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Local News

COVID-19 Related Closings & Cancellations

List of Local Closings & Cancellations Related to COVID-19

 

ALL area public and private schools are CLOSED effective Monday, March 16th until at least April 5th.

Blue Water Center for Independent Living

All group classes are canceled until further notice.

Blue Water YMCA

Leprechaun Loop: We have determined that it would be best to transition the 2020 Leprechaun Loop into a ‘virtual run.’ An email is being sent to all runners that are registered for the event with more information.

Active Older Adult Programming: Anyone 60 or older or of any age with a chronic medical condition including heart disease, lung disease or diabetes falls into an “at-risk” category for this disease. Out of an abundance of caution for our seniors, we believe it is best to suspend our programming specifically targeted at this audience for the next two weeks while we monitor the situation.

City of Port Huron: See List <HERE>
St. Clair County Friend of the Court

Offering alternate customer service measures to the public.  This will include use of email, phone and fax as much as possible to limit the exposure.  All services with the Friend of the Court may be done remotely either electronically or by phone and there is no need to come in person. All written correspondence submitted to the Friend of the Court should be submitted electronically to FOC@stclaircounty.org until further notice or by fax at 810-985-2180. Furthermore, payments will no longer be accepted in person at the office.  You may pay via credit card or utilize PayNearMe to make a payment on your account.  At this time, you may still call our office at 810-985-2285 to make a credit card payment over the phone.

Council on Aging

The Council on Aging is cancelling all activities at ALL 4 Senior Centers for the next two weeks and all of our congregate meal sites will be closed. We are encouraging all seniors to stay home as much as possible.

If you or a senior that you know could benefit from receiving a home delivered meal during this time please call the Council on Aging.

Lake Huron Medical Center

All volunteer activities, events, and non-essential meetings are being suspended until further notice. This includes regularly scheduled support groups and Healthy Aging Programs.

McLaren Port Huron Hospital

McLaren Port Huron has cancelled all group programs and events. They will evaluate conditions in the coming weeks to determine the status of programs and events in April.

St. Clair County Health Department
  • No walk-in Mondays for vaccinations at main location
  • No appointments for vaccinations at main location
St. Clair County Community College

On-campus classes will be cancelled for the week of March 16-20. Online classes will continue as scheduled.

The cancellation of on-campus classes next week does include nursing clinicals. The status of clinicals beyond March 20 is being evaluated and will be communicated directly to affected students.

NJCAA DII Women’s Basketball Tournament is postphoned.

St. Clair County Library

All library programs are suspended until further notice. Branches are open and taking extra precautions for patron safety.

This list will be updated as new information becomes available. If you need to inform us of a closing or cancellation easily, please click <HERE>

This update is sponsored by Zimmer Roofing, an authorized Duro-Last Contractor. Visit their website <HERE>.

Our Local Response to COVID-19

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

Port Huron Police Department Getting New K9

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 Schools Getting Energy Efficient School Buses

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.

Local Restaurant Owner Hitting the Ice with the Prowlers

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.

Port Huron High School’s Varsity Quiz Bowl Levels Up

Port Huron High School’s Varsity Quiz Bowl team is headed to States. The team has won both the Blue Water Quiz Bowl League regular season and the League tournament after Quiz Bowl season wrapped for local teams last Thursday, but the Port Huron High team still has some work to do as they prepare for the meetup of the best teams in the state at Michigan State University on March 28. Yes, that is during Spring Break, but families have adjusted their schedules to make room for the big event. 

When asked what made this year’s team so special, Coach Kelly Harrington had a lot to say. She said, “What makes this team special is that they truly are a team. They communicate so well with each other on the Bonus questions, and each player brings different knowledge to the table.” Harrington said, “They often get together to practice trivia outside of just school practice.  They have amazing sportsmanship and most of all they like to have fun,” citing they are an amazing group to work with.

 The team is also coached by Richard Schneeberger, and Christine Richmond. The team is made up of nine seniors and two juniors. Quiz Bowl is a trivia and strategy competition for both middle school, junior varsity, and varsity teams that has a 35-year tradition.