St. Clair County Qualifies for Extra Help to Combat Hunger and Homelessness 

The United Way of St. Clair County has announced the receipt of a grant to assist agencies in St. Clair County to assist with hunger and homelessness. 

The $9,925 grant is from the Federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which was started by Congress in 1983. The United Way is one of six charities on the National Board for the program, which also has representation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

United Way of St. Clair County was chosen for the grant based on data gathered state-wide to determine local needs and make responsible funding allocations. The deciding factors in the region include state counts of homeless populations, welfare caseloads, cost of living index, plant closings, and food stamp application levels. 

The funds are to be used to provide aid to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food pantries, and organizations who provide emergency utility and mortgage help. Qualified agencies may apply for funding at uwstclair.org by September 28. 

Reporting for WGRT- Jennie McClelland

DTF Arrests Man Wanted in TX for Sexual Assault

Port Huron, MI —  Members of the St. Clair County Drug Task Force arrested a man yesterday afternoon, who was wanted out of Texas for multiple crimes.

According to Sheriff Tim Donnellon, the DTF was alerted by the Lubbock, Texas Police Department concerning a man wanted for sexual assault with a child and parole violation.  He is also a suspect in a car-motorcycle crash in Lubbock that killed two people.  Lubbock Police had received information that the suspect, a 29 year old man from Shallow Water, Texas was believed to be in the Port Huron area.

Shortly before 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, members of the Drug Task Force located the vehicle the suspect had driven up from Texas.  The car was located in the 2900 block of 22nd Street in Port Huron.  Several members of the DTF conducted surveillance on the vehicle for a short period of time.  The suspect came out to the car and was arrested without incident.

A search of the suspect found that he was carrying crystal methamphetamine.  He faces arraignment today in 72nd District Court in Port Huron on charges of possession with intent to deliver crystal methamphetamine, bringing contraband into a jail, maintaining a drug house, driving with no license and being a habitual 3rd offender.  He is also expected to face extradition to Texas on the other charges.

The Port Huron Police K-9 Unit and Homeland Security Investigations Division also assisted in the arrest.

Submitted by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office

Sarnia Reduces Number of People Allowed at Social Gatherings

The Ontario Government reduced the number of people allowed to attend private social gatherings around the Province on Tuesday. Previously, indoor gatherings could consist of 50 people, and outdoor gatherings were limited to 100. The new limits are 10 people at an indoor gathering and 25 people at an outdoor event or gathering.

As of this morning at 9 AM, there was 1 active case of COVID-19 in Lambton County, 0 active outbreaks, and there hasn’t been a hospitalization for COVID-19 since May.

The Province of Ontario recently started a new website with data on COVID-19 cases in publicly-funded Ontario schools. The most recent report shows 116 schools in Ontario with reported cases of the virus, but there are no cases of COVID-19 in publicly funded schools or licensed childcare settings in Lambton County.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

EEE Cases Mounting; More Aerial Mosquito Spraying Underway

The battle against Eastern Equine Encephalitis, or “triple E”, rages on with a hard freeze being the only sure way to kill off the mosquitoes that carry the virus. Aerial insecticide treatments of 226,000 acres began last week, with more treatments scheduled for this week. Infection with EEE has serious neurological symptoms for both humans and animals.

Temperature plays a crucial factor in the treatment plan as the mosquitos don’t fly when it is below 50 degrees, but they don’t die until there is consistent nighttime temperatures below 28 degrees, according to a press release from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The urgency of the mosquito control has been ratcheted up with the first case of human infection of EEE being identified in Barry County. The infections in horses have increased to thirty, and the number of affected counties has increased. An infected deer was found in Allegan County.

Oakland and Genesee Counties are the regions closest to the Blue Water Area that are getting treated. No cases have been reported in St. Clair County. At least one case has been reported in Ontario, but not near the Michigan border.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

A Beautiful Me Receives Recognition from GreatNonprofits

A Beautiful Me received recognition as a Top-Rated Nonprofit for 2020 by GreatNonprofits, a website where people share stories about their personal experiences on more than 1.6 million charities and nonprofits.

“A Beautiful Me is a great example of a nonprofit making a real difference in their community,” said Perla Ni, CEO of GreatNonprofits, “Their award is well-deserved recognition not only of their work, but the tremendous support they receive, as shown by the many outstanding reviews they have received from people who have direct experience working with A Beautiful Me.”

A Beautiful Me also achieved Platinum level with GuideStar, an online research and verification service for nonprofits, and earned their 2020 Seal of Transparency. To reach the Platinum level, they added extensive information to their public Nonprofit Profile including in-depth financial information, and quantitative information about goals, strategies, and progress toward their mission.

A Beautiful Me provides workshops, programs, and events throughout St. Clair, Macomb, Wayne, Oakland, Lapeer & Genesee counties that empower girls of all ages with life-giving messages about their self worth and tools to build their confidence.

“We are honored to be named a 2020 Top-Rated Nonprofit,” states Karen Palka, Founder & Executive Director, A Beautiful Me, Inc. “We are proud that our volunteers, board of directors, and community members value our work and gave us many 5-star ratings. The support is encouraging as we innovate new ways to reach girls during COVID-19 such as our Pen Pal Program and emerge360.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Free Drive-Thru Flu Clinics Coming Up

St. Clair County, MI — The St. Clair County Health Department (SCCHD) in partnership with Lake Huron Medical Center (LHMC) will be offering drive-thru flu clinics on September 25th  & 29th  from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and October 6th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

All ages are welcome, and flu vaccines will be administered by St. Clair County Health Department public health nurses. The vaccine is available for ages 6 months and up. The flu mist (no needle) and the standard flu vaccine will be available.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged! Make an appointment online at www.scchealth.co and click “Make an Appointment”. Pre-registration can also be done over the phone by calling (810) 987-5300.

There are no out of pocket expenses for participants, and insurances will be billed. Please wear a short sleeve shirt and take a photo ID and a copy of your insurance card.

 

Friday, September 25th and

Tuesday, September 29th

Lake Huron Medical Center

Main Campus

2601 Electric Avenue

(Enter off of Electric and 11th)

 

Tuesday, October 6th:

Lake Huron Medical Center

North Campus

4190 24th Avenue, Fort Gratiot

In addition, for the safety of staff and visitors, we kindly ask that participants do not bring any pets.

For more information about health department services visit www.scchealth.co or follow us on social media @scchdmi.