Local News

Blue Water area businesses, municipalities and residents are taking measures to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 resulting in many event cancellations, limited services and more. Perhaps one of the biggest impacts comes as the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Division II women’s basketball championship set to be played in Port Huron next week has been postponed. The 16 team tournament was scheduled at the St. Clair County Community College (SC4) Fieldhouse for March 17-21. 

Initially, tournament organizers had announced the games would continue, without fans, but as of 2:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a representative from the Blue Water Convention and Visitors Bureau confirmed that tournament organizers had postponed the event and were in the process of advising local hotels of the cancellations. 

Representatives from the college and Visitors Bureau had previously stated the tournament was expected to bring in thousands of guests and substantial economic impact. At this time, a rescheduled date has not been announced. 

There are several other events around the Blue Water Area that have been cancelled after two cases of the novel COVID-19 (coronavirus) were confirmed in Michigan. To see a full list of cancelled events and closures, visit our website.

With the report of two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our state yesterday, many of us are beginning to experience changes to our daily routines. Classes have moved online at many universities, events are being cancelled, and we are all being asked to be mindful of our role in preventing the spread of this virus. As your local radio station, WGRT is committed to bringing you up-to-date information about news related to public health and changes in our community’s routines and public services. We are also supporting recommendations from local officials and government leaders on how residents should respond to this pandemic. In a press conference yesterday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer made these recommendations:

“We’re going to have to make some tough choices in the coming days and weeks. The Department of Health and Human services is encouraging everyone to avoid large gatherings of 100 people or more. Groups should evaluate and make decisions about whether or not to cancel conferences, sporting events, or concerts. This is to keep the most people we can safe. I encourage everyone to be flexible. Take care of one another. We’ve gotten through tough times in Michigan. We’re going to get through this.”

WGRT is ready to support our community with reliable information. If you need to report a closing or cancellation, visit WGRT.com and follow the prompts at the top of the page. Stay tuned for local news and updates at the top of the hour, follow us on social media (Facebook – Twitter), and add us as a news source on Google News and Apple News for subscription free news every day. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

The Port Huron Police Department is going to be getting a new officer. This new recruit will be on four legs, though. The Port Huron City Council approved the acquisition of a new canine officer, or police dog, at Monday’s meeting. Officer Chad Smith has been the officer in charge of the current police dog, but with his promotion to Detective, the department will be needing a new dog.

City Manager James Freed explained to the council that the current dog has a year or two of service left in him, but police canines cannot be transferred from one handler to another. The current dog will “go home” with Officer Smith. 

The new dog will be coming from Shallow Creek Kennels of Pennsylvania, which is a privately owned and operated police service dog importing and training facility that the city has acquired dogs from previously. The $8,000 fee charged by the facility will be covered by the Canine Services Fund which is supported by the Dorothea Knight charitable donation. 

A new dog handler will be selected in the next few weeks. Representatives from the Port Huron police department said that the new dog will not be trained to sniff out marijuana, as it is now legal. Marijuana detection leading to searches has been ruled unconstitutional in other states.

Local school districts should be getting new energy efficient school buses with the awarding of grants from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The big winner in the state was a consortium headed by the Brown City School District.

The nearly $1.9 million grant is for a consortium of eighteen districts including Capac, Croswell-Lexington, and Yale districts, locally. According to a press release from EGLE, “Replacing older, diesel engines with clean diesel or propane delivers savings for school districts and will also improve public health at bus stops, on school grounds, and in communities. Students who have cleaner air to breathe will do better in school and have fewer health concerns.” An EGLE spokesperson says Brown City is the facilitator for the partnership of school districts that will use the grant money to cover some of the costs for new buses in all those districts.

When consortiums of school districts work together, it results in reduced administrative costs, which means more money can go toward the grants and purchasing buses and can increase buying power. Districts are expected to have the cleaner buses on the road by 2022.

Casey Harris, Owner of Casey’s in downtown Port Huron, will lace up his skates and hit the ice with the Port Huron Prowlers hockey team this weekend. Harris is no stranger to the sport. The 6’2” left wing played for the Oxford Raiders, Ferris State, Indianapolis Ice and Port Huron Beacons before retiring in the mid-2000’s.

Player-Assistant Coach Matt Graham said the Prowlers have signed Harris to a celebrity contract for this Sunday’s game against the Carolina Thunderbirds. According to Graham, the Federal Hockey League allows teams to sign one extra player to celebrity contracts for a single game. 

There is a bit of a question as to how the return to the ice came about. Graham says Harris has cited a near death experience and encounter with the Dahli Llama as the push to make a special appearance in the hockey game. One thing is for certain, though, Harris is a big supporter of the Prowlers, according to Graham. Harris is expected to play between five and 10 shifts for the upcoming game. 

In addition to Harris’s appearance on Sunday, the Prowlers have a big weekend ahead as the second place Prowlers team takes on the first place Carolina Thunderbirds. The Prowlers current record stands at 32-14 with 10 regular season games left on the schedule.