Dear Friend,

Welcome to my latest e-newsletter! Read on for legislative updates and things to do this month, along with other community information.

Ensure a Healthy Future for Your Teens with Vaccines

Schools are a prime location for spreading many vaccine-preventable diseases. These diseases can then be spread to children’s families and others with whom they come in contact. Vaccines stop the spread of disease. Diseases like meningitis, human papilloma virus (HPV), pertussis (whooping cough) and the flu are vaccine preventable and will help keep your teens active and in school.

If you are unsure of the immunization recommendations for your child, check with your doctor, or call Genesee County Health Department’s Burton Health Center to get your vaccination questions answered, or to schedule your child’s immunization appointment. The Burton Health Center provides both adult and childhood vaccines. Call to make an afternoon appointment at (810) 237-4540 or (810) 237-4569. Walk-in service is available Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 to 11 a.m. If you need an evening appointment, the Center is located at G-3373 S. Saginaw Street in Burton and is open on Thursday until 6 p.m. Go to www.gchd.us to request an appointment and to see a list of off-site clinics near you.

Free Junior Deer Hunting Licenses Available at Meijer on Friday and Saturday

Young hunters once again will have the opportunity to get a free deer hunting license at all Meijer stores in Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9.

Youths must be accompanied by an adult and can receive the free junior deer hunting license coupon in stores. Click here to locate a Michigan Meijer store.

The coupon is valid for one junior deer hunting license, a $20 value, or mentored youth hunting license. Those who hunt in Michigan also must purchase a base license, which costs $6 for youth ages 10-16. The base license allows hunters to hunt small game and purchase additional hunting licenses. The mentored youth hunting license, valid only for hunters under the age of 10, includes a base license and does not require separate purchase of the base license.

Meijer has offered youth hunters free deer hunting licenses since 2008.

Treasury: MI Student Aid Provides Scholarship Search Experiences

As Michigan high school and college students head back to school this fall, the Michigan Department of Treasury (Treasury) reminds active learners about MI Student Aid’s scholarship search experience.

The project connects students with thousands of possible scholarship opportunities provided by different organizations throughout the state. Students or their families complete and submit a brief online survey and MI Student Aid service representatives will search for Michigan scholarships, emailing a detailed scholarship report within a week.

“MI Student Aid’s scholarship search experience is an invaluable tool for Michigan’s students,” said Anne Wohlfert, director of Treasury’s Student Financial Services Bureau. “Our MI Student Aid representatives will conduct a thorough scholarship search and return the results to the student. We are ready to help anyone trying to find a way to pay for college.”

To begin the MI Student Aid scholarship search experience, go to www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid.

The AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program worked in partnership with Treasury’s Student Financial Services Bureau to collect and compile information on available financial aid resources for Michigan’s students and families. The scholarship search experience and a statewide series of financial aid workshops were developed by the collaboration and implemented by MI Student Aid.

The project was funded by a Michigan Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduates Programs (MI GEAR UP) grant. Recently, this collaboration won the 2017 Governor’s Service Award for Outstanding National Service Program.

Administered by Treasury, MI Student Aid is Michigan’s go-to resource for finding the financial resources needed to pay for college.  For more information, contact MI Student Aid at mistudentaid@michigan.gov, (888) 4-GRANTS or @mistudentaid on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.*

Saginaw Trail Pipeline Project Update

Consumers Energy is planning to conduct required safety tests on the Saginaw Trail Pipeline natural gas project. The hydrostatic test, an industry best practice, will help verify the new, 24-inch pipeline can operate at a safe pressure. From Sept. 15-27, Consumers will test the 14-mile section of pipeline from the Clio city gates to the Bridgeport city gates.

Here’s what to expect:

  • The test involves filling the new pipeline with water and slowly pressurizing it.
  • No natural gas will be in the pipeline, and no digging or excavation is usually required.
  • This testing should not impact you in any way; however, you’re asked to stay off the right-of-way during testing.
  • Water used for the test is taken from local ponds and emptied into a discharge structure, where it’s filtered according to environmental best practices before entering the ground.
  • Please watch for Consumers Energy employees and their contactors working along the right-of-way to perform the test.

If you have questions about the safety test, please call (989) 723-9755. To learn more about the

Saginaw Trail Pipeline project, visit ConsumersEnergy.com/saginawpipeline.

Michigan Treasury Outreach Seminars

The Michigan Department of Treasury is hosting multiple outreach seminars across Michigan. Treasury representatives will provide a short presentation, answer your general questions and listen and learn about the issues affecting you.

Michigan Treasury Online (MTO) is an online resource for business taxpayers. You can use MTO to file tax returns, pay taxes and maintain one or more business accounts with the Michigan Department of Treasury. A Treasury team will discuss the many functionalities of MTO, the significant improvements made since the 2015 roll-out (based on taxpayer feedback), answer general questions and solicit your suggestions for continued improvement.

A seminar near you will be held on Friday, Sept. 29, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Flint Public Library at 1026 E. Kearsley St. in Room 205.

For more information, please contact TreasuryOutreach@michigan.gov.

Free Dental Health Cleanings for Seniors!

Valley Area Agency on Aging (VAAA) and Mott Community College (MCC) are partnering to offer free dental health cleanings to Genesee County seniors! Care is provided by MCC dental hygiene students, under the direct supervision of licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Seniors who qualify are those who are 60 years of age and older. Appointments are being scheduled ALL DAY Monday through Friday; call today to schedule an appointment at (810) 762-0493. 

Goose Season Begins Friday, Sept. 9, with New Aggregate Bag Limits

The Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters that big changes to regulations this year include a dark goose and light goose aggregate bag limit:

Canada geese, white-fronted geese (or specklebellies) and brant are now part of a dark goose aggregate daily bag limit. From Sept. 1-30, the dark goose aggregate daily bag limit for Canada geese, white-fronted geese and brant is five, only one of which can be a brant. After Sept. 30, the daily limit for dark geese is five, only three of which can be Canada geese and only one of which can be a brant.

In simpler terms, hunters can harvest five dark geese per day in September, only one of which can be a brant. All five dark geese harvested could be Canada geese. After Sept. 30, hunters still can harvest five dark geese per day; however, only three of those can be Canada geese, and only one can be a brant. Three Canada geese can be harvested daily after Sept. 30, and the remainder of the aggregate daily bag limit can be filled with two white-fronted geese or a white-fronted goose and a brant. An aggregate bag limit is also in place for light geese, including snow, blue and Ross’s geese. Hunters may harvest 20 light geese per day during goose seasons.

For more information, please go to http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/.

National Library Card Sign-up

September is National Library Card month. Visit your local library branch to sign up for your library card and enjoy access to all of the library’s free resources.

Social Security Awareness

Prepare for retirement by learning more about your social security benefits at the Montrose-Jennings Library on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 6-7 p.m. Christina Stokes from SOFA, the Society of Financial Awareness, will lead this educational seminar. Please go to the Genesee County Library website to pre-register.

Davison Area Community Appreciation

Davison Township Parks and Recreation presents the 3rd annual Davison Community Appreciation Event on Sept. 14, at Lake Callis Recreational Complex from 4-7 p.m. Activities will include live music, bounce house, face painting, giveaways, photo booth, food from local restaurants and much more. CARS 108 will also be on hand broadcasting live.

“It is impossible to look upon the present situation of Michigan and not be impressed. It is destined soon to emerge as a great, rich state… the future of Michigan appears to be certain, defined, full of promise and expansion.” –Edward Tifflin, 1815

I hope you found this information useful. Please feel free to contact my office if we can be of any assistance.

 

Sincerely,

State Representative Pam Faris

48th House District

 

*The Michigan House of Representatives is responsible only for content submitted with House resources and in accordance with the law and House policy. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.