Local News

Friends of the St. Clair River & Blue Water Audubon Society are hosting the 5^th annual Winter Bird Blast on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the St. Clair County Administration Building Auditorium from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. & Studio 1219 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Winter Bird Blast is a day-long birding extravaganza for beginner through advanced-level birders to explore the abundance of winter waterfowl along the St. Clair River. All proceeds benefit Friends of the St. Clair River and Blue Water Audubon Society.  The morning session is from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the SCC Administration Building Auditorium, 200 Grand River Avenue, Port Huron. It begins with an “Intro to Winter Birding” presentation by Tom Dennis, local naturalist and Times Herald Columnist, then moves outdoors to several birding hotspots along the St. Clair River. Optional items to bring include a field guide, binoculars, camera and warm clothing. Registration is not required for this family-friendly event. A $5 donation is suggested.  The afternoon session is from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Studio 1219, 1219 Military Street, Port Huron. Participants follow step-by-step instruction to paint a Common Goldeneye duck scene. Tickets are $45. All ages welcome. Pre-registration is required through Studio 1219 atwww.studio1219.com or 810-984-2787.   Friends of the St. Clair River is the Blue Water Area’s largest environmental non-profit organization that inspires citizen action through stewardship, monitoring and education to restore, protect and enhance the St. Clair River and its watersheds. For more information contact Sheri Faust at info@scriver.org, (810) 730-5998, or visit www.scriver.org and “Friends of the St. Clair River” on Facebook.

Climate change, or global warming, is a hot topic. We are all aware there are certain things we could be doing to help alleviate the issue, but how much would we actually be prepared to do?  Solar installation company, Sandbar Solar, polled 3,500 Americans to gauge if they would be prepared to make significant lifestyle changes, such as eating less meat or driving their cars less, if it helped to stop, slow or reverse global climate change.  Overall, just over half – 52% – of people said they would make significant lifestyle changes, though when broken down by gender, only 44% of men would be prepared to, compared to 59% of women. And when the results were broken down by state, it was revealed that the good people from the Great Lakes State are among those most willing in the country to make big lifestyle changes (55%), compared to Kansans who are the least prepared to do so, where only 28% of people said they would change their habits.    To see how each state compares, check out Sandbar Solar’s interactive map: https://www.sandbarsolar.com/news/fighting-climate-change/  When asked specifically about what lifestyle changes they would make, a significant 43% of respondents say they would consider cutting down on meat (perhaps surprising for a country which lays claim to inventing the hamburger), and 71% would consider driving their cars less.  Encouragingly, two thirds (66%) of respondents said they try to cut down on their energy use, such as turning off lights when not being used and powering down their computers after work etc. And 65% of Americans say they take measures to lower water usage (such as turning off the tap when brushing teeth). 84% also say they try to reduce their use of plastic in every day life.  However, there seems to be a fair deal of misunderstanding around the topic, too: 58% of people did not correctly identify the scientific community’s widely-assumed causes of global warming (farming, burning fossil fuels and deforestation). Instead, 44% think it is due to cyclical weather patterns, 7% think the sun is getting hotter and 7% think the earth is moving closer to the sun.  Lastly, 66% of people have never researched how they could save on bills by using alternative sources of energy.

“Solar energy reduces global demand for fossil fuels and makes it easier for people to shrink their carbon footprints. There are many incentives and financing options available for homeowners to help them make the switch to solar”, says Scott Laskey, President, Sandbar Solar.

This article was submitted by Sandbar Solar

The Blue Water Area Humane Society will hold its 17^th Annual Charity Auction at 4100 Griswold Road in Port Huron Township between Range Road and Michigan Avenue on Saturday, March 9 – doors open at 9 a.m. – Auction begins at 10.  You can preview Friday, March 8 from 4 p.m. til 7 p.m.  See the Facebook Page, Bluewaterareahs. For pictures and videos of items to be auctioned.  There is a large array of collectible, antique, new, old and interesting items.  There will be food available for sale.  They are accepting donations of items – which is tax deductible  For more information call 810-984-2840  The Blue Water Area Humane Society is located at 6266 Lapeer Road in Clyde.

Mid City Nutrition will be hosting additional mobile food trucks in February and March.  Due to the recent government shutdown and the release of federal food program funds, Mid City and its partners have organized three additional mobile food pantries for the community.  According to Director of Mid City Susan Bennett,  the trucks will deliver fresh produce, pantry staples and protein at Mid City – St. Martin Lutheran Church at 805 Chestnut at 8^th Street from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, February 21, Thursday March 7 and Tuesday March 26.  Attendees are asked to bring ID, carry bags or boxes, and to dress appropriately for the weather.  The events will be held outside.  All are welcome and no one will be turned away.  The food pantries are made possible due to the support of the Stebbins Family Fund, the St. Clair County AFL CIO and Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.  Volunteers are needed for these events.  If you are available to help, please call 810-982-9261 or email midcitynutrition@gmail.com

In a talk last week with St. Clair County Administrator Controller Karry Hepting, WGRT’s Cathie Martin and Hepting talked about a phone scam involving jury duty going on within the county.  Hepting stated, an individual is calling people and telling them they have missed their jury duty appointment and there is a warrant out for their arrest.   They say that if the victim would purchase a prepaid credit card to pay a fine, which they can purchase and pay for over the phone immediately, the warrant will be removed.  Hepting says, the courts never establish contact with a juror over the phone and a legitimate agency would ever require a prepaid credit card for payment.  She says if you receive a call, be sure to tell the person that you wish to have the claims mailed to you so that you can view it in person.  If you have any questions, you can always call the St. Clair County Clerk’s office at 810-985-2200