Voters are headed to the polls today to decide on three proposals.  One of the proposals is  a possible constitutional amendment which would establish a commission of citizens with exclusive authority to adopt district boundaries for the Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representatives and U.S. Congress, every ten years.    The commission would be randomly selected by the Secretary of State.  The proposal would prohibit partisan officeholders and candidates, their employees, certain relatives and lobbyists from serving as commissioners.  It would establish new redistricting criteria and would not allow for disproportionate advantage to political parties or candidates.  Polls are open until 8 p.m. this evening.

There are three state proposals St. Clair County residents will be deciding on today’s ballot one of which would allow individuals 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for personal consumption.  The ruling would impose a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residences and require amounts over 2.5 ounces be secured in locked containers.  It would create a state licensing system for marijuana businesses and allow municipalities to ban or restrict them.  It would also permit retail sales of marijuana and edibles subject to a 10% tax, which would be dedicated to implementation costs, clinical trials, schools, roads, and municipalities where marijuana businesses are located.  It would also change several current violations from crimes to civil infractions.  Polls are open until 8 p.m. this evening.

Today voters are heading to the polls to decide on a number of positions.  Locally, in the city of Port Huron three seats for city council need to be filled and the position of Port Huron Mayor is up for grabs.  Four candidates are running to hold the title of Mayor; those include current Mayor Pauline Repp, current city councilman Scott Richard Worden, Garth Gurnsey who has run for Mayor in the past, and newcomer, Tray Smith.    There are three seats available on Port Huron for city council.   Eight candidates are running.  Incumbent Councilwomen Anita Ashford, mayor pro tem, and Teri Lamb, a mid-term appointee, are going up against Lisa Beedon, Jon Hardman, Bob Mosurak, Art Payne, Jeff Pemberton and Marissa Williams. Councilman Rico Ruiz is not seeking re-election.

Last year five families were provided Thanksgiving Dinner by a Facebook Group called “State Of Emergency Port Huron”.  This year, they set a goal to double that number to ten, and have already signed up fourteen families in need.  Edric Eiermann is the administrator of the group and he says they will be collecting donations of food this Friday, November 9th between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the Spirit Shoppe across from Lakeside Beach.  There will be hot chocolate provided for those who drop off food.  Edric says the Facebook page is where you start, by asking to join.  Once you have joined the group, you can nominate someone to receive the meal.  On the Facebook page you will also find the Thanksgiving menu request for food to donate.   If you would like to volunteer to deliver the food the Monday before Thanksgiving, please note that as well.   Eiermann says he came up with the idea of Thanksgiving meals to give to those in our community who might have fallen on hard times.

One of three proposals on today ballot is a proposal to authorize automatic and Election Day voter registration, no-reason absentee voting, and straight ticket voting, and will add current legal requirements for military and overseas voting and post-election audits to the Michigan Constitution.  It would allow a United States citizen who is qualified to vote in Michigan to become automatically registered to vote when applying for, updating or renewing a driver’s license and will allow a resident to obtain an absent voter ballot without providing a reason.  Voters would also be allowed to cast a straight-ticket vote for all candidates of a particular political party when voting in a partisan general election.  Three proposals to vote upon – polls are open until 8 p.m.

Detectives from the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a suspect who has smashed out windows and entered three locations over the past three weeks.   The suspect first broke into New Life Christian Academy, located at 5517 Griswold Road in Kimball Township, during the early morning hours of October 22^nd.  The suspect road up on a four-wheeler, picked up a large rock and threw it through the entry door windows of the school.  He then used the rock to smash the office window and other windows inside the school.  It is unknown if he stole anything while inside.  On October 29^th during the early morning hours, the suspect on the same four-wheeler smashed windows and entered the 5/3 Bank branch, located at the corner of Lapeer Road and Wadhams Road.  Monday morning, the vandal struck again, this time smashing windows at the Kimball Township Offices, located at 2160 Wadhams Road.  Sunday night, deputies attempted to stop the suspect on the four-wheeler.  The suspect was able to elude deputies by travelling through backyards and other grassy areas.  Anyone who is able to identify the suspect in the attached pictures is asked to contact the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at (810) 987-1711.