Local News

The American Red Cross has an urgent need for blood and platelet donors to give now to ensure blood is available for medical treatments and emergencies during the holiday season.  Blood and platelet donations often decline during the holidays. Regular donors are busy with holiday activities, and travel and severe winter weather may cause blood drive cancellations. Yet donations remain critical for patients like 4-year-old Wyatt Monacelli who is in the midst of intense chemotherapy treatments for leukemia. He has received a number of transfusions since his diagnosis in June and will likely need more.  “We are fortunate to have had so many donors give the gift of life to our child so far throughout the course of his treatment, and even more so, we are lucky to have had a supply of blood available for him when he needed it,” said Julianna Monacelli, Wyatt’s mother.  Donors are urged to give now to ensure that families like Wyatt’s don’t have to worry about the availability of blood this winter. In thanks for helping meet the urgent need around the holidays, all those who come to donate blood and platelets now through Dec. 19, 2018, will receive a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card via email. (Restrictions apply; see amazon.com/gc-legal. More information and details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Together.)  Make an appointment to donate blood or platelets by downloading the free American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).  Another way to help keep the blood supply strong is to host a Red Cross blood drive this winter. To learn more about hosting a blood drive and to sign up, visit RedCrossBlood.org/HostADrive

Snow where to go this winter—the Port Huron Parks and Recreation released its winter brochure with information on its upcoming programming and events. Registration opens December 3. The department is offering a variety of programs that will delight both children and adults.  Kids can stay active this season with programs such as fencing, karate, and the Play with the Pro’s introduction to hockey program featuring players from the Port Huron Prowlers. Adults can also keep active with yoga classes taught by instructors from Happy Dog Yoga.  The department is offering many ways to get creative once the snow falls. Families can join programs like Kid’s Cook off, Snowflake Fun Holiday Decorations class and even learn how to make your own Bath Bombs and Sugar Scrubs in a special winter apothecary’s class.  Families can enjoy events such as the annual Daddy Daughter Dance or Mother-Daughter Princess Tea. Kids will love Cocoa Snow Days when they have a day off school (PHASD students only) and the new Blizzard Bash where kids get the chance to create their own snow. Also offered this season; community members can learn about their family and history at genealogy seminars presented by the St. Clair County Family History Group.  The department will also be offering a babysitting class, playgroup and the annual Cabin Fever event series.  Registration is available at Palmer Park or at www.porthuronrec.com. Additional information can be found on www.porthuronrec.com or by calling the Recreation Department at 810-984-9760.

Kindergarten through 6th-grade children can join in the fun at the Y during school holiday breaks. A full day of activities includes swimming, crafts, gym time and snacks. The camp is available for, Christmas, Records Day, Mid-Winter Break, Spring Break, Snow Days and other PHASD closings.  You do not need to be a member to enjoy camp.  Parents are asked to send children with a non-refrigerated lunch, and the Y will  provide a healthy morning and  afternoon snack.  They say to make sure to pack a swim suit and towel for swim time.
Holiday Camps – include – Christmas — Records Day — Mid-Winter Break:  Good Friday:   —  Spring Break:  And Snow Camp is offered when school is closed for weather conditions. Child Care is offered from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  when the Port Huron Area School District is closed.

People around the nation will moonlight a second job during the upcoming holiday season. But, a recent Ball State study found that moonlighting may lead to family conflict — possibly due to the number of hours spent outside the home.  Ball State’s Bryan Webster, a management professor, led a multi-university research group to examine the long-held notion that moonlighters are more likely to be tired and devoid of energy. The study, “Is Holding Two Jobs Too Much? An Examination of Dual Job Holders,” was recently published in Springer’s Journal of Business and Psychology.  Webster noted that little research has been done on the issue of job performance by moonlighters despite that some 7.2 million Americans were classified as dual jobholders in 2016 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  A dual jobholder is defined as a person who works for and receives income from two different organizations, or who works for and receives income from one organization and is self-employed in another job.  Researchers found that dual jobholders do not report lower levels of work engagement at the second job compared to the primary job while the difference between primary job work engagement and second job work engagement was not statistically significant.  “In general, it appears that dual jobholders are able to perform as adequately as their single jobholding counterparts,” Webster says. “However, dual jobholders reported higher levels of work-family conflict as compared to single job employees.”  Webster notes that maintaining a work-life balance may be difficult for some people working two jobs, leading to family conflicts.  Dual jobholders work an average of 46.8 hours per week as compared to the average American employee who works 38.6 hours per week. More than 50 percent of men engage in dual jobholding at some point in their lives, and men and women currently participate in dual jobholding at equal rates, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Webster believes the study is one of the first to provide a scientific examination of the popular notion that holding two jobs is detrimental to individuals and organizations and said this research provides evidence organizations may not need to enact policies to prevent individuals from undertaking a second job.  “However, given the negative personal effects of holding two jobs — such as higher work-family conflict — organizations may be inclined to enact policies that help dual jobholders strike a healthy balance between work life and home life,” Webster said. In particular, organizations employing a high rate of dual jobholders may want to develop such policies “and encourage managers to engage in an open dialog regarding the benefits and consequences of holding two jobs.”