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Sheriff host second annual National Night Out
MACOMB COUNTY — The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office held its second annual National Night Out event on the evening of Aug. 1.
Hosted nationally since 1984, National Night Out is an event aimed at building community between policing agencies and local residents. The Sheriff’s Office brought out representatives from each of its specialty units including the mounted, motorcycle, marine, SWAT and dive units, and attendees were able to meet with officers. The Mount Clemens Fire Department and other county departments took part in the event outside of the Macomb County Jail.
“I think it was excellent,” said Jennifer Putney, public information officer for the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. “We’re already looking forward to next year and how to make it better for the community. The weather ended up being in our favor. It was a warm evening.”
Next year’s event is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
Hearts for Homes hosting golf fundraiser
MOUNT CLEMENS — Hearts for Homes, an organization that seeks to reduce childhood homelessness in Macomb County, is hosting the “Hearts Fore Homes” scramble golf tournament at Cracklewood Golf Club on Friday, Aug. 25. Registration for the tournament opens at 9:30 a.m., and lunch and dinner are provided.
Hearts for Homes reduces childhood homelessness by finding affordable homes to live in for at-risk families. Applicants are required to have a sufficient income to receive help, and Hearts for Homes works with many other nonprofits throughout the county.
“This year to date, we’ve worked with about 70 families,” said Karan Bates-Gasior, executive director of Hearts for Homes. “We get calls daily, emails daily. Obviously, we can’t help everybody because we have limited funds.”
Bates-Gasior says there’s about 1,500 homeless youth in Macomb County. Hearts for Homes has helped 300 children get into homes since 2017.
To register for the golf outing, visit hearts4homes.org/golf-outing.
Driver crashes into county jail
MACOMB COUNTY — Investigators said a 43-year-old Mount Clemens woman crashed her 2017 Chevrolet Cruze into the Macomb County Jail on July 28.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, the woman told deputies her brakes failed. The car went up a curb, hit a tension wire, struck a tree, broke through the barbed wire fence and stopped upon hitting the building.
She was transported to McLaren Macomb by Medstar and was released with minor injuries. No signs of intoxication or narcotics were detected.
The driver is being charged for lacking insurance and driving recklessly.
OK2SAY shows increase in reports
STATEWIDE — On July 25, the office of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released an annual report that showed Michigan State Police logged more than 7,400 tips from OK2SAY in 2022, which was a 19% increase from the previous year.
OK2SAY is a student safety program that allows anyone to confidentially report tips on criminal activities or potential harm directed at Michigan students, school employees or schools. Tips can include reports on bullying, individual threats to a specific person, drugs and alcohol use, harassment, and depression.
OK2SAY is available 24/7, and tips can be submitted by calling (855) 565-2729 or texting to 652729, which stands for OK2SAY. Tipsters also can send an email to OK2SAY@mi.gov or at the website michigan.gov/ok2say. The OK2SAY mobile app is available for download in app stores for iPhone and Android.
Initial tips are fielded by Michigan State Police OK2SAY technicians. They are trained to receive, analyze and disseminate tip information to local law enforcement agencies, school officials, community mental health service programs, or the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for a timely response.
The state’s fiscal year 2024 budget includes an additional $378,000 to support the hiring of three more OK2SAY technicians to respond to the increasing number of tips.
