Special Fish Fry a great success
The Clinton Area Care Center sponsored a Take Out Fish Fry on Friday, March 19 to benefit Kim Huguelet. Kim was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer on February 2, 2021. She has been a devoted employee at Hazel I Findlay County Manor for 11 years. She is now on medical leave and is beginning treatment.
MMDHD COVID Vaccine Update
According to Mid Michigan District Health Department Health Officer Marcus Cheatham, on April 5 everyone will be eligible to receive the covid-19 vaccine, so it is not too early to start making appointments.
A special lot of Pfizer vaccine will be set aside for 16 and 17-year-olds. Check the Mid Michigan Health Department website for find out where these will be administered. https://www.mmdhd.org/covid-vaccine-information/
Cheatham further reported on MMDHD Vaccinations through March 14. He says that 36,676 of the 149,468 people who are eligible have already received first doses. More people in the district have received the vaccine than the 31,670 received by MMDHD because many people are choosing wisely to go outside the district to take advantage of clinics in nearby areas.
Burn ban lifted
As of Monday morning the burning ban is lifted according to the St. Johns Fire Chief. This applies to Bingham Township, the east half of Bengal Township, and Greenbush Township.
If you have an annual burn permit you can burn within the guidelines on the back of the permit. If you need a 3-day permit please call the SJPD office between 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday – Friday.
You can monitor the SJPD Facebook page for updates.
No changes planned for St. Johns Schools offerings
At the most recent meeting of the Board of Education for St. Johns Public Schools Superintendent Mark Palmer reported that both remote and in person learning will continue.
He said that the Health Department reports an increase in cases of Covid-19 throughout the county, but there had been no spread within the school buildings.
Administrators are still finding their way through the State of Michigan’s call for athlete testing. As presented the requirement would lead to significant record-keeping and database input and re-input for each athlete. He said that it would be doable for contact sports but questioned whether it would even be possible for non-contact sports because of the number of students involved.
Director of Operations Rob Gleeson requested and received approval from the Board to purchase a new box-truck, a 2021 Chevrolet Express, for the district. He explained that finding parts for one of the old ones was becoming difficult and sometimes impossible. Working with a local dealer he had determined that a new vehicle would be more cost-effective than purchasing a used one.
Curriculum Director Jason Gnegy requested funds to purchase library books for each elementary classroom, and the request was granted. DJ Logan, a Kindergarten teacher at Gateway Elementary School, was pleased with the allocation. She added that over the years she has accumulated thousands of children’s books which she has purchased with her own money. She says that she is having trouble culling books from her collections because students don’t want her to remove many. They want them to remain so that she can read them to next year’s class.
The Board approved the hiring of a new Elementary Counselor, Nikki Jubeck. District employees resigning at the end of this school year include:
– Maureen Silm – St. Johns High School Teacher math
– Madisyn Kotowicz – Oakview South Elementary Custodian
– Renee Jorae – St. Johns Middle School Teacher technology
– Marilyn Hornbeck – Gateway North Elementary Custodian
– Dakota Martens – St. Johns High School Custodian
Spring Collection Event is April 24
The Spring Collection for Clinton County residents will be held on Saturday, April 24, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. An appointment is required to attend. Registration will begin the week of March 22, 2021
This event will take place in St. Johns and is open to all Clinton County residents.
Acceptable items include household hazardous waste such as unwanted medications, farm and landscaping chemicals, motor oil and antifreeze, cleaners, yard chemicals, oil based paints and aerosols and household computer equipment and electronics. Most items are accepted free of charge, but nominal fees do apply including $10 a piece for televisions and computer monitors, cash or check only on the day of the event.
More information can be found on the website www.clinton-county.org/196/Waste-Management or by calling the office (989) 224-5186. Feel free to send questions through email to recycle@clinton-county.org.
St. Joseph Feast and Raffle set for April 24
Car Raffle – Tickets are on sale now for the 3rd Annual Car Raffle! The Grand Prize winner will have their choice of a New Ford Ecosport (vehicle arranged by Pauli Ford) OR $15,000 cash! There will also be three additional prizes of $500 cash. Only 600 tickets are available and tickets are going fast! Cost is $100 per ticket, $175 for 2 tickets, or $250 for 3 tickets. Tickets can be purchased at the school or church offices, or from any committee member now. You may also print the attached car raffle flyer and mail the completed form with your payment to the school.
Tuition Raffle – The 3rd Annual Tuition Raffle is back by popular demand! Graciously donated by the family of Robert and Mary Zuker, the lucky winner of this raffle drawing will receive one FULL year of tuition to St. Joseph Catholic School! The prize may be used for the 2021-2022 school year. The prize must be allocated to a student or the scholarship fund at the time of purchase. The best part? All proceeds from this raffle will go directly to the St. Joseph teaching staff to be used at their discretion for classroom wishes. Tickets for this raffle can be purchased at the school or church offices, or from any committee member.
Catch the Comet Crook – While the Feast may not be possible, the committee has planned a mysterious event to keep you virtually entertained the evening of our event. Someone has stolen the Raffle Car! We need your help to identify the thief and get the car back in time for the drawing! A virtual whodunnit, spotlighting familiar suspects and locations throughout town, it will keep you guessing throughout the night! A series of video clues will be released hourly the evening of our event, starting at 4pm on April 24. The last of the video clues will be released at 7pm. Participants will be invited the submit their guesses at the end of the night. The first 3 ticket holders to correctly identify the Comet Crook will win cash prizes of $750, $500, and $250! The cost is $40 per guess and tickets are available now at http://bidpal.net/stjoefeast2021. Click on Catch the Comet Crook and follow the link to purchase your tickets.
Silent Auction – This year our auctions will be available through mobile bidding, just like last year and using the same program. You can use any smart phone, tablet, or computer- everything is accessible via a web browser. You will receive real time notifications down to the second when you’ve been outbid. You can also set a maximum bid so that you can focus your attention on Catching the Comet Crook! Auction items will be available to preview the week of our event. The silent auction will open on Thursday, April 22nd at 8:00pm and close the evening of the event on Saturday, April 24that 8:30pm. The Auction will be found on our Giving Center here: http://bidpal.net/stjoefeast2021.
Fund A Need – The 2021 Feast and Raffle is also accepting monetary donations for the Fund A Need. The donations from the 2020 Fund A Need were utilized to increase spending in the area of technology. The fund provided much needed equipment to ensure our preparedness to provide remote instruction to our students. With the additional dollars, the school was also able to replace tables and chairs in the computer lab and purchase additional Chromebooks and a mobile lab cart. You may donate to the Fund A Need directly on our site here: https://one.bidpal.net/stjoefeast2021/browse/donation.