Local News

A St. Clair County Sheriff’s Deputy has become the first law enforcement officer in St. Clair County to be awarded full accreditation as a traffic accident reconstructionist.  Russ Nowiski, who works in the Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit, recently passed a very intensive test, conducted by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction. Just being able to qualify to take the test requires a stringent background check, which includes a review of past accident reconstruction, licenses, permits and other certifications in crash reconstruction and much more.

According to its website, ACTAR is the only international accrediting body for traffic collision reconstruction. Sheriff Tim Donnellon said his office is “very proud of Russ’s accomplishment. Not only is he the first to attain this certification in St. Clair County, he is one of only 20 ACTAR certified investigators in the entire state of Michigan.” Over the course of his career, Deputy Nowiski has developed an advanced knowledge of the theory of how and why a crash occurred.

There’s a big court case coming up tomorrow at U.S. District Courthouse in Port Huron. A Christian student group will ask a federal court on Wednesday to rule that public universities must treat religious student groups equally with other campus groups. According to Beckett, a non-profit, public-interest legal and educational institute that focuses on protecting the free expression of all faiths, “in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship v. Wayne State University, InterVarsity had its 75-year-old student organization status suddenly revoked by Wayne State University because the Christian student group asks its leaders to embrace its faith. But other student groups—such as political and ideological groups, fraternities and sororities, and even the Quidditch Club—are allowed to select leaders and members based on the groups’ mission or purpose.” The case is set for 2:00 July 10 in Port Huron.

Yesterday there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but many local residents noticed an ongoing haze throughout the day. Well, according to the National Weather Service, that’s unfortunately due to Canadian wildfire smoke covering most of Michigan. Wildfires burning in Alberta, Canada have destroyed more than 700,000 acres of land and forced more than 11,000 people to evacuate. Fortunately, the fires seem to be past the worst and only one, as of yesterday, was listed “out of control.” There are many fires still burning in the area, but they are currently “under control” or “being held.” The fires were at their worst in June. The National Weather Service said the hazy smoke should subside by early Tuesday.

The annual float down in the St. Clair River is something that some residents look forward to every year.  Something that area residents don’t look forward to is garbage left behind by participants and the on-lookers on shore.   The Friends of the St. Clair River is launching a special campaign this year in an attempt to lessen, if not eliminate, the amount of garbage the yearly event leaves behind.  The campaign is, “A Fun River is a Clean River”. The group wants to send a positive message to the thousands to keep it clean while having fun.

On their Facebook page, The Friends of the St. Clair River states, “If you’ve been to Float Down, you know the St. Clair River, its shoreline, and beaches are left in a dismal, litter-filled condition.” The group is looking for a passionate team who wants to help them develop a marketing and outreach campaign and help the day of the event to keep it clean. Float Down is Sunday, August 18 at 1:00 p.m. at Lighthouse Beach in Port Huron.  Those interested in this effort can visit the Friends of the St. Clair River Facebook page.

Nationwide, just 30% of EMTs, 13% of law enforcement, and only 3.5% of fire professionals are women. These statistics are what birthed the idea of Camp Fury, an immersive experience where girls are inspired to change those statistics as they work side-by-side with female mentors and role models who have helped shatter the glass ceiling in those fields.

Last week, the Arizona based program graduated its first Michigan class right here in St. Clair County. Teenage girls ages 14-18 worked alongside men and women of Michigan’s public safety services (including local municipalities like Port Huron and Marysville police and fire). This program was led by Border Patrol (Customs and Border Protection) in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan (GSSEM) to give participants experience in the fields of public safety, including how to operate a firehose, forcible entry, perform CPR, first aid and more. At the end of the week, the new skills were put to the test through a series of simulated scenarios that culminated in graduation. 

 The Blue Water Reading Council is an organization of educators and other community members dedicated to promoting literacy in the area, and, according to St. Clair County RESA, the organization is about to turn over about 2 dozen ‘little red libraries’ to their adoptive homes throughout St. Clair County. Vicki Les, RESA English consultant, said the libraries were built by students in the Construction Trades program at TEC using materials purchased by the council.

The libraries’ new homes include schools, community agencies, and private businesses. The reading council will “seed” each library with books with the idea that anyone can take a book, or add a book, at their convenience. In addition to this project, the Reading Council offers training opportunities to educators, cooperates on literacy issues with other local organizations, and helps provide books and reading materials to local schools and students.