Local News

A familiar billboard is making its appearance during January once again this year. Periodically, over the past sixteen years, the Blue Water Pax Christi organization has purchased billboards bearing the faces of internationally recognized peace advocates. For the past several years, they have included portraits of St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The message is one of non-violence, mercy, and justice. 

The billboard project started in 2003 in response to the beginning of the Iraq war. They have had the current billboard for the past nine years. The local organization promotes a 64-day “Season of Non-Violence” that begins with the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination and ends with the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pax Christi is an international organization that was started in France in 1945. The Blue Water branch was started in 2002 and while Catholic in its roots, it offers programs for the whole Blue Water community. The January billboards are paid for by donations from local church groups and community members. The billboards are digital this year and can be seen at multiple locations in the Port Huron area through the end of January.

Reporting for WGRT, Karly Hurley.

With no place to go or a warm bed to sleep in, the Blue Water Area Rescue Mission goes beyond providing food, shelter, and clothing to individuals in need of those resources. In addition to this, they encourage people to do something with their lives and better themselves by asking for 10 job applications within the week or gifting their time to community service if they are not able to get a job. 

Arnold “Arnie” Koontz, executive Director, explained to ebw.tv in an interview that the most successful program is Inside Out, where they assist incarcerated individuals back into the community. Dante Ferrazza, former Inside Out mentor, told ebw.tv in an interview that he grew up in violence and at the age of 18 he went to prison and spent the next 53 years in and out of it. However, over the last 25 years Ferrazza was in prison, he became a Christian and started looking for a church. After one of his friends invited him to River of Life Christian Fellowship, he is now a senior deacon at the church. With all his needs met, he does not find a need in the extra stuff. 

The Blue Water Rescue Mission is currently working on a new expansion of their facility after graduating 53 men and putting $1.6 million back into the community. Find out more on how the Blue Water Rescue Mission is going to continue changing lives in the New Year in this feature. 

People celebrate the new year in many different ways. From dressing up and going out to the bar, or staying close to home with family, there has been one accessory that remains constant through it all… New Year’s glasses. After almost a decade, it is finally time to be able to have two circles to see through instead of having a “1” blocking the view. 

The novelty glasses were invented in 1990 by Richard Sclafani and his friend and business partner, Pete Cicero but were no longer sold around 2010 due to an abundance of knockoff versions that made their venture unprofitable. 

For 119 years, a Pennsylvania-based company, Party Express, has been selling New Year’s novelties to consumers and businesses and this year they have seen an increase in pairs sold. Mark Sullivan, Party Express manager, explained that 2000 to 2009 was the easiest when it came to designing the glasses as no thought really had to go behind it. This year makes the glasses fun because of the irony with 20/20 vision. 

Since 2000, this is the most interest Party Express has had with the glasses as it was the turn of the millennium and the natural excitement of having three zero’s. With this year being a new decade and people celebrating “The Roaring ’20’s,” New Year’s sales as a whole have simply been bigger. However you dress up for the new year, we hope you started it with 20/20 vision!

Adapted from the Today Show’s “2020 will be the best year in a long time for those New Year’s glasses” by TODAY.

Lake Huron Medical Center (LHMC) is pleased to announce its December 2019 Employee of the Month, Vanessa Pattenaude, and its December 2019 Volunteer of the Month, Chuck Wilcox. LHMC is honored to have a strong team of staff and volunteers working hard to deliver high-quality care to the Blue Water Area.

Vanessa is a Nursing Assistant in the Med Surg department and has been with LHMC since
2015. She was nominated by a patient who commented, “Not only does Vanessa have the best
outgoing, personable, and relatable personality, she is also kind, friendly, high-spirited, and
professional. She has been one of the best nurses I have ever had. She is a true gem, angel and
is truly a great asset to everyone around her.”

Chuck volunteers at the front desk as a courier and has been volunteering at LHMC since 2014.
He was nominated by an employee who commented, “You can often hear Chuck say, “The patient/visitor always comes first.” For Chuck, it’s not just a phrase, it’s the way he does his job as a front desk greeter and courier. He is vigilant in keeping an eye out for anyone in need of assistance, and he is always there to offer a helping hand. The greeter’s desk wouldn’t be
the same without him.”

Lake Huron Medical Center is proud of each of its employees and volunteers and extends a
special thank you and congratulations to all our team members, especially Vanessa and Chuck, as
we celebrate their accomplishments.

To learn more about the programs and services offered at Lake Huron Medical Center, visit
www.mylakehuron.com.

Blain Radtke has been named the Employee of the Month for November. Radtke has worked at McLaren Port Huron for seven months as a transporter in the Medical Imaging department.

Radtke was nominated by his coworkers because he is loyal and dependable, with an unstopping drive to help others. His compassion for patients is top-notch, always going the extra mile for them. Radtke always volunteers to help and goes above and beyond his job scope to do so. He communicates well with patients, physicians, and staff and is a positive influence in the Medical Imaging department.

This employee recognition is given to individuals who consistently live the values, mission and performance standards of McLaren Port Huron. Honorees are nominated by a co-worker, physician, volunteer, and/or customer.

To learn more about McLaren Port Huron, visit www.mclaren.org/porthuron.

The popular Golden Corral restaurant in Fort Gratiot has closed for business permanently for unknown reasons. Sunday, December 29 was the chain location’s last day in business. 

The Golden Corral franchise started in 1973 in North Carolina and was named the top buffet restaurant by Entrepreneur magazine just this year. The franchise is known for their Military Appreciation Nights and the summer camp they run for the children of wounded and fallen military heroes. The chain currently has around 480 restaurants nationwide. 

The Fort Gratiot location appears to be the latest closure. The “north end” Fort Gratiot commercial landscape is constantly changing, and the Golden Corral looks to have gone the way of Old Country Buffet, as a memory for those who love an all-you-can-eat dining experience. Golden Corral locations nationwide have occasionally closed, remodeled, and reopened. It remains to be seen what the status of this location will be. If you just can’t live without the all-you-can-eat experience at Golden Corral, the next closest locations are in Clinton Township and Flint.