Local News

United Way of St. Clair County announced their first of four waves of programs to be funded by their 2018 Campaign.  Each of these programs fall into UWSCC’s Teaching Youth Life Skills Impact Area.  At a press conference held at the United Way on Wednesday, Executive Director Doug Dolph stated that a  total of over $81,000 is being released to five organizations for eight programs, to help the community’s youth have a stronger bridge into young adulthood.   Organizations included The Harbor, Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan, SONS, Michigan Crossroads Council-Boy Scouts of America and The ARC of St. Clair County.  According to Lisa Fecteau, Street Outreach Worker at the Harbor, the funds they are receiving will be used for their Street Outreach Program, focusing on at risk youth ages 12 to 21.  According to Doug Dolph, Programs and funding for the three remaining Impact Areas will be announced throughout the summer; one Impact Area per month.

Blue Water Fest 2019 is set for Wed, Jul 17 through Sat, Jul 20.  This highly-anticipated summer festival will kick off on Wednesday with the Rotary Parade at 6:30pm.  The carnival will be located in North McMorran lot and will run from Wednesday July 17 through Saturday July 20.  Thursday will feature Family Night produced by Operation Transformation from 5-9pm just south of the 10th Street bridge.  Fireworks will be taking place Thursday night at dusk and will be launched from Desmond Landing.  Friday will continue with Boat Night, a fun-filled carnival, live music, and other activities.  The silent disco will be back both Thursday and Friday.  According to Wing Thiele, a volunteer for the Blue Water Fest,  the festival will again include the sailboats lined up in advance of the 2019 Bell’s Beer Bayview Mackinac Race kick-off on Saturday, July 20.   There will be live music Thursday and Friday night, starting at 7:30 p.m.   Thiele says they are looking for local vendors which include food and product vendors.  She says the vendor price is very affordable.  If you are interested you can contact her at IndependentFloor.com or call her at her work number 810-986-4196 or www.bluewaterfest.com

Ande and Michael McCarthy will speak about the two weeks they volunteered in El Paso, Texas during the migrant crisis, in March and April 2019. They volunteered at a religious hospitality center for refugees who have been pouring over the border from Central America by the thousands every day.  They will speak at 6 p.m., Sunday, May 5 at Holy Trinity Parish Center, 2568 Henry St., Port Huron, Township. The parish center is a single-story school building, not the church. This is a free event which is open to the public. No reservations are necessary. Light refreshments will be served.  Mike McCarthy, a retired physician’s assistant, is the leader of Blue Water Pax Christi, the local unit of an international peace organization.  He was a candidate for U.S. Congress in the 10^th District in 2018. Ande McCarthy is a registered nurse who is with Visiting Nurse Association of Port Huron.  She led a Port Huron campaign to discourage gun ownership in 2017-18. Both have volunteered their time serving the medical needs of impoverished residents of Mexico and Cuba in recent years.

Sen. Dan Lauwers on Tuesday supported legislation to give more flexibility to many schools that were forced to cancel several school days this winter due to unusually harsh weather.  “It was important that we passed this bill this week so we could notify school districts and they could plan their calendars accordingly,” said Lauwers, R-Brockway Township. “It was past time to stop discussing the issue and act.”  Lauwers said that House Bill 4206 is a one-time forgiveness solution that only applies to the current 2018-19 school year due to the especially extreme weather Michigan faced this winter.  Senate Democrats voted in favor of the bill, but they did not support giving it immediate effect, which means the plan will not be in place for this school year. “It is a shame that this bill will not be able to help with school scheduling,” Lauwers said. “As a result of Democrats withholding immediate effect, schools will not be able to adjust the school calendar and parents remain uncertain as to when their kids will end their school year.”  Michigan requires schools to provide a minimum of 180 days and 1,098 hours of instruction per year. Schools are currently forgiven up to six “snow days” when school is canceled due to dangerous weather, and schools can get a waiver from the state superintendent for three additional forgiven snow days.  If HB 4026 had been given immediate effect, it would have effectively forgiven schools up to four additional snow days this year for any days schools canceled during the governor’s declared state of emergency (Jan. 29 through Feb. 1).

Buying a mattress just got easier at Kimball Appliance with the launch of the company’s all-new Sleep Studio.  According to Nick Bondarek of Kimball’s, shoppers will have a chance to experience top brands like Tempur-Pedic and Sealy in a comfortable, no-pressure environment. He says Kimball’s is the first store in Michigan to launch under this program.  “For over 90 years, Kimball’s has offered our customers the best in sales and service. We’re so excited to continue with this tradition by offering Tempur-Pedic and Sealy mattresses through a
new and innovative shopping experience,” said Nick Bondarek, of Kimball Appliance. “I want to
personally invite anyone in the area who needs a better night’s sleep to come in today.”
Kimball Appliance’s Sleep Studio offers shoppers an opportunity to identify and try mattresses
that fit their individual sleep preferences and budget. The Sleep Studio allows shoppers to try a
variety of mattresses in a semi-private space and provides a more relaxing, personal in-store
experience.  Kimball Appliance is a family-owned store offering appliances, electronics, furniture, and mattresses. It was founded in 1927 and is located at a 945 Lapeer Avenue in Port Huron. Store hours are Monday – Thursday from 9a-5:30p, Friday from 9a – 7p, Saturday from 9a-5p, and is closed Sunday. For more information, call 810-984-1575 or email
kimballsbrandsource@comcast.net