education

PHASD Participating In National Reading Month Activities

The month of March is known for being the month we observe St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s also National Women’s History Month, and Irish American Heritage Month. If you didn’t know, March is also designated as National Reading Month.

To celebrate reading, the Port Huron Area School District (PHASD) will have teachers and members from the local community attending the elementary schools to read aloud to the children, as well as having fun activities to keep them engaged and involved. This activity is used to encourage young students to read more often, as well as learning the value and importance of reading.

The Steam Academy at Woodrow Wilson recently had two guest readers last week. Kevin Totty from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, and Port Huron Mayor, Pauline Repp took time out of their busy schedules to read to the students and encourage them to keep up the good work. 

If you’d like to know how to become a part of the reading activities or would like more information, contact your local elementary school or visit: phasd.us. 

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

How To Properly Retrieve A Towed Vehicle And Report Unlawful Fees

The week of March 6 – 11, is National Consumer Protection Week, and Michigan Attorney General, Dana Nessel shares how to deal with unlawful towing fees and how to legally retrieve your vehicle. 

Under Michigan law, after towing is completed, the vehicle will be labeled as an “abandoned vehicle” unless the owner retrieves it legally or contests the towing in court. If the vehicle is involved in an accident and isn’t retrieved in 20 days it is also labeled abandoned. 

Owners are allowed to inspect and reclaim personal property for free on the first visit, but can be charged up to, and no more than $25 to do so for each additional visit.

“When an individual has their vehicle towed, the last thing they need is to be misled about how to retrieve it. The Department of Attorney General has the answers that can get them back in their vehicle and out on the road,” says Nessel.

For more information, visit: michigan.gov.

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Woman’s Life, Helping Women Build Strong Financial Futures

Our friends at Woman’s Life Insurance Society are concerned with helping women improve their lives and making a positive difference in their communities. 

Woman’s Life Insurance Society offers annuity products to help you plan for a secure financial future for you and your family. They have chapters across the U.S. and are big on helping the communities in which they are located. 

In 2022 they helped numerous individuals by contributing over $530,000 and by volunteering more than 41,000 hours of service towards charitable causes and organizations. 

Woman’s Life in Port Huron is a proud sponsor of many of your favorite media broadcasting stations such as WGRT, as well as local nonprofits. If you’ve been to any events they are a part of, then you know they are all about having a good time while making a difference in the community. 

For more information about Woman’s Life Insurance Society, visit: womanslife.org.

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Women In History: Shirley Chisholm, A Catalyst Of Change

There have been numerous women throughout U.S. history who have made an impact and broken down barriers during their lifetime, Shirley Chisholm was one such woman.

Born in 1924, to immigrant parents, Chisolm was raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn College and went on to earn her master’s degree in childhood education at Columbia University.

She later became the second African American in the New York State Legislature. She also became the first African American to be elected to Congress, and also helped form the Black Caucus.

To add to her list of firsts, Chisholm was also the first African American woman to make a bid to run for President of the United States. She earned the nickname “Fighting Shirley” and championed racial and gender equality, fighting for the poor, and ending the Vietnam War. Chisholm passed away in 2005 leaving behind a legacy that many women can look up to.

Source: history.com 

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

St. Clair Tec Students Heading To SkillsUSA State Competition

Students from the St. Clair County TEC program will be heading to the SkillsUSA state competition held in Grand Rapids next month, after a successful showing in the regionals which took place in January and February.

The students are competing in five different programs which include: Automotive Technology, Collision Repair, Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, and Welding Technology. The SkillsUSA state competition will take place April 14 – 16. 

SkillsUSA is a national nonprofit organization serving more than 310,000 high school and college students preparing for careers in trade, technical, and skilled service occupations. 

The competition is an annual event designed to gauge a student’s mastery of various career-oriented skills and showcase the nation’s best career and technical education students.

For more information about the St. Clair TEC program, visit: sctec.org. 

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell

Port Huron Loses Pillar Of The Community, Ila Shoulders At Age 103

The City of Port Huron mourns the loss of one of its most influential and caring members of the community.

Ila Estelle Hazely Shoulders was born January 10, 1920 in the state of Alabama. She moved to Port Huron at the age of six, and had been a huge part of the community ever since.

Shoulders volunteered for many organizations, and received many awards for her service. In 2020 she received the Blue Water Woman Civic Leadership Award. She organized and supervised the first daycare center in St. Clair County for the Economic Opportunity Committee (EOC), as well as helping to establish the People’s Clinic in Port Huron.

Her list of contributions are too numerous to detail, but she was a wonderful woman and will be greatly missed by her family and friends, as well the community she cared so deeply for. Ms. Shoulders passed away Sunday, February 26.

Photo: Patti Samar

Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell