local news

Vote for Favorite Turkey on Fort Gratiot Trail

Families can go on a turkey hunt, but all they need is a camera. The turkeys are located along the Fort Gratiot Trail.

The fourteen turkeys are art pieces that have been designed by community members like Independent Floor Covering, classrooms at Keewahdin Elementary, Thomas Edison Elementary, Port Huron Northern High School, and Fort Gratiot Parks Commission, among others.

Fort Gratiot Community Development Director Sharon Wilton said that the idea for the Turkey Trail came from the Parks Commissioners who thought it was important to get residents out on the trails.

Wilton said, “Their goal is to provide recreational activities periodically to encourage residents to be in the outdoors.”

To access the Turkey Trail, the Keewahdin Road entrance across from Fort Gratiot Middle School is the best place to start. Trail users can vote for their favorite turkey by taking a picture and posting it on the Fort Gratiot Charter Township Facebook page.

The Fort Gratiot Trail is a large recreational area that is located off of Keewahdin Road and leads to ponds behind Walmart and Meijer.

The turkeys will be on display until November 30th.

Reporting for WGRT- Jennie McClelland

MedExpress to Transition to WellNow Urgent Care

The MedExpress Urgent Care facility in Port Huron is transitioning to WellNow Urgent Care. MedExpress’s last day in business will be Friday, November 12th.

The new WellNow Urgent Care will open in the same location, according to a letter to patients from Dan Neely, the Vice President of Operations for MedExpress. 

WellNow has locations in Michigan. New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. WellNow offers similar services as MedExpress, including Covid-19 testing, x-rays and diagnostics, and treatment for illnesses and injuries. Like MedExpress, college students and kids can get physicals required for sports, camp, and more.

WellNow also offers a virtual visit option, similar to MedExpress and accepts most health insurance plans.

In the letter to MedExpress patients, Neely said, “We have greatly valued the privilege of providing health care to you and your family. It has truly been an honor to serve patients in the Port Huron community.”

MedExpress has been in business at the Pine Grove Avenue location in Port Huron since 2014. The new WellNow is expected to open on November 16th. 

A WellNow Urgent Care is also planned for Marysville, according to their website.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

SC4 Presents Art Tribute to Professor Korff

A beloved professor at St. Clair County Community College will be remembered with a memorial art exhibition. David Korff’s work will be featured in “Timelines: Progression of a Vision.” The 44 works include watercolors, drawings, and collages.

The community is invited to check out the exhibit and share their thoughts in a journal which will be presented to the family of Professor Korff.

Korff taught at SC4 for thirty years until his 2011 retirement. He also held leadership positions at Lambton College of Sarnia.

Korff was a founding member of the Port Huron Art Initiative and served on the Art Committee for the Community Foundation of St. Clair County. He also served as a board member on the International Symphony and Port Huron Museum.

The art exhibit will be on display in the SC4 Fine Arts Gallery starting November 15th and ending December 17th. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed November 24-26.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Port Huron Housing Expands with Ordinance Change

If you have been looking for rental housing in the Port Huron area, or St. Clair County as a whole, you know that rentals are few and far between. To address this reality, Port Huron City Council adopted an ordinance change.

The change will allow Port Huron Housing to operate both the Public Housing Program and the Housing Choice Voucher, or Section 8, outside the city and county. The program can now expand into Sanilac, Lapeer, and Macomb counties. It is endorsed by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the collaborative model is being promoted statewide.

James Dewey, Executive Director of Port Huron, Marysville, St. Clair, and Algonac Housing Commissions, said, “Currently our Housing Choice Voucher program’s approved jurisdiction through HUD is all of St. Clair County and we would like to expand that to Sanilac, Lapeer and Macomb Counties because our clients are not having much luck finding available apartments within St. Clair County.”

Dewey said that the regional approach will also deconcentrate the use of vouchers within the City of Port Huron. A new low-income housing development is in the works in Fort Gratiot Township. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Sarnia Revises COVID Guidance to Follow County, Province

The Province of Ontario is lifting capacity limits and physical distancing requirements in those places where proof of vaccination is required. Sarnia is following suit with lifting restrictions in the city arenas.

Mask wearing is still mandatory. Proof of vaccination for anyone over the age of 12 is required for all sports and recreational facilities in Lambton County, by November 30th.

The borders are now open for non-essential travel between Canada and the United States, but there are requirements to follow. Non-essential travelers must be vaccinated with few exceptions.

For Canadians heading back into Canada, even after a brief trip, and anyone else crossing the border, a negative coronavirus molecular test, taken within the last 72 hours is required. A rapid test is not acceptable.

Ontario is planning to lift remaining public health and workplace safety measures by March 2022.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/provinces#entering

Reporting for WGRT- Jennie McClelland

Read for Life Needs Tutoring Volunteers

Students have had a rough two years and many young learners are in need of some additional help. The Read for Life program is looking for volunteers to help with their tutoring program at the Literacy Academy at Cleveland Elementary.

The program needs help with tutoring first and second graders on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:15-4:15 in the afternoon.

Organizer Mary Depner said that volunteers “work with students starting with where their reading ability is and try to catch them up to grade level so they become successful in school and will graduate.  We hope they will continue their education or a training program so they will break the cycle of poverty in their lives.”

Depner said there is a big celebration when the student can say, “I can read”. It often makes behavior problems go away and the students then become leaders.

Depner shared that illiteracy is closely tied to future incarceration, juvenile delinquency, and poverty. Read for Life has been reaching out to increase literacy and break the cycle of poverty since 2010.

For more information, please call or text Mary Depner at 810-334-4567 or email marydepner@yahoo.com. 

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland