local news

Loves Furniture & Mattresses Hiring for Port Huron Store

Port Huron, MI — Loves Furniture & Mattresses, a new home furnishings retailer, is hiring for several positions at their new location in Port Huron Twp. Loves Furniture is moving into the space previously occupied by Art Van Furniture across from Sam’s Club.

Positions are available in customer pick-up, general labor, and the housekeeping departments, and they are also hiring Home Specialists “to deliver an exceptional customer experience through a relationship and solution based selling process.”

Loves Furniture and Mattresses was founded in 2020, and they describe themselves as a neighborhood furniture store for the modern age. They recently took over most of the Art Van and Levin storefronts in the Midwest, and they are hiring around 1,000 employees to work in their stores in Metro Detroit, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Customers can shop online, by appointment, or as walk-ins to the store.

The Port Huron store is projected to open at the end of August.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Black River Canal Dredging on Friday

Weather permitting, the City of Port Huron will begin dredging sand from the mouth of the Black River Canal on Friday, August 7th , 2020. During dredging, the Black River Canal will be closed to watercraft from the Tainter gate, located east of Gratiot Avenue, to Lake Huron.

Also weather permitting, sand dredged from Black River Canal will be placed in Lake Huron from Holland Beach to the south on Tuesday, August 11 th and Wednesday August 12 th , 2020. Due to the work, Holland Beach will be closed.

The contractor will be utilizing Gratiot to LaSalle, Conger to Holland to haul sand from the mouth of the Black River Canal to Holland Beach. There will be intermittent slowed, and stop and go traffic in these areas. We encourage the public to not park on these streets during this time frame.

If there are any further questions regarding this matter, please contact the Department of Public Works 810 984-9730.

Black Leadership Advisory Council Created & Racism Recognized as Public Health Crisis

On Wednesday, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-163, which creates the Black Leadership Advisory Council. The governor also signed Executive Directive 2020-9, recognizing racism as a public health crisis and taking initial steps to address it within state government.

Under the Executive Directive, the governor asked MDHHS to make health equity a major goal, as well as required implicit bias training for all state employees.

Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II said, “Today, we take the much-needed and long-overdue step of recognizing racism as a public health crisis. It is only after we have fully defined the injustice that we can begin to take steps to replace it with a greater system of justice that enables all Michiganders to pursue their fullest dreams and potential.”

The Black Leadership Advisory Council will be included among a set of diverse ethnic commissions within the state of Michigan. Although African Americans are the largest racial minority in the state, this Council is the first of its kind in Michigan to elevate Black leaders and representatives.

The Council will act in an advisory capacity to the governor and develop, review, and recommend policies and actions designed to eradicate and prevent discrimination and racial inequity in Michigan. To accomplish this goal, the Council is charged with:

  • Identifying state laws, or gaps in state law, that create or perpetuate inequities, with the goal of promoting economic growth and wealth equity for the Black community.
  • Collaborating with the governor’s office and the Black community to promote legislation and regulation that ensures equitable treatment of all Michiganders, and seeks to remedy structural inequities in this state.
  • Serving as a resource for community groups on issues, programs, sources of funding, and compliance requirements within state government in order to benefit and advance the interests of the Black community.
  • Promoting the cultural arts within the Black community through coordinated efforts, advocacy, and collaboration with state government.
  • Providing other information or advice or taking other actions as requested by the governor.

Housed within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, the Black Leadership Advisory Council will consist of 16 voting members representing Black leadership in economics, public policy, health and wellness, technology, the environment, agriculture, arts and culture, and more. It will also product an annual report on its activities.

To apply to the Black Leadership Advisory Council visit Michigan.gov/appointments and click “Black Leaders Advisory Council” from the drop menu of the application. Applications are due by Wednesday, August 19th.

 

August 2020 Primary Election Results

St. Clair County, MI — Local voters came out in record numbers this year, putting the turnout rate at a 37% with 98% of precincts reporting this morning.

Although local State Representative Shane Hernandez dominated the race for the U.S. House’s 10th District in St. Clair County, his opponent, Lisa McClain, took the lead by securing Macomb County.

In a statement from Hernandez this morning, he said, “I want to congratulate Lisa McClain on her hard-fought victory. While I’m obviously disappointed with the election results, I’m encouraged that Republicans across the 10th District turned out in record numbers.”

He went on to say, “Those who know me understand that I’m not going anywhere. I look forward to continuing to represent the 83rd State House District to the best of my ability and will continue to serve in Republican politics and the conservative movement in whatever capacity I can to move our nation, state, and community forward.”

Andrew Beeler won the race for Hernandez’s seat in the Michigan House. He will run against the Democratic candidate Stephanie Armstrong-Helton for the position in November. Beeler said, “I’m extremely humbled by the results of the election and grateful for the support of the voters of the 83rd District. My team and I will continue to work hard towards the general election to ensure the 83rd District has a strong conservative leader in Lansing.”

Complete election results can be found at ElectionReporting.com <HERE>.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

Hunter Hospitality House Reaching Out to Community

Port Huron, MI — Hunter Hospitality House is reaching out to the community for help with their endowment fund. The fund helps keep their houses up and running, which provides free lodging to medical patients and their loved ones. They have houses near both hospitals in Port Huron.

After being closed for several weeks due to the pandemic, the non-profit was able to open on June 1st and has since served fifteen guests. According to Executive Director Tracy Willard, “Keeping young parents near their hospitalized babies, cancer patients near their treatment centers, surgical patients near the hospital the night before and then their spouses near them while they’re in the hospital, and families near their hospitalized loved ones…it’s nice to be able to help people again! Restricting the homes to one family at a time gives our guests a lot of peace of mind, too, during the pandemic.”

To keep the endowment going, a raffle is being held, with prizes like a $5000 vacation, jewelry, a technology package, a catered dinner, and a weekend getaway. The tickets cost $100 and only 300 will be sold. The winners are to be drawn August 31st.

 Tickets can be purchased at hunterhospitalityhouse.com.

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland

Drive-up COVID Testing & Immunization Clinics at Schools Throughout August

St. Clair County, MI — The St. Clair County Health Department (SCCHD) in partnership with St. Clair County schools will be offering drive-up COVID-19 community testing clinics throughout August. (These clinics will replace the Tuesday COVID-19 drive-thru clinics held at the health department).

All clinics will be held from 3:00 PM  to 7:00 PM, and all ages are welcome. PCR testing for COVID-19 testing will be provided by St. Clair County Health Department public health nurses, and no antibody testing will be offered.

Walk-up immunizations and immunization waivers will also be available for those 18 years of age and under. This will be helpful for students who need to meet back to school requirements or get caught up on their immunizations.

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged for testing and immunization services! Make an appointment online at stclaircounty.org/Offices/health/Covid19.aspx  and click “Make an Appointment at a Community Testing Location”. Pre-registration can also be done over the phone by calling (810) 987-5300.

No out of pocket expenses for participants, and insurances will be billed.

Dates and locations include:

  • Monday, August 10th: Landmark Academy, 4800 Lapeer Road, Kimball
  • Tuesday, August 11th: Marysville High School, 555 E. Huron Blvd, Marysville
  • Wednesday, August 12th: Capac Jr/Sr High School, 541 N Glassford Street, Capac
  • Thursday, August 13th: Yale High School, 247 School Drive, Yale
  • Monday, August 17th: Algonac Jr/Sr High School, 5200 Taft Road, Algonac
  • Tuesday, August 18th: East China School District Administration Office,1585 Meisner Road, East China
  • Thursday, August 20th: Memphis Jr/Sr High School, 34130 Boardman Road, Memphis
  • Tuesday, August 25th: St. Edward on the Lake, 6945 Lakeshore Road, Lakeport

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.