakers instead authorized a lawsuit challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s authority. Whitmer has asked the legislature to approve a 28-day extension of the emergency declaration, which expired April 30th.

Legislators agreed  on a package of bills that would change how the state responds to the coronavirus pandemic. They also voted to approve the lawsuit against Whitmer. Members of the Republican-led House passed bills that would replace a series of orders issued by Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

House Speaker Lee Chatfield said republicans support decisive action to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but Whitmer’s “unchecked and undemocratic approach” is not the best way. “The current status quo relies on one-size-fits-all edicts that unfairly punish millions of people across the state without giving them any recourse or voice in the process,” Chatfield said. “The people deserve a better solution, and we can provide it.”

Whitmer has vowed to veto the legislation and promises to move forward on her own.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn