The St. Clair County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in conjunction with Ascension River District Hospital in East China Township held an Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Exercise at the hospital on December 6th, 2018.  After several weeks of planning, over 50 people participated in the exercises. Assistance was provided from several emergency responder agencies including the St. Clair Fire Department, Marine City Fire Department, St. Clair County Sheriff Department, and Tri-Hospital EMS. The fire departments were able to utilize and train with their new protective gear that was recently purchased specifically for these types of incidents.  Volunteers from the Port Huron Police VIP program and the Kimball Township Fire Department Fire Corp played the role of victims for the exercise. A team of Moulage experts helped to apply realistic makeup to the victims to simulate real injuries which added another level of realism to the event.
The exercise also tasked Ascension with assembling and coordinating staff from all departments within the
hospital, including doctors, nurses, security officers, and emergency management personnel in handling the patient surge into their Emergency Department. The exercise was deemed a success and is part of Ascension River District Hospital’s plan to become a Level IV Trauma Center as designated by the State of Michigan.

WGRT in partnership with Kimball Appliance have joined together to donate a 65 inch flat screen television to “The Closet” in downtown Port Huron.  The television will be used for in-store advertising and for workshops for the young ladies participating in the training program offered at “The Closet”.   According to founder Karen Palka, The Closet is a training, education and enterprise, with the mission of teaching life-long business skills and philanthropy to maximize the success of young women as well as to provide sustainability for local A Beautiful Me programs.  A Beautiful me fosters self-esteem in women of all ages and presents specific programs for young ladies in Macomb and St. Clair Counties.  Pictured are Nick Bondarek of Kimball Appliance, Marty Doorn of WGRT and Karen Palka founder of A Beautiful Me and The Closet.

Along with singing “Auld Lang Syne” at the start of the New Year, making resolutions is a tradition for millions of Americans. While choosing a resolution can be easy, sticking to it can be impossible. A 2014 YMCA survey found that less than a quarter of respondents kept their resolutions. Many (71 percent) tried but stated that they fell short of their goals. Forty percent confessed that they gave up within the first few months, even weeks, of the New Year! This year, the YMCA of the Blue Water Area is encouraging community members to give their New Year’s resolutions a boost by creating smaller, more manageable goals that can lead to a success of a larger one. “’Losing weight’ is too broad,” explains Jenny McElwain, Healthy Living Specialist. “Reframe that big resolution into smaller, more manageable ones. Resolve to incorporate fruits and vegetables into at least two meals a day. If you’re eating out three times a week, make a goal to only eat out two times a week.” The YMCA of the Blue Water Area also explains that reframing your goals in a positive way can help you stick to them. For example, you may want to limit your screen time in 2019, but that can be more manageable if you replace it with something positive like volunteering or setting special time aside for family. “

It was with great hesitation and consideration that Fort Gratiot Township Supervisor Jorja Baldwin stated that the township is seeking nominees for the position of Treasurer.  Due to the death of the elected Treasurer, Judi Reynolds, the Fort Gratiot Board of Trustees has the responsibility to appoint a person to fill the remaining term of office, which ends at 12:00 PM on November 20, 2020.  As required by law, the Board must make an appointment and the appointee must take the Oath of Office on or before January 20, 2019.  Baldwin stated, in respect for the family, the township has held off posting the position, but they now, must follow the legal steps to fill the position. Those interested in being considered for the appointment should submit a cover letter and resume addressed to Robert C. Crawford, Fort Gratiot Township Clerk and submitted at the Fort Gratiot Municipal Center 3720 Keewahdin Road, Fort Gratiot or by email to rcrawford@fortgratiottwp.org by 4:30 PM on Thursday, December 27, 2018. Letters of recommendation and any other documentation may also be submitted with the cover letter and resume. As required by law, any interviews will be conducted during an open meeting of the Board of Trustees.  The Treasurer’s office is responsible for the collection of taxes, utility bills, permit fees, and any other fees or payments owed to the Township, preparation of tax bills, property liens, bankruptcy filings and implementing Board of Review and Tax Tribunal changes. The Treasurer is also responsible for depositing, investing, and transferring funds to cover payments, reconciling and balancing bank statements, distributing the collected funds from tax bills to all individual entities, assisting in generating yearly budgets, twice monthly providing a complete financial report on all Township funds to the Board of Trustees and filing revenue sharing reports and ensuring compliance with all Michigan Department of Treasury laws and policies. The office must be staffed the entire time the municipal office is open, and on the last day to pay taxes without penalty, the Treasurer’s Office is open extended hours. Additionally, the Treasurer is a voting member of the Board of Trustees, which is made up of the Supervisor, Treasurer, Clerk and four Trustees. The Board meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM. The annual salary for 2019 is set at $48,699.00, paid in bi-weekly installments.  The position is considered full time and includes healthcare, life insurance and 401 defined contribution retirement benefits.  A nominee must be a Fort Gratiot Township elector. An elector is defined as someone 18 years of age, who is a U. S. citizen and has lived at least 30 days in the Township. Property ownership is not required.  Candidates with municipal, financial, public or private accounting experience are encouraged to apply.  Log on to the Township’s website for more information on the position.

Many consumers are in a sprint to the finish in terms of getting their holiday gifts and greetings in the mail. This week is expected to be the busiest week of the holiday mailing and shipping season for the Postal Service. The agency expects to process and deliver nearly 3 billion pieces of mail, which includes packages, this week alone. In the two weeks leading up to Christmas, Dec. 10-23, the Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages each week.  Overall, the Postal Service anticipates delivering nearly 15 billion total pieces of mail and more than 900 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day — for a total of nearly 16 billion joyful mail and package deliveries this holiday season.  The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities and, to handle the surge in holiday volume, the agency is expanding its Sunday delivery operations in select high package volume locations. USPS expects to deliver more than 8 million packages each Sunday in December. Mail carriers will also deliver Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day in selectlocations.

The Postal Service recommends using the following mailing and shipping deadlines*:

• Dec. 20    – First-Class Mail (including greeting cards)
• Dec. 20    – First-class Packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
• Dec. 20   –  Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
• Dec. 20    – Priority Mail
• Dec. 20    – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
• Dec. 22    – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail Express
• Dec. 22    – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail Express
• Dec. 22    – Priority Mail Express