DNR Looking for Camp Hosts for State Campgrounds

Even in January, families who camp are looking ahead to summer and thinking about reserving their camping sites in Michigan State Parks. Those site fees can be waived for a special group of campers: Camp Hosts.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which manages the vast campground and park system, is looking for Camp Hosts to help with activities, programming, office work, and light maintenance. Thirty hours of service per week, including weekends and holidays, are required of camp hosts. In exchange, the site fees are waived.

There are also host openings at East Tawas and Presque Isle and Straits State Harbors where boat slip fees are waived for hosts.

According to the DNR, camp host applicants are screened and interviewed by park managers and selected on availability, familiarity of camping and state parks, special skills and knowledge of the area. Individuals and couples may apply. Applications are accepted year-round. Some campgrounds have already hired their hosts, but there are still many vacancies. A link to the page with vacancies and application instructions can be found at:

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79137_79767_79866_96973_96975—,00.html

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

McLaren Keeps Seniors Engaged With Virtual Programs

The Savvy Seniors program is an educational series offered by McLaren Port Huron Hospital for senior citizens and their caregivers. The programs are free to the community, and for now, they are completely virtual.

Programs scheduled for the New Year cover healthy physical activity, navigating the health care system, and coping with grief and loss. Participants can register for as many sessions as they’d like.

Registration is available through Health Access by calling 1-800-228-1484, and a link to the virtual presentations will be emailed a week prior to the sessions.

For more details about individual sessions and topics, visit the events page at WGRT.com.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Nursing Home Residents Reminded Stimulus Payments Belong to Them

As stimulus payments begin arriving in check form, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is reminding residents and operators of nursing homes and other care facilities that checks belong to the person named on them, not the organization who may be providing care for that person.

After the first round of stimulus payments went out, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported fraudulent activity in other states where nursing home residents were reportedly coerced into signing over their checks to the facility caring for them.

Stimulus payments are intended for the individual named on the check, and Nessel is alerting seniors not to sign them over to anyone under any circumstance.

Although there have not been reports of this fraudulent activity in Michigan, anyone with evidence of a facility demanding a senior resident’s stimulus (EIP) payment is encouraged to report it to the Attorney General’s office:

  • Unlicensed care facilities – Financial Crimes Division at 517-335-7560
  • Licensed care facilities – Heath Care Fraud Division at 800-242-2873

 

Michigan and Illinois Working Together to Keep Asian Carp Out of Great Lakes

Michigan and Illinois are working together to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian Carp. The agreement gives Illinois the right to use up to $8 million in funds appropriated in 2018 by the Michigan Legislature. The money will go toward the pre-construction engineering and design phase of the Brandon Road Ecosystem Project.

The Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet is a critical “pinchpoint” for snagging bighead, silver and black carp before they get free reign on the Great Lakes. The advanced technology will include an electric barrier, underwater sound, an air bubble curtain, and a flushing lock in a newly engineered channel to keep the invasive carp away while still allowing commercial barge traffic.

Michigan DNR Director Dan Eichinger said, “Michigan and Illinois agree on the importance of keeping invasive carp out of the Great Lakes, and natural resources staff from both states have been working together to support the Army Corps’ actions to deter and remove invasive carp in the waterway. This agreement is the natural progression of our existing partnership as we take steps toward a more permanent solution to prevent this serious threat to the economy and ecology of the Great Lakes.” 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Crime Victims’ Addresses to Be Kept Confidential

The Michigan Office of the Attorney General has started working to protect survivors of crime by keeping their personal information secure. The action was prompted by the passage of the Address Confidentiality Program Act.

The AG has two years to implement the system once the Legislature appropriates funds. The Office is working with stakeholders within state government to create an online system that keeps personal information secure for crime victims. The new program will issue new ID cards with post office boxes and will be protected from Freedom of Information Act disclosure.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said, “We are in the early planning stages of creating a system that will help protect the personal information of survivors, and I am excited for my department to be a part of this significant development. My office understands the importance of this new law and the critical protections it provides, and we intend to work swiftly so that survivors may gain some peace of mind under this program.”  

Implementation is expected to take a while, according to Nessel’s office.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

COVID-19 Vaccination Accelerates in Blue Water Area

As the state prepares to move to the second phase of vaccinating the public against COVID-19, area health care workers and companies want to share their vaccine experience and plans with the public.

The Blue Water Immunization Partnership is a nonprofit dedicated to providing science-based education about immunizations to the community. The head of the organization, and a local pharmacist, Jim Kaski, received his vaccine last week.

In a press release, Kaski said, “I want our community to know that pharmacists in our community believe this vaccine is safe and it is important to receive if citizens wish to someday soon be able to gather together safely and resume life as we remember it prior to the pandemic.”

Marwood Manor will begin vaccinating its residents and staff today. They are collaborating with Walgreens to administer the shot to almost 200 people.

Brian Oberly, Marwood administrator, said “Having the opportunity to help put an end to this devastating virus is truly a blessing.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand