The St. Clair County Health Department (SCCHD) will start providing COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 6 months through four years old on Thursday, 6/23/22, by appointment only. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be offered. A parent or guardian must be present for the child to receive the vaccination.

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were authorized and recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week. Parents interested in getting the COVID-19 vaccine for their child are encouraged to talk to their child’s pediatrician for more information and how to obtain it.

To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for all eligible ages, visit the health department’s online scheduler or call (810) 987-5300, option “0”.  In clinical trials, vaccine side effects were mild, similar to those seen in adults and older children, and other non-COVID-19 vaccines that are recommended for children. The most common side effects were fatigue and a sore arm. The FDA report is available here for review.

To learn more about the St. Clair County Health Department, visit the website at www.scchealth.co or follow on social media @scchdmi.

Submitted by the St. Clair County Health Department

Kevin Miller is retiring from his position as Superintendent of St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) in December, and RESA’s board has offered the position to Brenda Tenniswood.

Tenniswood’s contract is expected to be approved at the Board’s July meeting, and she is enthusiastic about taking the new position.

She said, “I am honored and humbled to be selected as the next Superintendent of St. Clair County RESA. I look forward to leading the work of RESA and serving our students, families, staff, and communities of St. Clair County. I’m especially grateful to Kevin for his guidance. RESA is strong today because of his leadership over the past six years.”

St. Clair County RESA provides a multitude of educational services around St. Clair County beyond its most recognized role operating St. Clair Technical Education Center (TEC) and Woodland Developmental Center. RESA is also behind Imagination Library, the program that delivers free books to kids ages 0-5, and the Pine River Nature Center near Goodells County Park. RESA is also charters Blue Water Middle College.

Tenniswood has been part of St. Clair County RESA since 2015 when she transitioned from a leadership role in East China School District to Director of Education Services at RESA.

Michael McCartan, RESA Board of Education President, said, “Brenda is a positive and energetic leader. Her warmth, collaborative style, practical approach to problem-solving, and passion for helping students have earned her the respect of RESA’s staff, board, and the districts they serve.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

The House Oversight Committee today approved a plan state Rep. Andrew Beeler helped introduce to rein in broad emergency authority used by state executive agencies — bolstering accountability to the people’s elected representatives in the Michigan Legislature.

Beeler, R-Port Huron, sponsored House Bill 6207, which is part of a broader plan to strengthen public accountability for powers used by the governor and state agencies to address emergencies — often when the health or safety of residents is at risk. The plan sets a variety of safeguards in place for emergency powers, focusing on transparency, time limits unless lawmakers extend a power, and the elimination of redundant laws and unnecessary powers.

Beeler’s HB 6207 would specifically create transparency and enable legislative oversight of the administration’s authority to order a mine to suspend operations or take other corrective action to protect the public health, safety, welfare, or the environment. The bill would require officials to notify the Legislature within 24 hours of issuing an emergency order.

“Many emergency powers lack real oversight, making the authority wielded by executive agencies a one-way street — the Legislature gave the administration authority without ability to keep an eye on how it is used,” Beeler said. “The safeguards proposed in our bipartisan plan will restore accountability to legislators, where there is a direct line of accountability to the citizens of Michigan.”

Overall, the 31-bill package would increase accountability by:

• Setting reasonable timeframes: Some bills within the package would provide a specific role for elected legislators in the exercise of certain emergency powers, by ending the use of authority after 28 days, requiring the Michigan Legislature to decide whether circumstances warrant an extension of the power in a particular instance. For instance, one bill would set a time limit and allow legislative reauthorization for epidemic orders issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, an authority that was used quite broadly related to COVID-19.
• Ensuring transparency: In order to ensure lawmakers overseeing state departments are aware of the use of emergency authority, Beeler’s HB 6207 and other bills would simply require the executive branch to notify the Legislature in a timely manner — typically 24 hours — after some powers.
• Cleaning up the law: Additional bills in the package would repeal unnecessary or outdated emergency powers, some of which have rarely or never been used. Other statutes to be repealed are redundant, granting power also authorized elsewhere in Michigan law.

The plan largely earned bipartisan support and now proceeds to the entire House of Representatives for consideration.

Submitted by Representative Beeler’s Office