St. Clair County

DTF Busts Man With Meth in Port Huron

(Port Huron Township)  A 24 year old Berlin Township man has been arraigned on drug and other charges in St. Clair County District Court.

According to Sheriff Mat King, the St. Clair County Drug Task Force conducted an investigation into the sales of methamphetamine in the Port Huron area.  The investigation culminated on January 7th at approximately 8:00 p.m., when members of the DTF executed a traffic stop in the area of 24th Street and Griswold in Port Huron Township.  They made contact with Dustin Conlee and discovered that he had approximately $1000 worth of crystal methamphetamine in his possession.  Conlee also had an unregistered .38 handgun in his vehicle.

Conlee was arrested without incident and transported to the St. Clair County Intervention and Detention Center.  He was arraigned in 72nd District Court and charged with delivery/manufacture of methamphetamine, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm.  Bond was set at $20,000 cash/surety.  Conlee is scheduled to be back in court on January 19th at 9:00 a.m. for a probable cause hearing before District Judge John Monaghan.  

Conlee also faces a bond violation hearing for violating conditions of bond on an earlier methamphetamine possession case.

Submitted by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office

McLaren Keeps Seniors Engaged With Virtual Programs

The Savvy Seniors program is an educational series offered by McLaren Port Huron Hospital for senior citizens and their caregivers. The programs are free to the community, and for now, they are completely virtual.

Programs scheduled for the New Year cover healthy physical activity, navigating the health care system, and coping with grief and loss. Participants can register for as many sessions as they’d like.

Registration is available through Health Access by calling 1-800-228-1484, and a link to the virtual presentations will be emailed a week prior to the sessions.

For more details about individual sessions and topics, visit the events page at WGRT.com.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

COVID-19 Vaccination Accelerates in Blue Water Area

As the state prepares to move to the second phase of vaccinating the public against COVID-19, area health care workers and companies want to share their vaccine experience and plans with the public.

The Blue Water Immunization Partnership is a nonprofit dedicated to providing science-based education about immunizations to the community. The head of the organization, and a local pharmacist, Jim Kaski, received his vaccine last week.

In a press release, Kaski said, “I want our community to know that pharmacists in our community believe this vaccine is safe and it is important to receive if citizens wish to someday soon be able to gather together safely and resume life as we remember it prior to the pandemic.”

Marwood Manor will begin vaccinating its residents and staff today. They are collaborating with Walgreens to administer the shot to almost 200 people.

Brian Oberly, Marwood administrator, said “Having the opportunity to help put an end to this devastating virus is truly a blessing.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Blue Water Area COVID-19 Update January 7, 2021

As of January 6th, St. Clair County currently had 3,153 active cases of COVID-19 and 20% of hospital beds in the county were being used for COVID-19 patients.

The St. Clair County Health Department is providing information about COVID-19 vaccination on their website which includes answers to frequently asked questions about vaccine safety and the phased rollouts for vaccinating the public. Currently, the health department is actively vaccinating the first group, Phase 1A, persons including health care workers and residents of long term care facilities. As soon as they have completed vaccinating this group, they will roll into vaccinating the next group, Phase 1B, which includes other essential workers and individuals 75 years of age and older.

In the last Facebook Live session provided by the Health Department, Dr. Annette Mercatante, Medical Health Officer, said “How can I say that we know vaccines are safe? Because we have the most robust post-marketing systems in the world that monitor vaccine outcomes and safety.” She also said, “We do have a way of watching real time these vaccines and making sure no surprises hit us.”

Lambton County currently had 289 active cases, and Lambton Public Health was monitoring 15 outbreaks of the virus. The province of Ontario continues to be shutdown until further notice. Details on the shutdown are available at ontario.ca.

Please continue to rely on reputable sources for information on COVID-19:

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Sherman Woods Raises $11,000 in Red Kettle Drive

For many Blue Water area residents, a drive through the Sherman Woods neighborhood in Port Huron is an essential holiday tradition. Viewing the beautifully decorated homes and trees filled with glowing orbs is the perfect accompaniment to the Christmas playlist coming from the car radio.

Five years ago, the Sherman Woods Homeowners Association decided to take their Christmas cheer in a more philanthropic direction and began participating in the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Drive. Neighbors take turns collecting donations on weekend evenings when there is a steady flow of traffic through the neighborhood.

This year’s efforts generated an $11,000 donation to the Port Huron Salvation Army, surpassing last year’s total by nearly $7,000.

Fred Kemp, president of Sherman Woods Home Owner’s Association, said, “The response to the Red Kettle Drive in our neighborhood was nothing short of tremendous.”

He also said, “Visitors to our neighborhood during the campaign were equally generous in the money they donated. The funds helped to provide gifts and food for families in need during the holiday season. That was all the more important in this pandemic year. We want to thank everyone who made this such a huge success and we look forward to doing more in 2021.”

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

 

St. Clair County Library Switches to New and Improved Website

The St. Clair County Library System has a brand-new website and is phasing out the old one. Patrons are asked to make sure to get into the habit of using the updated website, stclaircountylibrary.org.

The new website is the workhorse of the library system, as much business is now done online as in-person services are significantly restricted by COVID-19 precautions. The new site is optimized for mobile devices and has been reorganized to meet the needs of patrons as they navigate the current reality.

Users can directly access the library catalog, the Michigan eLibrary, and other online resources in one spot. The library catalog now includes cover images and format icons to reduce clicks and increase efficiency. The new website also prominently features upcoming events and links to information about each branch.

According to the Library, “Online engagement has never been more important, and the new SCCLS website is just one more way to stay connected.”

A link to the new website:

https://stclaircountylibrary.org/

Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland