Local News

According to Marysville Mayor Dan Damman, Jean Cramer has submitted a letter officially withdrawing from the running for Marysville City Council. The resignation comes after widespread controversy over her remarks at a candidate forum Thursday, August 22. At the forum, meant for residents to get to know candidates running for three open city council seats and one mayoral seat, the moderator posed the question, “if you look at the population growth in the Great Lakes Region, in terms of migration, 1.5 million people were foreign-born and 1.5 million were natural-born which indicates there is a high level of folks moving to the region, but they’re not moving here (Marysville), so as a philosophical question, should Marysville be more aggressive about making that happen?” Cramer answered, “my suggestion, recommendation: keep Marysville a white community as much as possible…in other words…no foreign-born citizens.” Cramer’s comments received national and international attention. Marysville City Manager Randy Fernandez said Cramer’s name will still appear on the November 5 ballot because the resignation was submitted after April 26. In her letter, Mrs. Cramer offered no reason for the resignation.

In light of the situation, Mayor Damman says this an opportunity to move forward in a positive way to encourage more diversity in the community. Along with Kevin Watkins, President of the NAACP Port Huron Branch, the two are working with other community partners to develop a county-wide initiative for diversity.

America and Me is an essay contest that is now in its 51st year in the state of Michigan.  The contest asks several thousand eighth-graders from hundreds of Michigan schools to write about their Michigan heroes, especially those who make a difference in their lives.  The contest runs from September 3rd to November 15th, and the topic is “My Personal Michigan Hero”. There will be sign-up kits sent to schools throughout Michigan. The contest is open any eighth-grade student in Michigan enrolled in public or private school. Each school will have a first-place winner who will be entered into the statewide competition. From the statewide group, the top ten will be chosen, and each will receive a $1000 cash award, $1000 for their school, and $500 for their school if the school is sponsored by a Farm Bureau Insurance agent. As sponsor of the contest, Farm Bureau Insurance has earned 11 national awards from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. A special day will be planned to celebrate the top ten winners in May 2020.

The City of Port Huron has been having their board meetings broadcast live on Comcast for a number of years.  However, the technology used to deliver those meetings to the public has changed in recent years. City Manager James Freed said, “Beginning with the next Council meeting they will be live streaming the Council meetings on Youtube.”  He also added that the meetings can be shared on any social media platform. Freed said this new streaming option will be in addition to the Comcast broadcast, and the cameras have been upgraded to HD.  The previous cameras the city was using were from the 1990s. To get an idea of the difference in quality, citizens can log on to Youtube and search for Port Huron City Council meetings. Freed said residents can view the difference between videos from a week ago and the new HD test video.  He went on to say that Port Huron is one of only a handful of communities in the state of Michigan to use this technology for council meetings, and the city does this as an effort to stay transparent and make the meetings more accessible to more citizens.

Interlake Steamship Company has contracted with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding to construct the first U.S. flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier in more than 35 years.  Last week, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and The Interlake Steamship Company hosted a ceremonial “first-cut-of-steel” event. The new River-class self-unloading bulk carrier will be 639 feet long and 78 feet wide. She will have the capacity to carry 28,000 tons. The ship will transport raw materials to support manufacturing throughout the Great Lakes region. Interlake President Mark W. Barker said The Interlake Steamship Company is proud to build locally, supporting surrounding communities and states.  He said it’s a legacy that they began more than 100 years ago. He went on to say, “Living and working in the Great Lakes region and promoting growth and the positive economic impact of Great Lakes shipping is integral to the mission and vision of Interlake Steamship Company as a leader in the industry.”

A couple of months ago, the Michigan Crossroads Council of the Boy Scouts of America decided to sell or lease for gravel the 270 acre Silver Trails Scout Reservation west of Jeddo.  The buyer or lessee is expected to mine the entire camp for gravel. For 50 years, the Silver Trails camp was owned by the former Blue Water Council of the Boy Scouts and served St. Clair and Sanilac counties.  That council was dissolved in 2012 and consolidated within the Michigan Crossroads Council. The new council made the decision to sell or lease the property, and some are questioning that decision. Friends of Silver Trails has started a survey on their Facebook page which seeks public opinion regarding the camp and what should happen to it.  The group states that 45 active scouts and scouters responded to the Friends of Silver Trails survey so far. The group believes the Michigan Crossroads Council has not delivered what was promised. 

On August 24, 79 A.D. after centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands.  Both cities were buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and were never rebuilt. At noon on August 24, 79 A.D., this pleasure and prosperity came to an end when the peak of Mount Vesuvius exploded, propelling a 10-mile mushroom cloud of ash and pumice into the stratosphere. For the next 12 hours, volcanic ash and a hail of pumice stones up to 3 inches in diameter showered Pompeii, forcing the city’s occupants to flee in terror. Some 2,000 people stayed in Pompeii, holed up in cellars or stone structures, hoping to wait out the eruption Pompeii and Herculaneum were later rediscovered and excavated, providing an unprecedented archaeological record of the everyday life of an ancient civilization, startlingly preserved in sudden death.