local news

Modified Services for Veterans at St. Clair County VA

The St. Clair County Department of Veterans Affairs (SCCVA) has modified office services due to a surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths county and statewide.  During Gov. Whitmer’s “Three-Week Pause”, SCCVA is prioritizing the health and safety of their staff, veterans, and visitors by temporarily suspending in-person appointments and walk-in services to help slow the spread of the virus in the community.

All appointments will be conducted by phone with one of their Veteran Service Officers.  All other SCCVA services will be by phone at (810) 989-6945 during the following hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am – 4:30pm (Closed for lunch 12 – 1pm).  All other office communication will be by mail: 200 Grand River Avenue, Suite 104, Port Huron, Michigan 48060 or e-mail at sccvet@stclaircounty.org.  They also have for convenience a mail drop box outside the office door.

All SCCVA service updates will be posted on their website www.sccvet.us and on the VA’s www.facebook.com/sccvet page.

Submitted by the SCCVA

Fatal Crash in Kimball Twp. Wednesday

St Clair County Sheriff Deputies investigated a two car crash at the Lapeer and Jarvis Road in Kimball Twp. yesterday. The crash resulted in two fatalities to the occupants of one of the vehicles.

According to St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King, 26 year old Alissa Grasak of Kimball Township was driving a 2008 Pontiac G6 westbound on Lapeer Road near Jarvis Road shortly before noon. 

She was passing a vehicle when she swerved back into her lane to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle. When Grasak swerved, she overcorrected, went onto the north shoulder of the road, lost control, went back into the eastbound lane and was struck by a 2003 GMC Savanna van driven by a 53 year old man from Kimball.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, as was her passenger, 72 year old Ila Grasak, also from Kimball.  The man was transported by Tri-Hospital EMS to McLaren Port Huron Hospital with undetermined injuries.

Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.

Kimball Township Fire and Rescue also assisted at the scene.

Submitted by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office

Salvation Army Seeking Christmas Donations

Port Huron, MI — Red Kettles and bell-ringing are a sign of the holiday season. With less people out and about this year, the Salvation Army is finding other ways to make sure all of the families in need in the area get help. Tags on “Angel Trees” are available for community members to take and to then purchase food and gifts for either individual children or entire families.

Major Susan Dalberg, Corps Officer at the Citadel said, “We already know that the toughest ages to get donations for are 9-12. Those ages represent the largest children groups this year. Lego kits, craft kits, toiletry gift sets, beauty gift sets and gift cards to fast food restaurants, movie theatres and large superstores like Target and Walmart are great gifts for this age group.”

The tags are located at Birchwood Mall near Target. Walmart also has a tree, in addition to an online Angel Tree that can be found at salvationarmyusa.org. Donations of toys can be dropped off at the Salvation Army in Port Huron.

Salvation Army Major Wes Dalberg added, “Every donation helps, from coins in the red kettle to cans of food. Every act of giving is love in action.”

https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/walmart-angel-tree/

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Moe's Corner Deli Nish-wich

Moe’s Corner Deli Celebrates Native American Month

Moe’s Corner Deli is celebrating Native American Month throughout November, and they are also donating a portion of their sales this month to the Blue Water Indigenous Alliance.

Moses Malone, the owner of Moe’s Corner Deli, was grateful to work with the Blue Water Indigenous Alliance to create a new menu item featuring traditional Native American ingredients and flavors.  The “Nish-wich” is a slow-cooked pulled pork sandwich with Muenster cheese, succotash, and frog jam marmalade on Native American fry bread. It comes with a  side of traditional corn soup.

Native American fry bread is a popular treat at festivals and Moses was excited to create a sandwich featuring its unique flavors and texture. The succotash is made from scratch with a traditional Apache recipe, and the frog marmalade is a sweet and spicy mix of fig, raspberries, orange, ginger and jalapeños. Moses recommends a fork for this hearty sandwich.

The corner deli is also featuring stories from its own Native American past in its windows. The display includes photos and stories of several tribes that used to inhabit the Downtown area along the Black River.

“We’re happy to bring awareness to [the Blue Water Indigenous Alliance] and show the culture in their food, ” said Moses. “They are a great organization that has a lot of ties to the history of Downtown Port Huron which is something that Moe’s Corner Deli has always strived to be a part of.”

Moe’s Corner Deli is currently open Monday – Saturday from 10:30 – 4 PM and can accommodate carry-out and curbside orders placed online, by phone, or in the deli.

Learn more at their website <HERE>.

Local Restaurants Move Back to Carry-Out and Need Community Support

Port Huron, MI — Restaurants once again have to innovate to stay in business and serve their customers, in the wake of the “paused” indoor dining for three weeks throughout Michigan.

The responsibility of keeping their staff employed when there are no indoor diners weighs heavily on restaurant owners. For Martina’s Grill in Downtown Port Huron, they are trying to make the best of a major challenge to their business.

Only open since March, Martina’s Grill navigated the pandemic effects by offering outdoor seating, plexiglass dividers, and now, family meals for carry-out, including a full Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings.

Manager Christina Ward said she is attempting to keep everyone working as much as possible. She said that people are already ordering the dinners, with some people ordering dinners to deliver to the friends and family that they can’t visit this year. Ward said, “Everyone is looking at Thanksgiving differently”, and Martina’s is trying to make the best of it.

Adapting to carry-out service is the only way for restaurants to keep their staff employed right now, and it is not easy. Ordering take-out from local restaurants, and maybe considering giving dinners as “gifts” to loved ones is a great step toward keeping our friends and neighbors employed during this “pause” in indoor dining.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Libraries Return to Curbside Only

The St. Clair County Library System will return to curbside service only starting today. All in-person services will be modified to curbside delivery only.

The library system is responding to an increase of COVID-19 cases in St. Clair County and the surrounding areas and hopes to keep its employees and patrons safer by limiting person-to-person contact.

The St. Clair County Library’s website was recently updated and is easy to navigate and visually appealing. Patrons can search for books and media online and access movies, books, and music through the streaming service, Hoopla.

The library’s website contains up to date information about curbside service and what services will be available. Library patrons can also contact their branch directly during normal business hours.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand