Local News

The U.S. Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 15 billion pieces of mail and 900 million packages, for a total of nearly 16 billion cheerful deliveries this holiday season – the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.  “The Postal Service is ready to deliver for the holiday season. We have increased our operating capacity to include additional transportation and extended our delivery windows,” said Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and CEO. “Our dedicated employees are proud to deliver more packages to homes than any other shipper.”  Once again the Postal Service is expanding its Sunday delivery operations to locations with high package volumes beginning Nov. 25. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities, and anticipates delivering more than 8 million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations.

Suburban Bolt and Supply Company has been awarded a 2018 Top Workplaces honor by The Detroit Free Press. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by research partner Energage, LLC (formerly WorkplaceDynamics), a leading provider of technology-based employee engagement tools. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.  “Top Workplaces is more than just recognition,” said Doug Claffey, CEO of Energage. “Our research shows organizations that earn the award attract better talent, experience lower turnover, and are better equipped to deliver bottom-line results. Their leaders prioritize and carefully craft a healthy workplace culture that supports employee engagement.”  The friendly atmosphere at Suburban Bolt and Supply is one of the reasons it’s a Top Workplace. It’s not just family among leadership – it’s throughout the whole company. Among employees, there are 11 families with two or more members working for Suburban Bolt.  “For a company with only 74 employees, that’s pretty impressive,” said Eric Peterson, President of Suburban Bolt. “Almost 20% of our employees have been with us for more than 20 years, and more than half have been with us for at least five years. We take a lot of pride in that.”

About Suburban Bolt and Supply
Suburban Bolt and Supply is a family-owned, Veteran-owned and operated small business, founded in 1971. We are a Metro Detroit institution, providing over 47 years of unparalleled customer service in distribution and sales of industrial supplies. We are a premier supplier of high quality fasteners, cutting tools, abrasives, PVF, shop supplies, safety products, and so much more. We have three locations in Michigan that are open six days a week to provide the best customer service experience possible. Our main location is in Roseville, while our other two branches are in Port Huron and Grayling.

To learn more about Suburban Bolt and Supply, its accomplishments and capabilities visit http://www.SuburbanBolt.com

With the number of trades, buying and selling on Craigslist or other Facebook pages, many communities have begun to offer “safe deal zones”, where buyers and sellers can meet to exchange goods and money.  Port Huron City Manager James Freed, recently posted that the city of Port Huron has those folks covered in their new Safe Exchange location in the south side parking lot of City Hall.  The city council approved the purchase of the approximately $6,375, tower in September. The tower is a nine-foot steel post with a blue light on top. The tower will video tape exchanges and provide direct access to central dispatch and the Port Huron Police Department, much like similar posts in the St. Clair County Community College parking lots and the St. Clair County County Sheriff Department parking lot.   So if you have a Craigslist or Facebook deal, or maybe even a child custody drop off, that parking lot offers video surveillance, it is well lighted and there is an emergency notification button available as well.  The area is free and available for use by everyone

It’s been more than two years since public health officials began battling a hepatitis A outbreak in Michigan, and as of Nov. 7 the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is reporting 905 cases. In comparison, the state recorded 327 cases 2011-2015.  Although weekly counts have slowed from 15-20 cases per week to about three cases a week, numbers are still above average and public health officials continue to urge vaccination. This outbreak continues to have a high hospitalization rate, with 726 people hospitalized (80.2 percent) and 28 deaths.  “Our local health department partners have been instrumental in slowing this epidemic through outreach efforts and vaccination clinics targeted towards high risk individuals,” said Dr. Eden Wells, MDHHS chief medical executive. “With vaccine available, all residents are encouraged to discuss their risk factors with their doctor or local health department.”  Those with a history of injection and non-injection drug use, homelessness or transient housing, incarceration and men who have sex with men (MSM) are thought to be at greater risk of contracting the disease “This has been the largest person-to-person hepatitis A outbreak in Michigan’s history,” Wells said. “It’s imperative that Michigan residents get vaccinated to protect themselves and prevent the further spread of this outbreak in Michigan communities. Talk to your health care provider to see if you are at risk of getting hepatitis A.”  Getting vaccinated, practicing good hand washing and avoiding sex with infected partners are ways to prevent getting infected. The hepatitis A vaccine is available at local pharmacies, through healthcare providers and at local health departments.  Vaccination clinics have been held at local health departments, homeless shelters and venues popular with the MSM population in an effort to go where these populations are likely to be present.More than 268,000 doses of vaccine have been administered in outbreak jurisdictions. In addition,emergency departments have been screening for hepatitis A and offering vaccination. Hepatitis A is a serious, highly contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). HAV is found in the feces (poop) of people with hepatitis A and spread by eating contaminated food or water, during sex or by living with an infected person.

Hepatitis A symptoms can include:

For more information about hepatitis A, including a calendar of vaccination clinics, visitMichigan.gov/hepatitisAoutbreak.

Hunting is a valued way of life in Michigan. Hunters play an important role in wildlife conservation and management while contributing more than $2 billion to the state economy and supporting 25,500 direct jobs.  According to State Senator Phil Pavlov, more than 90 percent of hunters purchase a deer license. Last year, nearly 575,000 deer hunters harvested about 376,000 deer.   The Michigan departments of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Natural Resources (DNR) are reminding hunters of the ‘Do Not Eat’ advisory for deer taken within approximately five miles of Clark’s Marsh in Oscoda Township. The advisory is due to high levels of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) found in a single deer taken about two miles from Clark’s Marsh, which borders the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (WAFB). PFOS is one type of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemical.  The State of Michigan took samples from 128 deer across Michigan to test for PFAS. One of those deer, taken near Clark’s Marsh, came back with elevated levels of PFOS which resulted in the ‘Do Not Eat’ deer advisory. The advisory encircles the five-mile radius around the Wurtsmith base property and covers what the DNR has estimated to be the expected travel range of deer living in or near the Marsh. The area covered by the deer consumption advisory issued can be described as:  From Lake Huron west along Aster Street, west on Davison Road, north on Brooks Road, east on Esmond Road, north on Old US 23, north on Wells Road, west on River Road, north on Federal Forest Road 2240, north on Lenard Road, north on Indian Road, and East on E. Kings Corner Road (along the county line) toward Lake to Lake Road, to Lake Huron (map attached). Michigan residents should not eat any deer that came from within five miles of Clark’s Marsh. In addition to the Clark’s Marsh deer advisory, MDHHS continues to recommend not eating kidneys or liver from any deer because many chemicals including PFAS can accumulate in their organs.The advisory does not apply to cattle, chickens, or other livestock raised in the area. It is not expected livestock are drinking water from Clark’s Marsh.  While PFAS testing is not possible locally, the State of Michigan did confirm three labs that will analyze PFAS samples from deer tissue at the individual’s expense. The State does not endorse or recommend any lab. Contact the following labs for information on the cost and how to send deer tissue:

• Vista Analytical Laboratory, 916-673-1520, vista-analytical.com
• Battelle, 781-681-5565, battelle.org
• GEL Laboratories, LLC, 843-556-8171, gel.com

On Oct. 19, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued the U.S. Air Force with a violation notice for PFAS contamination in the waters of Clark’s Marsh near Oscoda, the second violation notice issued to the U.S. Air Force this year for this site.  The DEQ has found the Air Force to be in violation of Part 31 under the water resources protection section of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. Under the violation notice, the DEQ is requiring the Air Force to increase pumping and treatment of contaminated groundwater at the base and to increase the size of the capture zone of the PFAS plume coming from from the WAFB. In January, the DEQ issued the Air Force with a violation notice for failing to meet a 2017 deadline to start-up a second granular activated carbon filtration system at the WAFB to address discharges of PFAS-containing groundwater to the Au Sable River and Van Etten Creek.  PFAS are chemicals that are in Class B fire-fighting foam that was used at the Air Force base near Wurtsmith and other sites in Michigan. These chemicals are also found in stain and water repellants, personal care products, and many other consumer goods. Some health studies have linked PFAS to health issues such as thyroid disease, increased cholesterol levels, impaired immune system function, reproductive issues, high blood pressure in pregnant women, and increased chance of kidney and testicular cancers.  A deer that has been exposed to PFAS may not show any signs or symptoms of being sick.  If you see a deer that appears to be sick, contact the DNR hotline at 800-292-7800. If you have health related questions contact MDHHS at 1-800-648-6942.  In Michigan, to date, only fish and deer have been sampled for PFAS. The State of Michigan is creating a plan to sample more deer for PFAS, as well as further exploring contamination in other wildlife such as turkey and waterfowl.  For more information about PFAS in wild game and fish, visit Michigan.gov/pfasresponse and go to the Fish and Wildlife button. For more information about wild game consumption, visitMichigan.gov/eatsafegame and go to the Eat Safe Wild Game button.